Exclusive:Cross-party claims presiding officer election is a 'stitch up' stopping Holyrood scrutinising government
Electing the new presiding officer without a “stitch up” will be the true test of the Scottish parliament, cross-party candidates claim
Cross-party candidates have said the election of Holyrood’s presiding officer is a “stitch up” as they call for an overhaul of the system.
In a robust appeal, three former MSPs claim the parliament has become too close to the government is is designed to scrutinise in a “culture of managed consent”.
One of the most significant posts in the parliament, the new PO will be appointed when business resumes in May.
However, three experienced former MSPs have raised concerns about the “unacceptable” election system.
They are calling for new procedures that would see proposed candidates produce a manifesto and be scrutinised in hustings.
In a scathing joint letter, they say the office holder bearer have “a willingness to make life uncomfortable for the government of the day”.
“Too often, that edge has been missing,” they add, in a swipe at previous presiding officers.
The call is being made by Scottish Conservative candidate Stephen Kerr, Labour candidate Paul Sweeney and Kenneth Gibson, who is standing for the SNP.
The trio said the moment the parliament decides its presiding officer and two deputies “will expose something that is rarely said out loud but widely understood inside Holyrood.
“The election of the Presiding Officer is not a genuine contest. It is, more often than not, settled in advance.
“Everyone inside the building knows it. We just don’t say it.”
They go on to say party managers hold behind the scenes talks, test names and do backroom deals.
“By the time MSPs are asked to vote, the outcome has effectively been stitched up,” they say.
The three politicians go on to say the would-be presiding officer should be asked to present a vision of how the parliament “might be strengthened”.
Instead, they say, MSPs are expected to fall in behind a name. That is not democracy. It is choreography”.
“Candidates emerge not because they have set out a compelling case for leadership, but because they are the least objectionable option to the party machines.” they add.
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“That is not how a serious Parliament chooses one of its most important officeholders.
“This is one of the great public offices in Scotland. The person in that role sets the tone for the entire institution”.
Presiding officer Alison Johnstone stepped down from the role at the dissolution of parliament in March.
The former Scottish Greens MSP had faced criticism during her five years in the role as being biased towards the SNP, a claim she strongly refuted.
Ms Johnstone, who in 2021 became the sixth presiding officer and second woman in the role, said she had been “scrupulously fair in the chamber” during her five-year tenure.
However, Mr Kerr, Mr Sweeney and Mr Gibson said the parliament had “drifted into a position” where it was “too closely aligned” with the government.
“The edge has gone. Scrutiny is softened by party discipline. Challenge is treated as disruption,” they said.
“Over time, this creates something more damaging - a culture of managed consent.”
They are calling for candidates for the role to declare themselves publicly in advance, publish a clear prospectus, give speeches and take part in hustings.
A Scottish parliament spokeswoman said: “Candidates for the role of Presiding Officer are nominated by MSPs and elected through a secret ballot in a process governed by the Parliament’s Standing Orders.
“Any change to this process would have to be agreed by a vote in Parliament.”
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