(Image: Derek McArthur)
The following article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politicsnewsletter.
Party conference is supposed to be the easy crowd.
If a government minister cannot convince a room packed with their own party members that their big ideas are good ones, selling them to the country is going to be considerably harder.
Ivan McKee learned that pretty brutally at SNP conference.
Public sector reform rarely came up on the conference main stage. But behind the scenes it was absolutely everywhere.
Across six fringe events, the Public Service Reform Secretary faced a barrage of criticism about plans that could fundamentally redraw how Scotland’s public services are delivered.
Fringe events are always a way for ordinary political party members to get their voices heard, but it rarely becomes awkward for the high-profile politicians answering questions.
Councillors accused ministers of failing to consult them on changes, third sector organisations warned services will be disrupted, while an SNP councillor bluntly told McKee he was ignoring the very people his reforms are supposed to help.
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Sweeping changes to the public sector were announced in the Programme for Government last month, with the 32 council structure in Scotland set to be scrapped and replaced with a two-tier system of regional and local bodies.
The proposals include creating between six and 10 regional authorities and between 120 and 160 “community” authorities.
But much of the public anxiety is not just about the proposals. It is about how ministers are going about it.
The Scottish Government has launched a three-month engagement process, but across almost every part of the public sector represented at conference, McKee faced complaints that those affected had not been given enough opportunity to shape the reforms.
Insiders told The Herald that many of McKee’s answers during the weekend were “just so short”, with a lack of detail leaving some with the impression that the reform process felt “very secretive”.
Those frustrations spilled into the open at one particularly fiery fringe event.
Aberdeenshire councillor Louise McAllister said her SNP group was “completely caught on the back foot” by the announcement.
“That three-month window, I’m afraid, and with the best will in the world, smacks of decisions being made,” she said.
Glasgow councillor Graham Campbell also complained of a top-down approach where councils and communities had not been consulted.
What was most telling though, was in McKee’s response. He bit back at the councillor, insisting he was “fed up” of hearing from people who are “against a thing that we haven’t said we’re going to do yet”.
And the criticism didn’t end there. Stirling councillor Gene Maxwell accused McKee of ignoring community councils.
When McKee explained that work involving community councils would have to wait while other reforms took priority, Maxwell hit back: “With respect, Ivan, I just made the point we’re ignoring them. You’ve done it again. Stop it.”
McKee’s frustration exposes the problem with the Scottish Government’s approach.
Ministers may insist many of the decisions have not yet been taken, but that is precisely why those expected to live with the consequences want a meaningful say now, before they are.
Putting reforms of this scale on the table without first bringing those people with you risks creating suspicion rather than solving the very real problems Scotland’s public sector faces.
Public sector reform is inevitable. It is urgently needed. It will also require difficult choices, and McKee, of course, will not be able to keep everyone happy.
But SNP conference should have been the easy crowd.
If McKee can’t bring his own party faithful with him, what hope does he have of convincing the rest of Scotland?