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Cathy Jamieson MSP

THE decision of Cathy Jamieson MSP to depart the Scottish Parliament has been interpreted in different ways. Ms Jamieson (one of the few Labour MSPs I have even heard of) contested the Labour leadership in 2008 and was, until yesterday, the opposition’s health spokesperson. She is also a former Justice Minister and Minister for Education and Young People. Most particularly she has also served as Deputy Leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament since 2000.

In short, she is clearly amongst the very top members of the Labour group in the Parliament. And now she has signalled her desire to leave and to contest the selection to succeed former UK Defence Secretary Des Browne as MP for Kilmarnock and Loudon, a seat he is vacating at next year’s General Election.

And she is not alone. Labour MSP Margaret Curran has already announced her plans to contest Glasgow East in 2010, while among the Conservatives both Alex Johnston and John Lamont also hope to win a Westminster seat too. In contrast, no Member of Parliament from any party has declared they will stand down to contest a Scottish Parliament seat.

Cathy Jamieson’s decision to vacate Holyrood has been seized on by her opponents as a sign of weakness. SNP Westminster Group whip Stewart Hosie MP said: “That Labour has to seek an MSP as a candidate in Kilmarnock & Loudoun only looks like they are running scared… That an MSP opts to try to stand for Westminster begs questions of how unhappy the crew must be in Iain Gray’s Holyrood ship.” Harsh words.

We in Wales can of course identify those hoping to make the journey in both directions over coming months. Adam Price MP will stand down in 2010 in the hope of entering the Assembly in 2011, though the precise opportunity to do so has yet to publicly present itself. This follows a pattern established back in 1999 where a string of MPs from Labour and Plaid including Dafydd Wigley, Rhodri Morgan AM, Ieuan Wyn Jones AM and John Marek came back west.

In contrast, next year Alun Cairns AM hopes to swap his South Wales West Conservative seat for the Vale of Glamorgan in Westminster. It is an ambition he previously tried to fulfil in Clwyd West in 2001 in the same way that his colleague Jonathan Morgan AM stood unsuccessfully against Julie Morgan MP in 2005 in Cardiff North. At the same election, of course, then AM for Monmouth David Davies added two other letters to his name, standing down from the Assembly two years later. Similarly, former North Wales Tory AM David Jones stood down in 2003 to concentrate on winning Clwyd West two years later. It was a gamble that paid off.

It may seem from these examples that switching from the Assembly to Westminster is a preoccupation of Conservatives. They may be the main proponents of the tactic, but they are not alone. Former Labour AM Peter Law sat as an independent in both places, albeit briefly, while Alun Michael MP did the same in the early days of the Assembly, eventually opting to remain in London.

But let us also take the example of Janet Ryder AM, who represents North Wales for Plaid Cymru, and is seeking to enter Parliament in 2010 as MP for Clwyd South. Her selection decision caused some eyebrows to raise in Plaid, who prefer to see an arrow of history pointing Price-wise down the M4 toward Cardiff. But such a standpoint is a little naive. Parties need strong players in both institutions. Plaid members do not condemn Jonathan Edwards for seeking election to Westminster in place of his close ally Adam Price. They recognise that there is a job of work to be done there. Any Plaid Assembly Member seeking to make the shift to Westminster should receive the same support.

So when SNP spokespeople condemn Cathy Jamieson or ascribe wider political significance or motive, they should bear in mind that political choices over location are not always one dimensional. People make choices for a variety of reasons. Some are personal, some tactical, some opportunity based, and some are reflect whether a politician wishes to base their career on certain policy areas and whether those are devolved or not. There is no simple direction of travel that leads from Westminster to devolved institutions.

After all, the most successful nationalist in Britain (if such a badge can be worn with pride) is Alex Salmond MSP MP who himself entered Holyrood as SNP leader in 1999, departed by choice in 2003, and then returned on his charger in 2007 in a different seat to become First Minister of Scotland. Political careers should be caricatured at peril.