Year Zero: An Inside View of the Scottish Parliament

As a Member of the Scottish Parliament, having been a member of the House of Commons for eight years and being a current member of the House of Lords, Mike Watson is uniquely situated to offer an insight to the workings of the Scottish Parliament in its first year of operation.This book offers the reader an insight to the inner workings of the Parliament, and a hands-on, insider view of the events witnessed over the last year. He asks whether the Parliament has delivered what it promised the people of Scotland - a modern, accessible, transparent and responsive legislature, quite unlike Westminster - and explores the extent to which the new Parliament's aims and powers were realistically set, illustrating the ways in which it has reacted to the unpredictability of events.Starting with events on 7 May 1999, the day following the elections, in the course of the book Mike Watson looks at the formation of the Labour-Liberal Democrat partnership, party politics, the media, the workings of the Committees, the Cubie report, Section 28, the Ayr by-election, and the role and relationships between MSPs. He concludes by looking at lessons to be learnt and what the future may hold.