Ross draws line in sand over power at Holyrood
THE Scottish parliament should not be handed any further powers, the Scottish Tory leader has said.
Douglas Ross said a ‘line in the sand’ must be drawn on devolution and that Holyrood must ‘get the Government working properly’.
In her first year as Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson promised to oppose the transfer of further powers from Westminster – only to U-turn two years later.
Gordon Brown is currently leading a commission for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer looking at reform of the Union, which is expected to recommend the transfer of further powers away from Westminster.
Speaking on the main stage at the Conservative Party Conference yesterday, Mr Ross said: ‘For me and the Scottish Conservatives, there is a line in the sand.
‘We absolutely want to ensure that Holyrood works to its maxi
‘Get Government working properly
mum, delivers for people and communities across Scotland with the potential it has as one of the most powerful devolved administrations anywhere in the world.
‘But Labour’s plans to add more and more powers is simply the wrong route to take and the Scottish Conservatives are saying let’s use these powers, let’s use the powers we have right now, a line in the sand, no further powers need to be devolved. We just need to get the Government working properly and getting the right priorities.’
He said Labour set up the Scottish parliament and there have been two further tranches of powers transferred from Westminster to Holyrood since then.
He said: ‘That has not I think in any significant way dampened the enthusiasm of people who want to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK.
‘If Labour think the answer to the problems of the Nationalists wanting to divide us all over again is simply devolve more powers then they have got that completely wrong.
‘What we’ve heard from Gordon Brown, the former Labour Prime Minister who has been tasked by Keir Starmer to come up with Labour’s response to the calls from the Nationalists for more division and to separate Scotland is to just devolve more powers.
‘I think that is the wrong approach. What I would like is a Scottish parliament that uses the immense powers it has right now to deliver for people across Scotland.’
At Labour’s conference in Liverpool last week, former First Minister Jack McConnell, now Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, and Jim Murphy, a former Scottish Labour leader, urged the party not to launch a debate about more powers.
Baron McConnell said: ‘We’ve seen an endless debate since 2007 about more powers, which I think is a blind alley.
‘I think the real challenge is, how do you change the way the British state works to reflect the fact that the United Kingdom is a multinational state with different legislative power in different places?’
Mr Murphy, the former East Renfrewshire MP who led Scottish Labour from December 2014 until it lost all but one of its seats at the 2015 election, said: ‘The circular conversation about powers is an attempt to fix a political problem. Further powers are an important part of the political project but they are not an alternative to a political project.
‘Often, when I listen to the Scottish Labour Party talking about powers, this is the one thing they believe in.’
He added: ‘Let’s not pretend that a debate about powers is a route back to power.’
Mr Ross told conference del
‘Completely the wrong priority’
egates: ‘Nicola Sturgeon’s priority and the priority of her ministers and of her government, is to put Scotland through another divisive independence referendum in just the next 12 months. It’s completely the wrong priority at the worst possible time.’
Scottish Labour constitution spokesman Sarah Boyack said ‘The Tories have undermined devolution and been a gift to the SNP. Scotland is being failed by the divisive politics of the Tories and the SNP, but Labour’s plans will deliver a fairer, greener, and stronger Scotland within a renewed and reformed UK.’ n Mr Ross will today unveil a new ‘Rent to Own’ policy in a keynote speech at the conference in Birmingham.
He will also outline a new plan to set up a National College of Scotland to help all adults secure online classes.
He will say: ‘Right across Scotland, so many parts of our country are not being given the chance to succeed. They are being held back by an SNP government whose answer to the challenges of delivering services is to centralise into a one-size-fits all approach.’
Under the Rent to Own scheme, tenants would pay market rent for a new-build property from a landlord in the scheme for five consecutive years before they are allowed to buy it. During their tenancy, 25 per cent of their rent would be paid by the Government to help them save towards a mortgage.
Mr Ross will say: ‘This could be a step change in helping families who are stuck in rented accommodation and unable to afford the extra that they need to save each month to put down a deposit.’
Nationalist MP Alison Thewliss said: ‘Douglas Ross is desperately pitching policy for an election he is never going to win.’