Legacy is a collective endeavour
Ross Laird
Communications director, experienced board member & independent company co-owner
All politicians worry about their legacy, so it came as no surprise that Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s outgoing First Minister, spent a good few minutes outlining her achievements after many years at the helm of her party and as First Minister. Yet the sad truth is that leaving a legacy is difficult in times of austerity and is rarely achieved by an individual.
Sturgeon may have been a moral compass when many others had clearly lost theirs and was a brilliant communicator at a time of national need, but what achievements does Sturgeon leave behind as her lasting legacy? New roads? Minimum unit pricing? More nursery places? Some new schools and healthcare facilities? Some would point more bitterly to a divided nation or unrealised independence aspirations. Others to continued poverty, hospital waiting lists and an ailing economy. Yet, the record of recent UK Prime Ministers reminds us that their record is little better.
Johnson was keen to highlight his legacy outside Number 10. He rattled off many numbers – more police, more hospitals, even more broadband. Yet, this hardly amounts to the stuff of future history books. And of his lauded legacy of getting ‘Brexit done,’ the issues around the Northern Ireland protocol remain, as yet, unresolved. ?His successor, of course, had to try and identify a legacy from only a matter of days in office – reversing the national insurance increase is about all she could muster.
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You’d be hard pushed then to really recognise a long-lasting legacy from recent political leaders. And there are good reasons for this. Brexit has dominated political discourse across the UK and independence has had a similar effect in Scotland. This has stifled other issues of oxygen. However, more fundamentally, there has been a lack of money and an unwillingness by all parties until very recently to raise taxes. And you don’t leave much of a public service legacy without money. George Osborne’s dream of a Northern Powerhouse and of high-speed rail has scarcely come to fruition due to growing costs and shrinking finances.
Thankfully, it doesn’t all come down to money. Blair’s lasting legacies included the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales and the Northern Ireland peace process. Under Johnson ‘s watch, COP26 helped to put climate change firmly back on the political agenda. Net zero public transport and energy production is becoming a reality. But the important lesson is that these achievements have been built through consensual politics and sustained political and financial investment. Yes, they required political leadership and drive, but there was also cross-party support that had existed before these politicians picked up the mantle.
The vast majority of people go into politics to make a difference and Sturgeon, who certainly aimed to make a difference to people's lives, will likely be remembered as a politician who did well in a time of national crisis. Yet to make a lasting difference a collective endeavour is often required, building a consensus over time and backing it with sustained investment. Few leaders are given such opportunities. #politics #Sturgeon #legacy #indyref #publicaffairs #Blair #Johson
Ex politician, former stab vest wearer & now Business English teacher
2 年The dust needs to settle on Johnson, Truss and Sturgeon. How they left their party, the country and what they actually delivered compared to what they aspired to do will probably mean none of them are judged as average... Perhaps they are all symptoms of the shift from goal driven to image focussed politics. From people with experience outside and all the benefits that come with it to the generation of full time politicians with little clue about the real world. That shift impacts very directly decision making and thus delivery.