THIS week will see a new coalition government at Holyrood. A lopsided coalition, but a historic one nonetheless. 

Whether the Scottish Green Party will break the habit of a lifetime and actually challenge the SNP on any significant issues remains to be seen, but it is to be welcomed that one-party dominance of the Scottish Parliament has been diluted. After all, that was one aspect of what it was set up to achieve. 

The original vision of a reconstituted Scottish Parliament was a purposeful one and though there may have been cynical reasons for and against on both sides, the eventual consensus arrived at was a productive step forward. 

Yet with that new responsibility came a greater accountability to the people. That is why I have been out knocking doors and speaking to constituents from the very first week I was elected. There will be no “we only hear from you during elections” on my watch. 

On my travels the most common question I am asked, after “why are you at my door?” is a simple one — what does the Scottish Parliament actually do? 

I will be honest, in the first months of my time as an MSP I have found myself asking the same question.  

In short, the answer is not enough.

It is completely understandable that people who elect us find themselves wondering what politicians get up to. 

Between March 2016 and March 2017 not a single piece of legislation was passed at Holyrood. 

An entire year of business without result. That is completely unacceptable and if it were Westminster there would rightly be uproar. 

Despite this the Scottish government escapes serious scrutiny because where power lies within the different levels of governance is undoubtedly confusing. 

The only way to rectify that and show people what truly can be achieved is to actually get things done. 

Unfortunately, under the stewardship of the SNP the emphasis is much more on saying rather than doing. 

If you want to know what your MSP does, from my experience so far I can confidently say that there is a lot of consultation, secondary consultation, and endless reports — much of it leading to a destination that is not exactly obvious. 

That is not to say this is what MSPs want — it is simply the form of government the SNP has adopted to maintain the perception of activity without the responsibility of action. 

I suppose it is a better model of government than decisively enacting cruelty and greed without any reference to the Parliament or the public, as we see the Tories embody at Westminster, but it is still nowhere near good enough.

To my mind this is all part of a strategy to hide behind Scotland’s perceived lack of powers. 

At the same time as claiming the Scottish government can do little to resolve a certain problem, that same government deliberately does less than it could in order to amplify its grievance. 

This is not a new political trend, we have seen Westminster governments in the past use their relationship with the EU in the very same way. 

Naturally there is an inevitability about this evasion. When the governing party is committed to independence, a party without any likely threat to its power over the last decade, then it is obvious that party will at no point want to show the Scottish Parliament to be a very effective institution capable of radical change. 

If it did so, why would we need independence? On the other hand the Tories fear that a productive and effective Scottish Parliament might too readily show up how ineffective and incompetent they are at a UK level. As such, we reach a stalemate where little moves forward. 

Between these two cynical positions lies my own party, Scottish Labour, which played the decisive role in securing devolution in the first place and yet has suffered the greatest electoral consequences of it.

I am reminded of Bevan’s lesson that the only reason you should pursue power is to give it away. 

Sadly, that does not always lead to success at the polls. Despite this, the essence of that lesson would benefit those currently in power in London and Edinburgh. 

If you do not wish to use your time in office to make decisions and enact policy then let people at the level where those decisions have the most importance make them. 

For all the Tories’ cynicism and greed at a UK level they are not in control in Scotland and I somewhat doubt they would pay any attention to an old socialist like me anyway. 

As such, my message to the SNP and Greens during this undoubtedly important week is simple. 

You cannot stand up for Scotland by lying down. 

Carol Mochan is MSP for South Scotland.