Letter

Medical breakthough

Your readers may be interested to know that Dr Jean Turner, interviewed in your last issue (Politics is medicine on a larger stage, issue 51) was elected to the Scottish Parliament in the May elections.

Her victory was one of the biggest upsets in the election of 129 members of the Scottish Parliament, overturning the huge majority of the sitting New Labour MSP in Glasgow’s Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency.

Dr Turner, a retired GP, pointed out that the result – like the election of Dr Richard Taylor to Westminster for the Wyre Forest constituency – showed that New Labour and other main parties ignored local health issues at their peril.

Overall the dramatic results in the Scottish elections indicated a major shift in Scottish politics. The Scottish Green Party increased its representation from one to seven seats; the Scottish Socialist Party from one to six (four of whom are women) and the Independents, all of a distinctly leftish hue, increased from one to four.

New Labour and the SNP lost seats, while the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives held their own. The New Labour and Liberal Democrat ruling coalition has a bare majority of five and is vulnerable to pressure as never before.

The Scottish form of proportional representation was undoubtedly very significant in allowing minority interests to flourish and assure a democratic voice.