Report to the People
Happy Fair Monday
Well, it's Fair Monday and it has been 5 days since the start of the school holidays. And, while I'm sure for those of you who are parents of school aged children it already seems a lot longer, the rest of us are hopefully having a pleasant, relaxing break.
I always associate the start of the Fair with the official start of summer. This year, however, I had an extra reason. The Scottish Parliament, once again taking its lead from Greenock, has agreed that our Fair is the correct and proper day on which to end the parliamentary year.
In recognition of this prestigious honour, and to celebrate the Fair, last Friday I held a thank you party at my local office for the many people in our community who help me in my work as an MSP.
Representatives from Community Councils, the Police, voluntary organisations, employers, Inverclyde Council and even (against my better judgement) the Telegraph joined my staff and I to celebrate all we have achieved by working together.
Of course, to effectively deliver my services as an MSP, I rely on the good will and co-operation of hundreds of members of the community and I could not personally thank everyone who has been of assistance. If I accidentally missed you out, please accept my apologies.
But the sheer number of agencies, bodies and groups with which MSPs have to work to serve their constituents underlines two of the biggest lessons I have learned since becoming a professional politician - the amazing scope of the job and the value of specialist knowledge.
No matter how experienced, a politician cannot understand the minute inner workings of every public body. To act as a guide around, for example, the Police Force, the NHS, and education, we need an experienced police officer, doctor or teacher.
This help obviously dramatically speeds up and improves the quality of the service we provide to constituents. But it also benefits the service or group itself. Should they have an issue to raise about how government policy affects them, I already have an understanding of how their organisation works and the lines of communication are open.
I am aware that talk of "partnership working" and "co-ordinated approaches" abound in politics. But the relationship between an MSP and MP and their local service providers is a tremendous example of what can be done by working together.
Thanks again.
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