Malcolm ChisholmThere are some who have touted Malcolm Chisholm as a possible Labour leader. I personally wasn’t convinced – the party’s remaining senior MSPs still hold a number of sins against him, including defending the Megrahi decision and voting for minimum pricing – but his reputation as a serial resigner from things won’t be helped by his decision today to leave the Labour front bench less than two weeks after taking the education brief. It doesn’t help Labour look like a steady ship either.

I like Malcolm, and I was personally very pleased he won his seat earlier in the month, but without any notable issue of principle this will come over as flakey to say the least. In December 1997 he was first out from the Blair Government over cuts to child benefit, in 2006 it was Trident, then in 2008 he left again – without an issue that time either.

Surely the next LOLITSP, whoever he or she is, won’t offer him another chance to resign.

UPDATE (from Kate).

It would appear that Malcolm Chisholm resigned his shadow Cabinet portfolio because he wanted to be Labour’s nominee for Convenorship of the health committee.  The Labour group (leadership?) wouldn’t wear it and so he kicked his baw away and walked off the pitch.  No doubt throwing a contemptuous look at his bench in the process.  Though he’s not quite thrown his jersey at their feet in disgust – yet.

There’s no denying it’s an odd one.  Yes, he does look increasingly like a serial resigner.  And as some have suggested, we do appear to have two independent MSPs by default.  Nowt wrong with that frankly.

But curiously, if he wanted a go at a big convenorship, why accept a shadow portfolio in the first place?  Or maybe at the time, there was no indication that Labour would get health, an area of great interest to Chisholm, and a seat on Labour’s front-bench seemed like a perfectly acceptable second best option.

James is right to point the finger at Labour too, still demonstrating a complete lack of strategic thinking.  Malcolm Chisholm was always going to be a better bet for a convenorship in terms of his skills, knowledge and expertise, than a ministerial brief which he had not engaged in before.  Whereas many were surprised to see Ken Macintosh kicked out into the long grass of culture – though his previous employment history here made an obvious two-dimensional match.  No, Labour still clearly has a lot of work to do to get its act together.  Surely, if it was going to bid for the health committee, it should have borne Chisholm in mind for the post?

We probably have witnessed the end of Chisholm’s hopes for a starring role in Holyrood in the next five years.  His group is highly unlikely to support his wish to be the next health committee convenor – unless it is *in* on the resignation and is prepared to stomach more chatter about their inability to be effectual at any level (though of course it will be tomorrow’s chip papers).  Realistically, it is probably his own decision and anonymity on the backbenches beckons for the next five years.

Chisholm’s only hope is that the SNP are happy to indulge in a little mischief-making and nominate and vote for him as convenor.  It would annoy Labour no end and would ensure such an important committee had a big name convenor.  And not one who would automatically play the partisan card on every issue.  In fact, they might find a convenor supporting many of their policies and bills, if previous performance can be relied upon.  Moreover, it would answer charges, currently piling up, of the First Minister’s talk of a consensual approach being little more than hot air.

If the SNP has any sense, a little magnanimity might go a long way on this occasion.