Report to the People
5th January 2004
Back
to Work
Happy
New Year!
I
hope you had a good festive season. Of
course, if you were lucky enough to get a break over the holidays, it’s now
back to earth with a bump.
The
kids jumping on your bed demanding you get up and take them to the pictures is
replaced with the monotone tyranny of the alarm clock.
Lunching on the couch with 2 remote controls and a selection box is
replaced with a sandwich at your desk. And
your neckwear today seems dreadfully dull compared to your hilarious musical
Santa tie, which has been consigned to the back of the drawer for another year.
And
on top of all that, you’ve still got to go through the motions of keeping your
New Year’s resolutions.
Sadly,
I have been forced to relinquish my original resolution (to which I was adhering
admirably, I might add). It seems
that resisting the temptation to go to Tesco of a Saturday morning and instead
accompany my new 9-iron to the golf course and practice my short game was not an
adequate test of my willpower.
Still,
unlike Jim Duffy, I have many potential substitutes.
There
is, for example, a daunting parliamentary programme ahead of MSPs in the coming
session, the successful conclusion of which is by no means a foregone
conclusion.
There
are a number of potential conflicts on the horizon and we will have to work hard
to win them.
Take
the key measures in our long-awaited bill aimed at cracking down on antisocial
behaviour. It is almost certain
that they will be opposed by special interest groups and their political allies.
It will, then, be a battle to make sure that the law makers listen to the
people who know what they’re talking about – those who have first hand
experience of the problem – rather than the professionals who make a living
out of it.
Also
controversial will be the Health Committee inquiry into how the NHS is staffed
and run, which is set to prove unpopular with some of the powerful vested
interests in the service.
Perhaps,
then, I will resolve to work to ensure that neither is allowed to duck the big
issues, or put the needs of the professionals before the needs of the people.
Not
an easy task, but, as New Year’s resolutions go, it’s more rewarding than
living on celery and carrot juice for a month and cheaper than joining a gym.
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