Let’s admit it, PM is right on devolution
WHY ALL the fuss? Devolution has been a disaster, and not just north of the border in Scotland as Boris Johnson supposedly claimed. We can come to the perils it has inflicted there in good time, but we’ll embark on a quick trip round the rest of the UK first to underscore why he is bang on – at least on this occasion!
Firstly, this fake furore has been caused by a discussion between the Prime Minister and a group of Northern Conservative MPS in which he is reported to have said devolution had been a “disaster north of the border”, adding it was “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake” during his time in power. While many of us might point towards that four letter word Iraq as a far graver error of judgement, this argument from the PM has a lot of merit.
All three governments have failed across the UK, with the Northern Irish Assembly perhaps being the most stark example. Hailed as one of the great achievements of the Good Friday Agreement, it was riven with disputes from the start which, given the decades of troubles in the area, is hardly surprising. However, the fact it was suspended after another row over alleged gross mis-spending for three years and yet the country carried on with civil servants taking charge, tells you everything you need to know. The politicians didn’t turn up for work, and people didn’t notice. To Wales, where their local government seems to be driven as much by socialist dogma as it might be by decisions that would benefit its citizens. Its handling of the Welsh NHS has been so catastrophic it has been seized on by Conservative opponents for years as how not to run a health service. Whichever party is right, it has resulted in a terrible decline in their level of care for cancer patients and many Welsh people crossing into England to get care that is either delayed or even not available at home.
Now to Scotland where this utterly confected row has really taken hold. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, right, said it would be “worth bookmarking these PM comments for the next time Tories say they’re not a threat to the powers of the Scottish Parliament”. The SNP’S dreary Westminster leader Ian Blackford described the PM’S views as a “wrecking ball”. Instead of sniping, perhaps these two would like to address how they’ve allowed Scotland to slide down so many league tables of attainment in the 13 years they’ve been in power.
The education system there was once the envy of Europe and proportionately used to send more school leavers to university than England. That’s since been eclipsed and is highlighted by a study two years ago showing 20 per cent of school leavers in the most deprived parts of England go to university, while in Scotland it’s 13 per cent. Scots were once among the nation’s leading engineers, military commanders, physicians and inventors. Perhaps this supposedly sensational SNP government would also like to explain how those in poverty have also been left so far behind. Life expectancy for men in the East End of Glasgow is 64.4 years which is lower than Pakistan, Mongolia and Djibouti and markedly below the corresponding figure of 79.9 years in England and Wales. Amazingly, despite this tale of glaring incompetence the SNP’S desire for independence continues to fare well in polls and that is precisely the point the PM, admittedly clumsily, was trying to make. While being the Prime Minister who presided over the dismantling of the United Kingdom would be the ultimate disgrace, and would dog his career and legacy, it is ironic it would be Tony Blair who would have been the actual architect of its demise but would be seen to get away with it. Then again, ever heard that before?