Scraping the bottom of the barrel of political talent with even greater vigour might not turn out particularly well

According to Scotland’s inaugural Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace, when the Holyrood parliament was being established, he had an argument with Labour’s George Robertson about how many members it should have. Robertson made the case for 113 – surely a missed opportunity to take a stand against superstitious avoidance of the number 13 – while Wallace argued for 145.

In the end, there was a “meeting in the middle” and so we have 129 MSPs. However, Wallace is now calling for the numbers to be increased, saying that there should be “significantly more” as the parliament has greater responsibilities, “not least for tax and social security”.

Given the standard of debate, failed attempts to pass legislation, and inept lawmaking in recent years, some might question the wisdom of scraping the bottom of the barrel of political talent with even greater vigour. Then again, perhaps giving our elected representatives less work would help improve its quality.

Does the Scottish Parliament need more MSPs? (Picture: Sally-Ann Norman/Construction Photography/Avalon/Getty Images)

Alas, we suspect they may just have to get on with it as few voters, and fewer hard-pressed public employees, are likely to be impressed by MSPs who dare to complain about their workload.

More MSPs?! Holyrood should not count on getting reinforcements anytime soon – Scotsman comment

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