The Al Megrahi Position

Submitting to those dark conformist tendancies within the human soul, I feel obliged to provide at least an overview of my position on the Al Megrahi situation considering every other vaguely political blogger in Britain seems to have weighed-in.

Firstly, it is certainly an important decision with heavy repercussions internationally; it is also almost undoubtedly Kenny MacAskill's fifteen minutes of fame on the world stage. I can perhaps then forgive him for milking it with spectacular aplomb in his televised statement on the issue, and offer him sincere pity that the one truly important act in his life has brought him, and the Scottish Executive, so much unpopularity from so many corners. The Minister o' the Kirk pontificating (if that is not a contradiction in terms) was, however, cringeworthy in the extreme -

one half-expected every pause to be broken with a softly spoken 'let us pray'.

I will however commend the man if he has done as he claimed: considered the issue of compassion properly and without pressure from external influences. I am very much on the fence over the decision: I respect the quality of compassion, yet acknowledge what many seem to have lost sight of - that Al Megrahi was the worst criminal in Scottish history, murdering hundreds of people. I suppose I would most likely support compassion-lite, investigating possibilities short of full release. I certainly don't envy the Minister his position.

This leads me to my central complaint on the issue: is this not an inherently judicial decision? The idea of a minister and politician making such judgements does not sit easily with me, notwithstanding the fact that the powers Mr MacAskill are exercising were conferred by an Act of Parliament created under a Tory government. Whilst I could understand a Minister effectively signing off on recommendations, the idea of actively deliberating the issue crosses the line away from executive authority

Compassion is very often a difficult choice to make; politicians are very often not very good at making difficult choices, particularly when the benefits are so etherial and the potential for condemnation quite so pronounced.

The last refuge of a scoundrel

I cannot help but read anything other than desperation into the Health Secretary's attack on now-infamous Tory MEP Daniel Hannan today. To accuse a politician of being 'unpatriotic' for refusing to adhere to a certain political view point or defend certain politicised institutions must truly be seen as the very worst sort of mindless nationalism. How far, I wonder, does this government-sponsored appeal to ignore logic or opinion for the greater glory of the country go.

A Hannanite I am not, although I do identify as being broadly within the liberal wing of the Conservative Party. Whilst I cannot be as strident as Hannan in calling the NHS a 'sixty year mistake', I can certainly see significant flaws not only with delivery but the model on which the service is based that should be addressed. We do not have the best healthcare system in the world, and the presumption that it should not be improved for fear of upsetting the lieges is nothing short of arrogance. Whether you agree with them or not, Mr Hannan's views on health are far from half-baked: they are consistent, well thought-out and very adequately defended in his blog response to the media hoolah.

The nationalistic angle, however, is rather new - at least to London. In Scotland we have unfortunately been faced with a governing party who accuse others, including the UK Government, of being unpatriotic and even actively 'anti-Scottish' at the drop of a hat. Mike Weir MP tell us that raising the pension age is anti-Scottish because of the marginally lower life expectancy in Scotland; the same insult is trotted out for Ken Livingstone when he dares to suggest that London subsidises Scotland - before Mr Weir goes on to suggest Scottish oil subsidises the rest of the UK! Pete Wishart MP applies the same epithet to the Conservative immigration spokesman for suggesting Scotland is not the most attractive place in the UK for immigrants to settle, whilst Bill Kidd MSP takes it one step further calling the entire Conservative Party 'fundamentally anti-Scottish', with John Swinney capping it all off by stating that the same is true of all 'London-based parties'. Alex Salmond too wades in, applying it to the European Union for cutting UK fishing quotas, and restates Pete Wishart's attack on London's former mayor; although the impact is somewhat lessened by his accusation that the measures would also be 'anti-fish'. SNP's CND group calls trident anti-Scottish too; an SNP councillor uses the same accusation against a Scottish local authority for flying its own flag on most days of the year.

This sort of nonsense is completely unworthy of anyone with half a mind and should be dispensed with from British politics immediately.