It’s been ages since anyone here cast an eye over the motions lodged at Holyrood, looking for saints and sinners, but the list remains a rich trove of absurdity and partisanship, alongside thoughtfulness and principle. Starting with the virtuous, Alison McInnes bravely flies the flag for the kind of equality that makes much of the media froth at the mouth, and Jim Eadie, in the runner-up slot, gets into the nitty-gritty with the notorious Edinburgh Royal Infirmary PFI project:
Motion of the week – Alison McInnes: Let Toys Be Toys, for Girls and Boys
That the Parliament notes the current change.org petition, led by Let Toys Be Toys, which calls on retailers to stop promoting toys as only for girls or only for boys; supports Let Toys Be Toys’ mission statement that toys are designed for fun, learning, stoking imagination and encouraging creativity and that children should feel free to play with whatever toys most interest them; believes that the traditional marketing of toys specifically for girls or boys serves only to reinforce unwelcome gender stereotypes that have no place in a modern society, and calls on retailers to stop sorting toys by gender and instead just let toys be toys, for girls and boys.
At the other end, although this may seem churlish to Constable Callison, if Holyrood were to mark the retirement of every public sector stalwart with a motion MSPs would have time for nothing else. Graeme Dey therefore holds off both Mike MacKenzie, for patting his bosses on the back, and himself, for a spurious survey about how happy folk in Angus are. No really.
Worst motion of the week – Graeme Dey: 30 Years of Police Service
That the Parliament congratulates the Angus police officer, Constable Mark Callison, on his retirement following 30 years of service to local communities; acknowledges the varied nature of his career with Tayside Police, most recently serving as community liaison officer in Carnoustie where it understands that he delivered a variety of education programmes in local primary and secondary schools and previously serving as an air observer during Tayside Police’s air support unit helicopter trial in 1999 and working alongside police air crews to provide aerial support during the G8 conference at Gleneagles in 2005; understands that Carnoustie Community Council will be holding a special reception to recognise what it sees as his great contribution to the town ahead of his official last day on 12 June 2013, and wishes Constable Callison every success in his future endeavours.
Better Nation wishes Constable Callison well, and wishes MSPs would take the motions process just a touch more seriously.