Kenneth Gibson vows to ‘rattle cages’ as Holyrood’s new Presiding Officer

Kenneth Gibson has said he is happy to “rattle cages” as Presiding Officer as he pledged to shift the balance of power from the Scottish Government back towards MSPs.

The new Holyrood speaker suggested SNP chiefs were not happy with his election last week, saying: “One only had to look at the faces of the Scottish Government ministers”.

In an interview with the Press Association, Mr Gibson, a veteran SNP MSP, said his rivals only offered “cosmetic” changes instead of the reforms needed to make Parliament better.

The politician said he wanted to overhaul the current system, which “favoured the Government over Parliament”.

“I’m trying to rebalance things to give the Parliament a greater say,” he said, speaking in the Donald Dewar Room at Holyrood

He added: “I didn’t see anyone else who was in the frame who was going to make those changes.

“I thought we were likely to end up with a presiding officer who may make cosmetic changes, but was effectively going to be as steady as she goes.”

Mr Gibson, an MSP since 1999, suggested ministers were uncomfortable with his reforms, saying “governments are never really enthusiastic about change”.

He pointed to major changes already made to Parliament, including First Minister’s Questions now happening twice a week – one for party leaders and another for backbenchers.

MSPs will also no longer be able to submit questions in advance, something opposition politicians have said stifles debate and leads to scripted answers.

Mr Gibson said he wanted to move away from what he described as MSPs “reading out loud” from pre-prepared speeches and towards more spontaneous exchanges in the chamber.

“If nobody knows what’s coming next,” he said, “it’s going to enliven things”.

He added that ministers would have to “raise their game” under the new system.

Mr Gibson, who has given up his 47-year SNP membership for the role, said he was well-known in Parliament as someone who is “very independently minded” and pledged to use that to increase scrutiny of the Government – something he agreed was the overarching goal of his time as Presiding Officer.

The £136,112-a-year role will see him chair debates, select MSPs to speak in the chamber and represent the Scottish Parliament in the UK and overseas.

The former finance committee convener admitted it was a “concern for other people” that someone more favourable to the SNP could have been elected to the post.

“My main concern was to ensure that we had someone who was independently minded and who would separate Parliament from Government,” he said, “and that’s me”.

Mr Gibson got 74 votes in the final stages of voting, compared to Claire Haughey’s 54, seen as the Government’s preferred candidate.

“It’s clear I’m someone who doesn’t just talk a good game, but is willing to actually deliver at the sharp end,” he told PA.

“I’m quite happy to rattle cages where necessary and make things better for everyone working in this Parliament.

“I think it just makes it more interesting, more exciting and more different.”

With Scotland now having two trans MSPs, the Presiding Officer signalled he would not tolerate members of Parliament being misgendered.

Asked what he would do if that happened, he said he did not think it would: “I have to say, I don’t think there’s going to be that issue.

“I think everyone in this panel has to treat each other with courtesy and respect, and I think that’s going to happen.

“Obviously, if people are deliberately trying to noise up other members, then the chair will have to act – but I see no sign of that at this time.”

He said he liked the “boisterousness” of the chamber as long as it “doesn’t get out of hand”, adding: “People have to let off steam.

“Politics is about passion, it’s about excitement, it’s about doing things differently and changing things.”