UK Treasury ‘peered down its nose’ at fledgling Scottish Government
0 Andy Kerr says there was ‘zero relationship’ The UK Treasury “peered down its nose” at the Scottish Government during the early years of devolution by failing to offer help when it was requested, a former minister has claimed.
In a scathing assessment of dealing with 11 Downing Street when it was occupied by fellow Labour member Gordon Brown, former Scottish finance secretary Andy Kerr said there was “zero relationship” with ministers in Edinburgh.
Mr Kerr, a cabinet member until 2007, said the then Labour-lib Dem coalition struggled to make its voice heard in Whitehall despite a Labour government being in power in Westminster.
His comments were published in an interview with the Institute for Government (IFG) to mark 20 years of devolution.
Asked if negotiating with the Treasury was a big part of his job as a minister, Mr Kerr said: “No, the relationship was zero. I didn’t feel as though we had any decent relationship with the Treasury. I don’t think they treated us with any respect whatsoever.
“I don’t think I had a meaningful conversation with Gordon Brown about money in all the time I was there. When we were looking for help, we didn’t really get it.”
The IFG spoke to several former ministers across the political spectrum, who offered candid reminiscences of their experience in power.
In a separate interview, Alex Neil claimed Nicola Sturgeon was more “interfering” when it came to cabinet ministers’ portfolios than Alex Salmond.
The veteran SNP MSP said policy making became more centralised within the Scottish Government after Mr Salmond stepped down as First Minister in 2014 following the referendumonindependence.
He added that Ms Sturgeon’s creation of a policy unit headed by civil servants rather than politicians was “a big mistake”.
“With Alex Salmond, I think he let you get on with the job,” he said.
“Nicola interfered much more, and policy making was centralised in her office. Sometimes they weren’t even involving the responsible minister, in my view.”