:00:19. > :00:24.you come to a pawnbroker, they are Tonight on Newsnight Scotland, we
:00:24. > :00:27.discuss name-calling and acrimony that increasingly seem to
:00:27. > :00:31.characterise relationship in the Scottish Parliament. Something to
:00:31. > :00:36.be worried about, or an inevitable consequence of the country's
:00:36. > :00:40.future? And the names we call our children - we examine at the
:00:40. > :00:45.pitfalls and talk to one man who says that the state of the
:00:45. > :00:48.financial market helped determine what names children are given.
:00:48. > :00:51.Good evening. There was no reason to suppose that the season of
:00:51. > :00:54.goodwill would spread any cheer at First Minister's questions - the
:00:54. > :00:57.last of 2012. And sure enough, it didn't. It was just like so many
:00:57. > :01:00.other days in Parliament - tetchy, ill-tempered and full of insults.
:01:00. > :01:04.That's not necessarily a bad thing in politics, but does it now go
:01:04. > :01:06.deeper than that, as far as the SNP and Labour are concerned? Is the
:01:06. > :01:16.independence debate making politics more tribal? Here's our political
:01:16. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:25.Will come to the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament, where
:01:25. > :01:30.politicians come to mix. But there isn't much of a festive atmosphere
:01:30. > :01:36.to help them get along. Sure, we have a tree, but there is barely a
:01:36. > :01:41.bauble to be seen. Hardly a scrap of tinsel anywhere. And as for
:01:41. > :01:48.mistletoe, who are you kidding? The Scottish Parliament hasn't seen
:01:48. > :01:52.much love in 2012. This was just a flavour of today's proceedings.
:01:52. > :02:00.ancient Maya civilisation predicted the end of the world for tomorrow.
:02:00. > :02:06.She predicted every single week! the First Minister's case, may now
:02:06. > :02:10.wish him as good a year next year as he has had this one. In the last
:02:10. > :02:16.few months, MSPs have accused each other of lying, misleading and
:02:16. > :02:19.worst of all for some, being a Tory. We seem to have reverted to normal
:02:20. > :02:24.business. There was a hand of friendship tenuously extended when
:02:24. > :02:29.our votes were required at the last parliament, and I just smile and
:02:29. > :02:32.think after 2016, our votes may be required again. It seems from an
:02:32. > :02:37.outsider's perspective as is the atmosphere in the chamber has
:02:37. > :02:42.soured in recent months. It is pretty fruity. Sometimes it is very
:02:42. > :02:45.strong. But after the chamber, we are often quite friendly. In a
:02:45. > :02:50.workplace, you have differences of personality and opinion, but we get
:02:50. > :02:55.on well behind the scenes. It is right that politicians are
:02:55. > :03:00.passionate. But we shouldn't get too carried away. But the real Neil
:03:00. > :03:05.is between the SNP and Labour. People who bring to parliament a
:03:05. > :03:09.rancid atmosphere are going to turn off the general population, even
:03:10. > :03:13.more than they are, from politics. Whatever position one takes in
:03:13. > :03:19.politics, it is important we are able to communicate with the public.
:03:19. > :03:25.We can do so through humour we can do it through good arguments. We
:03:25. > :03:29.will absolutely not do so by simply insulting people in Parliament.
:03:29. > :03:33.When we do that, we insult people outside Parliament. Over the last
:03:33. > :03:37.six months, there have been a lot of questions that the SNP simply
:03:37. > :03:40.cannot answer about the proposal for an independent Scotland, and it
:03:40. > :03:43.has been our job on the Labour benches to ask those difficult
:03:43. > :03:47.questions so that the people of Scotland know what the SNP are
:03:47. > :03:51.offering, and it is for that reason or because we are posing difficult
:03:51. > :03:54.questions, the atmosphere has become more tense. And with the
:03:54. > :03:58.glittering prize of the independence referendum two years
:03:58. > :04:03.away, some fear things will only get worse. You wouldn't expect this
:04:03. > :04:07.Parliament to be all sweetness and light, for goodness sake. We are
:04:07. > :04:11.beginning to haggle and battle for the soul of the nation. We are
:04:11. > :04:15.either going to be independent or we are not. And there the people
:04:15. > :04:18.who support independence, and I am one of them, the thought of not
:04:19. > :04:23.being independent the day after that referendum and galvanises me
:04:24. > :04:27.into some sort of action. In the same way, I am quite sure that
:04:27. > :04:29.there are people who will wrap themselves in the Union Jack and
:04:29. > :04:35.feel that they have to do this because they are trying to save
:04:35. > :04:39.something they believe in. That shows in the parliament. I am being
:04:39. > :04:45.asked to take sides in a war I don't want to be part of, because
:04:45. > :04:49.all the people who will vote know that they are still Scots as well,
:04:49. > :04:53.and they are still brothers and sisters on the other side of the
:04:53. > :04:57.referendum, and we will have to work together again. Happy
:04:57. > :05:00.Christmas and a good new year. But tonight, MSP departed for their
:05:00. > :05:07.Christmas holidays with the presiding officer's good wishes
:05:07. > :05:10.I'm joined now by Ewan Crawford who advised John Swinney when he was
:05:10. > :05:17.leader of the SNP. And a safe 50 miles away in Edinburgh by Simon
:05:17. > :05:22.Pia, who did something similar for Iain Gray when he was Labour leader.
