It's better for the government that Stewart Stevenson has resigned, even if a lot of people out there - including me - thought it ridiculous to blame one man for the weather. The resignation letter said he had gone because of the failure to communicate with motorists, but we all know he's really gone because of his failure to communicate on Newsnight. As Iain MacWhirter said this morning on Newsweek Scotland, Stevenson just wasn't an "I feel your pain" sort of person. You can read his resignation letter and First Minister's acceptance here
The opposition will crow about getting a scalp - but may live to regret that. The resignation offers Alex Salmond the opportunity to replace an older, unmedia-friendly man with a bright young woman. Two candidates come to mind. Shirley-Anne Somerville and Angela Constance.
Somerville, who I believe is a new mother, is a politics and economics graduate who has worked in media relations for various organisations including the Royal College of Nursing. She's a member of Holyrood's Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee and co-convenor of the cross party group on climate change, both of which fall into Stevenson's brief. (She has already commented on the resignation here) And she has done a great job of exposing the debacle of the Edinburgh trams. I cannot imagine her being caught out on Newsnight, where she is already a regular and confident performer. She is a member of Friends of the Earth and could get on swimmingly with the small Green Group in parliament, who, according to TwoDoctors, didn't find Stevenson particularly chummy. Somerville also has an interest in gender issues such as domestic violence and equal opportunities, which will help in terms of the female vote.
Angela Constance is also a young mother who worked as a social worker in the state hospital of Carstairs before entering politics. A Livingston councillor before she was elected to Holyrood in 2007, she has less parliamentary experience than Somerville but is highly regarded. She is a member of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee and lists her hobbies as jogging and running marathons. Either woman would be a breath of fresh air and give the team a better gender balance. One of the SNP's trump cards over the Labour opposition is the high quality of its front bench, something acknowledged by media commentators. Stevenson's difficulties offered the opposition an opportunity to undermine this widely held view. Now he's gone and a weak link has disappeared with him. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
____________________
God help us if the SNP go down the road of making ministerial appointments a beauty contest (in the widest sense of thet phrase).
Posted by: Hamish Scott | December 13, 2010 at 10:34 AM
It isn't enough!
Stewart Stevenson should be tried for his crimes!
I am pretty sure that the he made all that snow in his secert lab and used his SNP minions to dump it all on our doorsteps!
Just to make the BBC weather forecasts seem inaccurate!
the FIEND!
Posted by: Erchie | December 12, 2010 at 05:08 PM
Yes we need more women, good women I make no apology for that. These are women of merit. They are media savvy AND capable. Interesting that some men find that so objectionable...
I blogged at length several times on why Stevenson's hounding was wrong. But we are where we are and it was clear by the weekend that if he continued in office he would have damaged the government, something he acknowledged in resigning.
He might have survived his poor Newnight performance if he hadn't done a complete volte face the next morning, which looked panicky and made him dead meat.Given that, it is as well to move on and put out a fresh positive message. Promoting good women is such a message as half the electorate are female.
Posted by: joanmcalpine | December 12, 2010 at 05:06 PM
And can I add that your post earlier highlighted gender. More "women". That is what you said.
Posted by: Jo | December 12, 2010 at 04:08 PM
Joan, you went with gender and media-savi-ness. You also went with age. (You condemned Stevenson as "older" in your own words I'm sad to say.) None of these things is anything to do with an honest politician. You have let yourself down bigtime in my view anyway. Shallow politicians we do NOT need. We are over run with them as it is.
Posted by: Jo | December 12, 2010 at 04:05 PM
The piece is now superseded by a new post to take account of the new appointments. . At no point did I say that the FM should not appoint on merit. Gender matters, as SNP polling shows, and I am glad to see he has brought in Constance and given an enhanced role to Cunningham.
Posted by: joanmcalpine | December 12, 2010 at 03:53 PM
Dear Joan
I read your piece, I would like to think that Alex Salmond would appoint the next transport minister on the basis of merit rather than sex.
He has appointed Keith Brown, I don't know what his qualities are but I guess we will see soon enough.
Brown's first job is to produce an emergency action plan for better communications.
And working with councils an action plan that addresses getting help to people who were stuck for hours on the motorways, food and water and getting them off.
10 hours stuck in a vehicle in a modern country is nonsense in this day and age, particularly in the central belt.
I met Stewart Stevenson at Glasgow North East in passing, very likeable guy.
I am sure that he will be back and wiser at a future date in a ministerial position if the SNP does well in 2011.
If Labour MSP Charles Gordon can follow on his rubber sword after getting an illegal donation for Wendy Alexander and come back as shadow transport minister then Stewart Stevenson can make a comeback after 'Act of God'.
And Stewart should buy a red plastic shovel to remind him that there is always one more job to be done.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Posted by: George Laird | December 12, 2010 at 03:42 PM
Totally disagree that there was anything wrong with Stevenson this last week. The Scottish media was out to take his job, not because of the weather, but because it was an opportunity to build no case at all against an SNP minister. So to say it was fine for him to go is just nonsense. It is actually disgusting that such an absolute witch-hunt succeeded.
And God help us if we're to rejoice that "media types" who can handle the twisted media that is responsible for news in Scotland, can maybe be parachuted into his post. Doesn't that say something about where the field of politics is heading these days? Wasn't Blair a media type? Don't media types often make claims about other countries having WMD to encourage people to think its ok to have the odd illegal invasion?
Frankly whether politicians are male or female is irrelevant to me. We had a female Prime Minister once and look at the havoc she reaked on us all. Being a female in politics guarantees nothing.
Last week's fiasco was not Stewart Stevenson's fault and that is a fact. That he has now had to resign is quite disgraceful.
But I do hope when a new Transport Minister is appointed he/she can immediately demand back all monies currently being paid to senior Council people in Scotland to co-ordinate roads and traffic and general public transport and deal with weather problems impacting on all of these things. Let the Councils sack those people at once because if the last week is anything to go by, Scottish Councils have no responsibility for any of those things, only the Transport Minister is responsible.
Posted by: Jo | December 12, 2010 at 11:17 AM
(whispers) Angela is my MSP, I've known her for years & she would make a fabulous minister. After the General Election, she has her work cut out to hang on to this seat, though. She's 4 on the Lothians list which isn't guaranteed to get her back in if the SNP vote falls as much as the polls suggest it will.
She is a very thoughtful & caring politician & I have a lot of time for her.
Posted by: Caron | December 12, 2010 at 01:16 AM
Shirley-Anne has earned her spurs with the Edinburgh trams fiasco. Give her the job Alex.
Posted by: TartanSeer | December 11, 2010 at 07:00 PM