The Edinburgh Reporter October 2021

4 THE BIG INTERVIEW RT HON ALISON JOHNSTONE MSP
Alison takes
the chair
Phyllis Stephen meets with Scottish Greens
first Presiding Officer in parliament
It is almost five months since Lothian
MSP, Alison Johnstone, was nominated
as the sole candidate for the job of
Presiding Officer (PO) of The Scottish
Parliament, after a long three days of
will she, won’t she?
For anyone who regularly watches
the proceedings from Holyrood it now
seems that this is a job she was made for.
Certainly the previous incumbent, Ken
Macintosh, who tried to persuade her to take up
the position, thought she was the ideal candidate.
Johnstone is only the second woman after
Tricia Marwick to become PO, but she is the
first member of the Scottish Greens to take up
the position.
As someone who campaigned and protested
even before she became a city councillor in
Edinburgh, it might seem a little odd for her to
be politically neutral now as the role demands.
She said: “I think it’s fair to say when you’ve
been involved in politics, as long as I have, that it
takes a little getting used to.
“Maybe the first couple of days in this job for
sure I would say to myself, ‘Oh, look at what’s just
happened. I’ll just tweet my opinion on that’. But
then I won’t, because that would be wholly
inappropriate. It’s absolutely key that people have
every confidence in my impartiality.
“One of the reasons I went for the role - and
you know it wasn’t something I was pursuing
- but having decided to put myself forward, I was
absolutely determined that I wanted to do the
very best job that I can for the parliament.
“It’s about seeking to enable robust debates.”
EARLY DAYS
As a precursor to becoming a politician Alison
worked at Holyrood with the first Green MSP,
Robin Harper, and then stood for election to
Holyrood in 2011 when Harper decided to call it
a day. Now, with two terms as an MSP behind
her, and elected for a third session, Alison was
eventually persuaded that the time was right to
leave politics aside.
This is perhaps the first time that the
arithmetic at Holyrood allowed a Green MSP to
step forward to take up the position of PO - the
equivalent of Speaker in the House of Commons
- as parliamentary figurehead and head of
the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body
(SPCB). The PO also represents the parliament at
home and abroad.
At the 2021 election there were eight Scottish
Green MSPs returned to Holyrood, and so the
loss of one politician to higher office was less
likely to affect the party’s ability to make a
difference as much as it would have when there
were only two MSPs - Johnstone and Patrick
Harvie. The SNP and the opposition parties tied
at 64 MSPs each so none of those could easily
give up a political position.
Now the Scottish Greens have entered into a
loose coalition with the SNP, but there is little
point in exploring that with the PO who takes no
part in day-to-day politics. What she is charged
with is deciding who is heard in the chamber and
which questions are debated.
IMPORTANT ROLE
Alison said: “I do think it’s I think it’s a very
important role - it has an impact. You know, the
Presiding Officer can very much help enable
scrutiny of the government and help ensure that
MSPs are in the best position possible to
represent their constituents. Now I’m on the
other side where I receive a lot of requests for
questions throughout the week, and I try to look
at what the issues of the day are and what people
in Scotland most want to hear about.”
She explains that there is a “fabulously
well-established team supporting the PO” but
admitted that it is a team she knew little of until
she started in the job. She said: “They’re just so
well versed in the business of the parliament, and
are a huge support in this role.”
Johnstone is assisted in the chamber by a clerk
on one side during parliamentary meetings and
is glad that these are “expert staff members who
know the standing orders inside out and upside
down”. But she is also mindful of the direction
she can give to her parliamentary colleagues and
insists that she wants the debate to be courteous
and respectful as well as robust.
Alison said: “I am determined that the
parliament should be the focal point of debate
across the nation on a range of issues. And I
would like it to be abundantly obvious that you
can disagree with one another, but you can do
that respectfully. I am also really chuffed that the
parliament has made progress when it comes to
having that more truly representative parliament,
and I am keen to look at who is making the
contributions and who is intervening. I want
everyone to feel as comfortable as they can
in the chamber and participate in it as freely
as possible.”
The variety of the new job is still exciting with
each day quite different from the last.
With her eye firmly on the future she said: “I
want us to make sure that we are not taking for
granted the progress we have seen on diversity in
the chamber, as I want the chamber to be as
representative as it can be.
“I do want to keep an eye on where
contributions come from and encourage
I am determined that the
parliament should be the focal
point of debate across the nation
on a wide range of issues