Manifesto days

Twelve years ago, in the earliest days of the Holyrood Parliament, the Society launched its first election manifesto, which led to a scattering of media stories highlighting our “wish list”.

Although the public response was relatively modest, the 1999 document was well regarded by MSPs and ministers. In fact, almost all its main policy proposals were subsequently taken on board by one administration or another. The justice portfolio, for instance, was established rather than the broader home affairs brief long favoured at Westminster. The result was a more coherent and focused approach to issues facing the justice system and legal profession. Likewise, legislative suggestions were taken up in areas of law such as adults with incapacity, feudal tenure, licensing and planning.

With that in mind, we were hopeful that our latest manifesto, launched this week in advance of the Scottish Parliament elections in May, would also provoke a positive reaction. However, I admit to mild surprise at walking into the newsagent’s on Tuesday morning to buy stamps and noticing, among the newspapers laid out on the counter, mention of the Law Society of Scotland on the front page of the Daily Telegraph, with the story focusing on our recommendation that secondary school pupils should be able to sit qualifications in law.

A closer look at all the papers, UK-wide and Scottish, showed the extent of the coverage. Most highlighted the proposal to teach pupils about Scots law and our legal system, though the dangers of cutting legal aid also featured. The ambition to make Scotland’s civil court system the envy of the world, promoting Scotland as a global centre for arbitration, the role of solicitors in achieving economic success and the need for effective legislation were just some of the other issues picked up. And alongside the print media, the story was covered online, in radio bulletins and discussed in various tweets on Twitter.

Further recognition came when the manifesto was presented to MSPs at a Scottish Parliament event yesterday, with the host, Justice Committee Convener Bill Aitken, acknowledging in his speech that our proposals had certainly struck a chord. In terms of the Society’s reputation and influence, it was encouraging to hear him also point out that all political parties listen very carefully to what we say and value our input on a whole range of issues.

Most parties were represented at last night’s event and hopefully MSPs left committee room 4 keen to adopt our proposals. During the past 12 years, the Society has submitted more consultation responses and provided more evidence to Holyrood than most bodies in the country, perhaps more than any organisation other than the Scottish Government. With the voice of solicitors and their clients so clearly heard at the heart of the decision-making process, let us hope we can again reflect in future years on Society proposals that became government policy.