New Statesman Scotland
Do ministers have no duty of diligence or competence under devolution? The chums of Donald Dewar who helped him choose Enric Miralles's design for the new Scottish Parliament failed to impose contractual obligations that included design or time or cost. The plans that won the awarded job have been so amended and revamped that they bear little resemblance to the original specifications. Time continues to slip by and the budget has now exceeded the original £40-million estimate six times. Few believe that the present £200 million will be the true ceiling.
Will anybody take the blame? Dewar is such an amiable cove that it seems unkind to charge him with incompetence. Sir David Steel, as Lord Steel prefers to be called in Edinburgh, is nominally in charge, but he is a mild-mannered retired politician with no hint of executive experience. Others who were in at the selection, such as the broadcaster Kirsty Wark, cannot be obliged to take any responsibility.
The Scottish Executive is looking at two surprising options. One way to pay for it may be to commandeer the National Lottery's proceeds for three or four weeks. Camelot will be anxious to oblige politicians because its franchise expires soon. The second option is a special tax - although one levied on the Scots who nominally voted for the "devolved" powerhouse seems a non-starter. Yet it would be perfect symmetry for an institution given taxing powers to invoke them. A bill of £200 million divided between the two million Scottish voters is a mere £100 each. It is not intolerable, and it would be enough to serve as a dose of homeopathy to ween Scots off home rule.
The architectural supremo John Spencely is to be brought in to assess the project and salvage the disaster. It is worth recalling that two perfectly serviceable parliament buildings exist. The present temporary home is popular and accessible. The owners, the Church of Scotland, could be found another home for a modest cost. The former Royal High School on Calton Hill was refurbished as a parliament by the Callaghan government before the voters declined the offer of home rule.
Spencely has asked if he is allowed the option of blowing a whistle and selling off the site to developers. Is it significant that he has not yet had an answer?
A few archaeologists and civil servants would be upset to end the folly at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The Scottish Labour Party could polish its credentials for financial prudence. It is worth reminding ourselves that the site is miscalled Holyrood. On all the early town maps it is called the Watergate.
One charming effect of abandoning the present money pit is that it would leave the Scotsman in its gleaming new block across from the excavations at quite the wrong end of town. The pleasure of leaving the Scotsman stranded may be enough to tip Dewar into changing his mind.
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