SNP names its price
Give us devo max and we’ll put you in power in Westminster, party tells Labour as it undermines the key Smith Commission
NEW SNP deputy leader Stewart Hosie yesterday claimed the party would demand maximum devolution for propping up a Labour government at Westminster. The move comes despite experts warning the settlement known as devo max would have left Scotland up to £5billion worse off this year.
Nationalists’ growing lists of demands have led Labour to question whether they are attempting to undermine the Smith Commission, which is considering how to deliver extra powers to Holyrood.
Alex Salmond has claimed the SNP would want powers to run its own elections and referendums in any Westminster deal, while Nicola Sturgeon warned Labour would have to ‘think again’ about renewing Trident on the Clyde.
Mr Hosie’s wife Shona Robison, the Public Health and Sports Minister, has demanded powers over equalities legisla-
‘We’ve got to deliver big next year’
tion, while MSP Christina McKelvie, whose husband Keith Brown lost in the deputy leadership race, wants Scotland to be able to opt out of TTIP – the transatlantic trade agreement being negotiated by the EU and US.
Despite losing the independence referendum, the SNP has seen its membership more than treble to 85,000 and has enjoyed a big lead in all General Election polls north of the Border.
With Labour and the Tories neck and neck across the UK, Miss Sturgeon has said she is hopeful of holding the balance of power in Westminster.
If so, the Nationalists are determined to drive a hard bargain in return for supporting a minority Labour government – they have ruled out working with the Tories.
Westminster MP Mr Hosie told the BBC’s Sunday Politics Scotland: ‘There’s a single priority, a single focus, on next year to make sure everything we need to do it – candidate selection, manifesto – everything is in place. We’ve a fantastic starting point with the polls and new members flooding in. We’ve got to deliver big next year.’
He denied he was worried about being overshadowed as deputy leader by Angus Robertson, SNP leader at Westminster, and Alex Salmond, who is expected to stand for Westminster in the General Election.
Mr Hosie said: ‘I think it’s a good thing that the SNP can get big beasts in a number of parliaments.
‘I hope Angus is going to continue to do that job and I would love to see Alex Salmond r eturn to Westminster.’
He added: ‘We recognise we lost the referendum, we don’t deny that for a single second. We also recognise the Smith Commission will not lead to independence.
‘The Scottish Government has put forward a package, if a minority Labour government needs our support, it will come at a price. That is the tools and levers that the Scottish Government needs to improve the lives of the Scottish people – maximum powers.’
The SNP, which is represented by MSPs John Swinney and Linda
‘Betrayal of Scots and the commission’
Fabiani at the Smith Commission, has called for devo max, which Miss Sturgeon describes as everything except foreign affairs and defence. However, t he i ndependent think tank Fiscal Affairs Scotland warned that would have left the country with a black hole of up to £5billion this year due to falling oil prices – and this was before they dropped even lower, to below $80 a barrel.
Labour insiders say they would not agree to devo max because it would mean going against the settled will of Scots after 55 per cent of voters backed pooling and sharing resources within the UK, and it would leave Scotland financially worse off.
However, they do not believe the SNP i s serious in i ts request. Instead, they suspect Nationalists are putting forward an impossible list of demands to ensure the Smith Commission falls short.
Labour insiders believe Miss Sturgeon will then use that to push the case for another vote on separa- tion, and plunge Scotland into a divisive Neverendum.
Anas Sarwar MP, interim Scots Labour leader, said: ‘The SNP are part of the Smith Commission but already they are sending their outriders to predict its failure.
‘This is not only a betrayal of the Smith Commission process but a betrayal of all those Scots who voted f or a stronger Scottish parliament as part of the UK.’
Before losing, the SNP said the referendum was a once in a generation event – with Miss Sturgeon saying that meant 15 years at least. However, she has refused to rule out putting another vote in her 2016 manifesto.