Seconds out, Round Two: Battle lines are over a nation’s future drawn up (yet again)
Westminster plans big transfer of powers, but Sturgeon says it’s still not enough
A BITTER new battle for Scotland’s future has begun as the governments north and south of the Border clash over a historic handover of powers.
On Thursday, the UK Government is set to unveil a draft Bill transferring an unprecedented package of tax and spending powers to Holyrood, honouring a pledge made by pro-Union parties ahead of last year’s independence referendum.
In a deliberate slap-down to the SNP, the Scottish Secretary told The Mail on Sunday that the plans represent ‘the completion of Scotland’s devolution process’ and there is no possibility of any further powers being transferred.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has signalled it is preparing to go on the offensive, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, writing in this newspaper, condemning a ‘missed opportunity’ and accusing Westminster of duping the Scottish people.
The measures contained in the draft Bill, designed to represent a mutually agreeable compromise after the bitter referendum battle, will transform Holyrood into one of the world’s most powerful devolved parliaments. MSPs will take control of most taxes, elements of the benefits system and key policy areas such as elections and equality. In a series of developments:
Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said the proposals amounted to Home Rule within the UK and marked ‘the completion of Scotland’s devolution process’.
Ms Sturgeon hit back, saying the new powers ‘don’t go nearly far enough’.
A Scottish Mail on Sunday poll shows a majority of Scots want even more powers than proposed to be transferred to Holyrood.
David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, who all signed ‘the vow’ on further devolution days before the referendum, are all expected to publicly back the draft Bill.
Mr Carmichael, who will unveil the Bill in the Commons, said: ‘For people to see for the first time what this will look like as a law, albeit in draft, is quite a moment. Every step of the way the Nationalists and Yes campaigners said we wouldn’t do this. But every step of the way,
we’ve done it. This has got to be the point they accept the result of the referendum and move on. We made a vow to deliver and we are delivering according to that vow.’
The Lib Dem MP added: ‘In my view this is the completion of Scotland’s devolution process. This is Home Rule, which is what my party has always supported.’
The draft Bill is set to be published three days ahead of the Burns Night deadline set by former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown in the run-up to the referendum.
It is expected to deliver every recommendation made by the cross-party Smith Commission on devolution.
Mr Carmichael wants the three main pro-Union parties to come together to back the Bill, which would hand Holyrood responsibility for around £10 billion of income tax raised in Scotland and more than £2.5 billion of welfare spending.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: ‘Be in no doubt, this is the dream of Home Rule made real – and made real whilst retaining the benefits of being a full part of our United Kingdom.
‘This new constitutional settlement is a big deal. It is one of the most exciting developments in our country’s long and proud history.’
But writing in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday, Miss Sturgeon says the Smith Commission’s proposals ‘don’t go nearly far enough’. And she calls for many of the powers, including control over air travel taxation, to be transferred immedi- ately rather than waiting for legislation which will not be passed until after May’s General Election.
She writes: ‘In the final week of the referendum campaign, Gordon Brown declared that “the vow” – a last-minute deal agreed by the three main Westminster party leaders – amounted to “nothing less than a modern form of Scottish Home Rule”.’ But the UK Government will still control around 70 per cent of tax-raising powers and 85 per cent of welfare spending, and: ‘That isn’t Home Rule, or anything like it.’
Former First Minister Alex Salmond has said that Home Rule, which he described as every power apart from defence and foreign affairs, was now the SNP’s goal.
Today’s Survation poll for the Mail on Sunday reveals that 40 per cent of Scots agree that Scotland should be given every power except defence and foreign affairs, while 35 per cent disagree.
But only 13 per cent of those who voted No in the referendum supported Mr Salmond’s call for Home Rule, compared with 78 per cent of Yes voters.
A source close to David Cameron said: ‘When Scotland voted No, it did not just vote for more powers within devolution, it voted for the safety and security of being part of the UK. This week, we will not just deliver commitments for more devolution, we will secure our shared future.
‘Alex Salmond’s version of Home Rule would land Scotland with a multi-billion-pound black hole.’