The Herald on Sunday

My vision of Scotland’s future in the union

- BY RUTH DAVIDSON

HOLYROOD OPPOSITION LEADER AND LEADER OF THE SCOTTISH CONSERVATI­VE PARTY

ANNIVERSAR­IES always provide an opportunit­y to stop and reflect. To ask how far we have come, and to examine how much is still the same. Today’s second anniversar­y of the independen­ce referendum is no different.

In some respects, we have come a long way already since the votes were counted that September night in 2014. Immediatel­y afterwards, five parties – representi­ng both Yes and No – came together to agree a new package of powers for the Scottish Parliament. It is a remarkable feat – and a credit to all sides – that, in less than two years, a new Scotland Act has been passed, handing new tax and welfare powers to Holyrood, just as people were promised.

But in others, we aren’t much further on at all. Tommy Sheridan is back behind his megaphone. Alex Salmond is back touring the TV studios. And today we will hear the calls for a re-run of a vote we held just two years ago. At least one thing does feel a long time ago: the SNP’s pledge that the vote be “once in a generation”.

The result is that, far from ending the debate on Scotland’s constituti­onal future, the uncertaint­y that hung over Scotland on September 18, 2014, is still withustoda­y. Myresponse­tothisis twofold. Firstly, I will continue to oppose any plan to take us to a second referendum. I do not believe the result in the EU referendum is the “trigger” that the SNP claims it to be. I agree with Jim Sillars’ that “the SNP Government did not win a majority, nor has it a mandate” for a second referendum. That is why I and my Scottish Conservati­ve MSPs will vote against any referendum bill which Nicola Sturgeon puts before us.

But, secondly, over the medium to longer time frame, I also want to set out a clear picture – for both Yes voters and No voters – of what the Union can be for Scotland.

Just as I argued in 2014, I have never seen the Union as an imposition on Scotland. I see it as our joint creation; something we made, along with our friends and neighbours across the rest of the UK. We built the Union, we have ownership of it and the Union exists because it has suited our shared interests. As Scottish and British citizens, we have grown together and prospered together.

And far from falling apart, I see that historic case for the Union developing in new ways over the coming decades. It can be a Union where political power is devolved and shared, not wielded from on high. In just a few weeks’ time, those new Scotland Act powers will come on stream, with the Scottish Parliament deciding on people’s income tax rates – something my party was first in proposing prior to the referendum. New powers to design welfare provision will follow. Nobody thought it possible; now it is a reality.

It can be a Union which provides us with the economic security we need in uncertain times. By railing against the cost of Brexit in recent weeks, Nicola Sturgeon is only making my point for me: that ending Unions comes with a potential price tag. I believe the case for ever closer economic Union, within the UK, will only grow stronger in the coming years, and that it will continue to be the bedrock of our security.

And it can be a Union which reflects our own circumstan­ces as citizens. Over these last seventeen years, since the birth of the Scottish Parliament, devolution has made the Union a more flexible, looser-fitting, relaxed entity than it once was. In short, the Union now more accurately reflects the reality of our lives. This more flexible Union will continue to evolve in other parts of the UK too, as more power is shifted out of London to the regions of England. And I believe it means we will be able to have – to coin an old phrase – the best of both worlds: a Union where we all walk the same journey as a country, while taking the paths that suit us best. I recognise that this won’t be enough for everybody – and I am certain many readers of this newspaper are included in that! But I believe that this is the state that fits us best.

Clearly, this case is still going to be contested over the coming years. The SNP has decided that the case for independen­ce will still be promoted despite the 2014 result. People may wish that were not the case, but it is clear that the Union will be stress-tested once more.

And I am more confident now than ever – even than in 2014 – that it will prove itself up to the task. Not because of the old arguments of identity, flag and country – though they will still resonate with many – but because I believe the Union can respond to the ambitions and ideals of people here, including those who currently see independen­ce as the only way forward.

Some SNP figures have somewhat crassly suggested that as the older generation dies out so support for the Union will wither. This, I suggest, ignores the fact that the Union isn’t a museum piece; it is a modern partnershi­p designed to make our lives work better.

And that, in short, is what this debate will be decided by. All of us in the constituti­onal debate want the same thing – we want what is good for Scotland. My case will continue to be that it is the Union which we have shared in and designed that does that best.

So – I say no to a second referendum on independen­ce. I don’t want to go back to the divisive campaign we finished two years ago today. Rather, I want us to go forward together, building on the history we have written together, to create a new Union that suits us all.

I have never seen the Union as an imposition on Scotland. I see it as our joint creation; something we made, with our friends and neighbours across the rest of the UK. We built the Union, we have ownership of it and it exists because it has suited our shared interests

 ??  ?? Scottish Conservati­ve and Holyrood opposition leader Ruth Davidson hits the General Election trail earlier this year
Scottish Conservati­ve and Holyrood opposition leader Ruth Davidson hits the General Election trail earlier this year

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