:05:22. > :05:27.Simon, do you get the impression that Johann Lamont and Alex Salmond
:05:27. > :05:31.dislike each other, or is it all for show? To be quite honest, I
:05:31. > :05:38.don't think Johann Lamont is overly impressed with Alex Salmond, and
:05:39. > :05:47.that has been part of her strength of this year. Over impressed is
:05:47. > :05:54.code for she doesn't like him? it is the season of goodwill, let's
:05:54. > :05:58.be euphemistic about it. I think it is a bit rich that... Well, what
:05:58. > :06:02.has happened this year is that the views have been coming from the SNP
:06:02. > :06:06.quite a bit. Just stick to this point about whether they like each
:06:06. > :06:14.other. We can go into the politics later on. Q think they genuinely
:06:14. > :06:21.don't? I think that Johann Lamont probably thinks that Alex Salmond
:06:21. > :06:27.is pompous and fantastic, but ask yourself. I don't think a lot of
:06:27. > :06:35.people are overly impressed with him. I think his career peaked in
:06:35. > :06:44.2011, but 2012 has been... Do you get the impression there is a
:06:44. > :06:51.genuine? I think Simon likes Alex Salmond! I don't know. There seems
:06:51. > :06:54.to have been, euphemisms or not, some real unpleasantness in the
:06:54. > :06:59.chamber and indeed in the atmosphere between Labour and the
:06:59. > :07:04.SNP, and we can't get away from this. I think there has been to
:07:04. > :07:07.some extent some rolling back. You played some clips from First
:07:07. > :07:11.Minister's Questions today, but there was a period when it was much
:07:11. > :07:16.worse. That passes for humour these days in the Scottish Parliament,
:07:16. > :07:20.what went on today. Why do you think, then, even if it is better
:07:20. > :07:26.than it was three weeks ago, why is it worse than it was a year ago?
:07:26. > :07:30.am not sure. If you work for the SNP or Labour, you were like a
:07:30. > :07:34.football manager, and you don't see your own team committing fouls.
:07:34. > :07:40.From my own point of view, I think some of the language used about
:07:40. > :07:44.Alex Salmond and the SNP is extreme. The Labour Party put out a press
:07:44. > :07:48.release saying that Alex Salmond lies instinctively. That is an
:07:48. > :07:51.astonishing thing today, almost like he is genetically pre-
:07:51. > :07:59.programmed to do it. When you get to that level, things have got out
:07:59. > :08:05.of hand. Although that probably passes for humour, most of the
:08:05. > :08:09.population would look at that today, and some of the jokes and think,
:08:09. > :08:12.what on earth is going on? They would be completely bemused. And
:08:12. > :08:21.they think that is the danger. you think things are getting worse,
:08:21. > :08:27.Simon Pia? The ante is up as we get closer to the final straight on the
:08:27. > :08:33.referendum. You go on about Alex Salmond, but what he did was fairly
:08:33. > :08:41.serious. I think Holyrood was a bit softer at times, not as rigorous as
:08:41. > :08:46.Westminster all other parliaments. He did mislead the public about
:08:46. > :08:50.having legal advice. It is one thing to say that someone has
:08:50. > :08:58.misled Parliament, but it is quite another thing to characterise
:08:58. > :09:02.someone as an instinctive liar. Remember, Alex Salmond is one of
:09:02. > :09:07.the biggest bruisers in politics, and I think for the SNP as well,
:09:07. > :09:11.they have been good with their attack politics on Labour over the
:09:11. > :09:18.last decade, so I don't think we should be too thin-skinned about it
:09:18. > :09:24.now. The tide has turned a little, and politics is a rough old trade.
