Ian McKee: Debates don't always go as expected in our nifty new democracy

LAST month, I briefly mentioned a Conservative-sponsored debate in which the motion welcomed the contribution of the independent sector to the success of a treatment centre set up at Stracathro Hospital in Angus and urged the government to give us more of the same.

I return to that subject, not particularly because of its importance in the greater scheme of things but because the debate illustrates well how minority government has changed the whole character of parliamentary proceedings.

The Conservatives na...