Hate Crime Act: Scotland Can't Legislate for Tolerance When Politicians Fail to Lead by Example

I don't watch much football on TV but a few weeks ago I found myself glued to an exciting quarter-final showdown between two leading English clubs, with contentious incidents, emotions running high, and a dramatic winner in the last seconds. What impressed me most was not the football, but the demeanour of the opposing managers in the post-match interviews.

Both men were gracious about their opponents, reflecting on their own performances while complimenting their rivals. There was obviously a mutual respect between the managers, but I suspect there was more to it than that. Both certainly realised that their behaviour influenced many of their supporters. Knowing that their words counted, they aimed to set a good example.

It was a stark contrast with the recent behaviour of some of our political leaders. About the same time, the First Minister of Scotland made a keynote speech at his party's conference in which he declared his desire to eradicate an entire opposition party from our land. Regardless of the strength of political feeling — is this a respectful or inclusive way for a national leader to behave?

Words matter for political leaders, even more than football managers. Which brings me neatly to the latest legislation to regulate our behaviour.

Holyrood's recent record in drafting new legislation is, to say the least, undistinguished, and the Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 seems to be no exception. It was apparently without irony that the new law came into being on April Fools' Day. It criminalises threatening or abusive behaviour intended to stir up hatred against people based on age, disability, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity — omitting sex and political views as protected characteristics.

The understandable fear is that the new law will be used as a cudgel by aggressive minorities to bludgeon critical views into silence.

There is already adequate provision in law to deal with abusive behaviour. Our police and courts just need time and space to enforce existing laws. The new hate legislation is another example of a solution looking for a problem. The truth is that we cannot legislate for good manners or tolerance — only setting an example can do that.