:09:24. > :09:27.The SNP have and seriously confronted the issues, as has been
:09:27. > :09:34.exposed, they didn't seek advice over the EU, the currency issue,
:09:34. > :09:40.all of these things coming up, and they just don't like it. Their
:09:40. > :09:44.opposition's job is to hold them to account. But I'm just curious. Do
:09:44. > :09:50.you think there is a particular something between the SNP and
:09:51. > :09:57.Labour? It is almost like each side feels that as a matter of principle,
:09:57. > :10:02.the other side is wrong. I would be interested if you compared, for
:10:02. > :10:06.example, Tory and Labour opposition over George Osborne's austerity
:10:06. > :10:16.programme, it doesn't seem to engender the same level of
:10:16. > :10:22.
:10:22. > :10:27.This is a 25 year tribal warfare we are speaking about. The big thing
:10:27. > :10:34.for the SNP was the eating of that Labour vote of Scotland, and they
:10:34. > :10:44.have done it successfully. Nadel will naturally react. But they have
:10:44. > :10:52.
:10:52. > :11:00.staged a guerrilla war against Labour. Labour are indebted to it
:11:00. > :11:05.is a matter of principle. Labour as the bigger party betrayed
:11:06. > :11:15.Scotland? And the SNP are embittered are charlatans because
:11:15. > :11:22.they are nationalists? It is quite interesting. Yesterday, Ed Miliband
:11:22. > :11:26.said to David Cameron that nothing is believed, but when that is said
:11:26. > :11:30.inquiry rude, it is different. I could get involved with side --
:11:30. > :11:35.Simon but I don't think that has much a point to it. In an
:11:35. > :11:44.independent Scotland, the they would be happy to see Labour in
:11:44. > :11:49.power. They might welcome that about what people think. That is
:11:49. > :11:55.the difference between the two parties. The SNP would love to see
:11:55. > :12:01.the Labour party flourish, but the Labour Party is oppressive against
:12:01. > :12:04.the SNP. And Simon Wright to speak this, but there is clearly an
:12:04. > :12:08.opportunity in the Independent's campaign to have a go at the SNP.
:12:08. > :12:18.That clearly is motivating a large part of what is going on at the
:12:18. > :12:22.
:12:22. > :12:30.moment. What about modern a drummer -- Margo MacDonald's.? I would say
:12:30. > :12:36.Joe and Lamont has raised a good point. How do we pay for our
:12:36. > :12:41.services? We are consumed by the independence debate. It is a
:12:41. > :12:47.passionate debate. There is more passion on the nationalist side,
:12:47. > :12:53.because if you are - rest, you have more drive. Nicholas Sturgeon tried
:12:53. > :13:03.to get the totalitarian versus the exodus -- axis centralism. That is
:13:03. > :13:03.
:13:03. > :13:08.the weakness. Other naturalists -- In the spirit of Christmas, when
:13:08. > :13:13.the next question is counter- intuitive. Each of you can say why
:13:13. > :13:18.the other lot has done better than you in some respects this year.
:13:18. > :13:21.Where do you think the SNP have done better than Labour this year?
:13:21. > :13:26.A I think Nicola Sturgeon has performed very well this year.
:13:26. > :13:28.They've got off to a good start at the Edinburgh agreement, but I
:13:28. > :13:35.think Nicola Sturgeon has distinguished herself as the next
:13:35. > :13:44.leader. I have said before but the yes campaign would be a in a better
:13:44. > :13:50.position with Nicola leading-edge. You have totally thrown any! He was
:13:50. > :13:57.generous! Be anything you should say is that they may have made the
:13:57. > :14:04.SNP's job a little easier. I could make something up, but that would
:14:04. > :14:11.not be right, would it? I think that shows the difference between
:14:11. > :14:15.us extra we can be magnanimous! would never dream of scoring
:14:15. > :14:18.knockabout points either! Thank you very much indeed. Well, the 100
:14:18. > :14:24.most popular names for baby boys and girls born in Scotland this
:14:24. > :14:27.year were released today. 298 boys were called Alexander. We couldn't
:14:28. > :14:30.find any wee girls named Johann - with an H. But why do names become
:14:31. > :14:34.popular and then fall out of favour? Believe it or not, some
:14:34. > :14:43.research suggests that the names we give our kids is linked to the
:14:43. > :14:49.state of the financial markets. Around 60,000 babies were born in
:14:49. > :14:59.Scotland this year. Everyone unique. The most popular names have hardly
:14:59. > :15:16.
