Under the arc of history

By John Knox
Political reporter, BBC Scotland

A customer raises a glass to Barack Obama and his can do philosophy

Yes we can. All things are possible. Put your hand on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

Not the words of the victor at Glenrothes to be sure.

They do things so much bigger and better in the New World.

But Lindsay Roy did manage to stutter out the words: "With Gordon Brown, Britain is strong."

The swing state of Glenrothes has gone back to being red, just as surely as the USA has gone blue.

And what an exciting week it's been out there in the democratic stratosphere.

The two elections have, of course, formed the backdrop to the smaller dramas being played out on the stage here at Holyrood.

MSPs have talked of little else.

Hope and expectation

At first minister's question time, Labour's Iain Gray launched into an attack on SNP-run Fife council over supposed education cuts and higher charges for home helps.

"The first minister is no Barack Obama," began Mr Gray, to some SNP groans, "but will he accept, like Barack Obama, the responsibilities of his office? Will he take responsibility for the cuts in services in Fife and elsewhere across Scotland?"

Mr Salmond noticed that "Mr Gray is no Jack McConnell" but said the SNP had in fact increased education spending in Fife by 10% and was not the only council in Scotland to be making charges for home helps.

Conservative leader Annabel Goldie wanted the Scottish government to follow the example south of the border and allow patients to co-fund their medicines without losing free NHS services.

"Give us more of your politics of hope and expectation," she urged.

The first minister said the government was looking at the issue of co-funding and would make an announcement shortly.

Tavish Scott, the Liberal Democrat leader, wanted Mr Salmond to take a firmer stand on maintaining Halifax/Bank of Scotland (HBOS) as an independent bank.

He said the taxpayers' money now bailing out the banks should be used for more than shedding 20,000 jobs and closing down branches on the high street.

Tavish Scott wanted a firmer stand on the HBoS takeover

Earlier in the week Mr Scott sat round a table in a Holyrood meeting room with the SNP's Alex Neil and the independent Margo MacDonald to demand an inquiry into the takeover by Lloyds/TSB.

They maintained the directors of HBOS were neglecting their duty to shareholders by not exploring alternatives to the takeover. Mr Neil said he expected an alternative bid to emerge within a week.

Meanwhile, the humdrum business of parliament went humming along.

Finance Secretary John Swinney announced a restructuring of the scrutiny bodies, the inspectors.

The Care Commission and the Social Work Inspectorate are to be merged. The NHS Quality Improvement will take over the Mental Welfare Commission. Water Watch and the Charity Appeals Panel are to go and their functions taken over by the Ombudsman.

Complaints against local authorities are to be handled locally. Inspectors and auditors are to reduce and co-ordinate their visits so that, teachers, nurses, care workers etc will spend more time actually doing their work and less time preparing for the next inspection.

It certainly surprised me to learn that there are 29 inspection agencies of one kind or another in Scotland.

They employ 950 people and cost £60m a year to run.

'Fear and despondency'

Mr Swinney aims to cut the number of agencies by a quarter between now and 2011.

He wasn't however able to tell the opposition parties exactly how much money would be saved.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced an additional £270m over the next three years to help health boards to meet new waiting time targets. Her patients rights bill will introduce a 12 week guarantee for patients awaiting surgery.

And MSPs unanimously approved the first stage of the so-called pleural plaques bill.

This will reverse a decision by the House of Lords that asbestos workers should no longer be eligible for compensation if they develop patches on the lung which often lead to cancer.

MSPs were however concerned about the cost. It's not clear what it could be - some say up to £600m - and who will pay, the UK government or the Scottish government.

Barack Obama - a Kenyan American with Scots/Irish/English ancestry

But back to Barack Obama.

The first minister paid his respects at question time, saying his victory had brought "an atmosphere of hope and expectation, as opposed to the politics of fear and despondency".

Mr Salmond intends to invite Mr Obama to the Homecoming celebrations in Scotland next year.

Apparently this Kenyan American is actually Scottish!

According to a government press release this week, Mr Obama's mother can trace her family back to an Edward FitzRandolf, who in 1630 emigrated from Nottinghamshire to New Jersey.

The FitzRandolfs can in turn trace themselves back to William the Lion, king of Scotland from 1165 to 1214.

So Scotland awaits its king/president across the water and, right now, it look as though he could walk all the way to the Homecoming next year.