Warning over plans to ‘rein in’ Holyrood powers

EVERY conceivable aspect of agriculture and fisheries should be run from Edinburgh after Brexit, and not a single power shared with London, the First Minister’s spokesman has said.

The aide added it was the Government’s position that any sharing of responsibility would be “sub-optimal”, despite some farming and fishing leaders arguing to keep a UK single market and sharing some powers.

Brexit will see large swathes of reserved powers in these areas repatriated from Brussels and the Scottish and UK governments are now fighting over their redistribution.

Nicola Sturgeon this week said Tory MPs saw Brexit as a chance to “rein in” Holyrood, by denying it powers which ought to be repatriated to Edinburgh.

For Westminster to take control over areas currently devolved would be an attack “on the very foundations” of devolution, she said. Fishermen’s leaders have said Ms Sturgeon’s argument and the timing of it were wrong.

At First Minister’s Questions, SNP MSP Maree Todd raised an interview in the Times in which Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson called for a “conversation” about where power should lie.

Ms Davidson said it might be best for the Treasury to fund agricultural subsidies, rather than have them done on a regional basis.

Highlands MSP Maree Todd said the report pointed to “not just a Westminster power grab on devolved matters, such as farming and fisheries, but a cash grab too”.

Asked later if the Government thought all agriculture policies should be run from Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon’s spokesman replied: “Yes.”