:15:16. > :15:21.In fact, there were almost 7,400 different first names. Amongst the
:15:21. > :15:29.biggest movers were Amelia and Tyler. Riley has come straight in
:15:29. > :15:35.at No. 3. We have seen the Amelia, the top name in England, up 20
:15:35. > :15:40.places to No. 9. What we don't know yet is how many babies were given
:15:40. > :15:50.yet is how many babies were given really unusual names. Names that
:15:50. > :15:52.
:15:53. > :16:02.Trudy stand out for the crowd. In 2011, there were quite a few. Yes,
:16:03. > :16:15.
:16:15. > :16:19.The names people give their children to reflect their values,
:16:19. > :16:24.and the expectations frock their child. If you have rather
:16:24. > :16:29.traditional values, York son might become a lawyer, and your daughter
:16:29. > :16:39.might become a nurse, you are more likely to give your children
:16:39. > :16:39.
:16:39. > :16:44.Here's a thought. There is an idea going round that more unusual names
:16:44. > :16:51.might be more popular in times of might be more popular in times of
:16:51. > :16:55.plenty. Take a look at this graph. The white line shows how the
:16:55. > :17:01.American stock market performs. The pink and blue lines show the number
:17:01. > :17:05.of babies with unusual names. The of babies with unusual names. The
:17:05. > :17:15.similarity may be no distance. saw a really caught relationship.
:17:15. > :17:17.
:17:17. > :17:26.Do parents choose more unusual Shows an evolutionary survival
:17:26. > :17:30.tactic. The tactic is to blend in never heard in times of fear.
:17:30. > :17:35.everyone seems to quite make that leap. Deciding what to call your
:17:35. > :17:40.baby is one of the biggest decisions any parent will ever take,
:17:40. > :17:45.and an unusual name is certainly a risk. Get it badly wrong and it
:17:46. > :17:55.could embarrass your child went there are older, or worse, lead to
:17:56. > :18:01.
:18:01. > :18:07.The writer Katie Grant joins us now. We have barely stopped laughing
:18:07. > :18:14.after that American academic! Here are three lines that look vaguely
:18:14. > :18:21.similar! What parent, when they having a child, I wonder if it is a
:18:21. > :18:28.bowl or a bear market? There was some schlock evolutionary science
:18:28. > :18:33.in there! When you choose the name of your child, you do not think
:18:33. > :18:37.about anything apart from what you actually like, but what I do think
:18:37. > :18:47.is up some of these unusual, party games, you do not think about their
:18:47. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :19:01.career, but what would it sound in three old people's home? To mind
:19:01. > :19:03.
:19:03. > :19:13.you saying your children's mints? Clemens time and Cosmo! -- Clement
:19:13. > :19:23.sign! It is not quite John, Jack or Mary. One is named after a 12
:19:23. > :19:23.
:19:23. > :19:30.century saint. There is a church in Oxford put one of my relatives is
:19:30. > :19:39.named after. I have a -- I have an uncle called Peregrine. That does
:19:39. > :19:49.not just mean names like John and Susan, Cosmo is quite the usual
:19:49. > :19:59.named. It depends on who you are. My name was unusual for the names
:19:59. > :20:05.in London. It does depend on your family background. But I suppose,
:20:05. > :20:15.unwanted call my son Valentine, but my husband said he would his boss
:20:15. > :20:24.
:20:24. > :20:33.Demi! What about the less bonkers.? -- point? What about Korea's? You
:20:33. > :20:39.probably get advocates about -- who have unusual names. It tells you
:20:39. > :20:43.something about the parent's aspirations. I don't he tells you
:20:43. > :20:47.about the parents' aspirations. It tells you something about the
:20:47. > :20:51.parents' idea of romance. Adding he can give your children peculiar
:20:51. > :20:56.names, because it has a lovely thing to do. You do not think about
:20:56. > :21:02.teasing or anything like that. The charge can always change its name.
:21:02. > :21:12.I think we were leader there! A quick look at the front pages.
:21:12. > :21:19.
:21:19. > :21:28.First Withey Scotsman. It leads on the pre-trial of this man. On the
:21:28. > :21:34.right, it says about creative Scotland and the second boss
:21:34. > :21:44.quitting. The Guardian, Ministry pays out millions to torture
:21:44. > :21:46.