The Division of Spoils

The appointment of chairs and vice chairs of current committees, now public, shows what a poor deal the SNP have secured in return for propping up Labour. 

I am not going to give you any of this "sold their souls" stuff as I am a believer in PR and coalition politics but if you are going to do a deal with your bitterest enemy then it has to work for both parties and it has to be worth it in terms of both policy and influence. 

Convenor-ships are highly important as dozens of decisions are taken daily which are not of the magnitude to require council or committee approval but which are still of great importance. Convenors also shape the agendas of their portfolios.

The SNP have moved from having 12 councillors  and surging forward to 18 seats and if six votes in one ward had gone to them and not Labour they would have been on equal numbers. 

All they have managed to get in addition to where they were four weeks ago is the chair of Finance. They have lost any influence on Housing and Social Care. All of the big political committees with big budgets are chaired by Labour. The divvying up of the spoils does give the impression of the Nationalists being in office but not in power. 

How long their new backbenchers will tolerate that state of affairs is going to be a fundamental question over the next few years.