LET’S WORK TOGETHER
SNP poll obsession holds us back
THE SNP’s decade in power has taught us a simple lesson. Voters now know they will use the powers of the Scottish parliament with one purpose in mind: to further their cause of independence. Difficult decisions on education and health have been shirked as the need for reform has been trumped by the SNP’s need not to rock the boat.
Rather than using their powers to best effect, they have sought to blame Westminster for all of Scotland’s ills.
That dismal blame game needs to end – and I’m hopeful it will.
Holyrood’s new powers will make it impossible for future Scottish governments to blame others for their own failings, at least with any credibility.
People will expect Nicola Sturgeon to work with Westminster, to make an ally and not manufacture a scapegoat.
This election provides an important opportunity to make that point.
Voters have a chance to send a clear message: the SNP’s obsession with independence is costing Scotland dear. It is holding us back.
A vote for the Scottish Conservatives is not only about rejecting an unwanted and unwarranted second independence referendum.
It is also about saying, make Holyrood work. Get a grip of our failing education system. Get a grip of our underperforming NHS. Get on with the day job.
It is about resetting the relationship between Scotland’s two governments to get things done. In Scotland we have been to the polls seven times in the past three years, but after this election it is unlikely we will vote again before the end of the decade.
That gives us a real opportunity to make real progress. It will be wasted if, on June 9, Nicola Sturgeon returns to her tunnel-vision obsession with independence, rather than focusing on the opportunities of the future that Brexit will bring.
This election comes at a critical time for Scotland. We are preparing to leave the EU just as Holyrood takes on sweeping new powers devolved under the 2016 Scotland Act.
The Scottish parliament turns 18 this year. It is coming of age. New tax and welfare powers herald a new era for devolution – and Holyrood will develop further as we leave the EU and decision-making is brought home from Brussels.
But to work, this new era demands a new relationship between Scotland’s two governments. A much more constructive relationship.
If we are to maximise the opportunities presented by greater devolution and life outside the EU, the UK and the Scottish governments will have to work together more closely than ever before.
The reason is simple. As more powers are devolved, responsibility for growing the economy is increasingly shared between Scotland’s two governments.
OUR new Industrial Strategy is a case in point. It is designed to support our key industries, create jobs and prepare our economy for the challenges that lie ahead. The Industrial Strategy will align policies on tax, trade, infrastructure, skills, training and research and development in order to support businesses.
In Scotland, the gains could be considerable.
Among the key sectors we expect to drive the UK economy in the 21st Century are financial services, life sciences, oil and gas and the creative industries – at all of which Scotland excels.
However, under devolution, the support they need must come from both Scotland’s governments as some of the policy levers lie at Holyrood, others at Westminster.
Success will depend on two governments pulling together.
That is why the Prime Minister has said we can no longer simply ‘devolve and forget’. Scotland’s success matters for the whole of the UK, just as the UK’s success matters for Scotland.
Scotland’s two governments must pull together, too, as we face the most complex negotiations in our peacetime history.
We have already seen the 27 EU member states will speak with one voice, as one disciplined group. In the UK we must also come together to secure the best deal for Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Going forward, the two governments will need to work together to make the most of the opportunities Brexit will bring. We expect there to be an increase in the decision-making power of the Scottish parliament as powers are returned from Brussels.
It will be essential to put UK wide frameworks in place in some areas, to protect the integrity of our own domestic market – by far the most important market for Scottish businesses.
The gains from working together could be considerable. Equally, the price of failure would be very high. The warning signs are already there.
Scotland’s economy is lagging behind the rest of the UK. We are teetering on the brink of recession and I urge the SNP to chart a different course. It could use its control over personal and business taxes to attract workers and firms. Instead it has made Scotland the most highly taxed part of the UK.
Meanwhile the threat of a second independence referendum creates a climate of uncertainty that erodes confidence and stifles investment.
Under the SNP, Scotland is struggling and we simply cannot afford to miss out as new opportunities present themselves.
WHEN we work together, we can see the results. The UK and Scottish governments have collaborated successfully on City Deals, investing equally in transformative programmes across Scotland, and before the election campaign began I had encouraging discussions with Keith Brown, the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Minister, on our industrial strategy.
The SNP’s approach to Brexit has not been helpful. Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a separate Scottish deal was a red herring when she proposed it, a step in her dance towards demanding a second independence referendum.
It would damage growth and threaten jobs, and pursuing it after the election risks distracting from our negotiations and damaging our chances.
Scotland’s two governments want the same outcomes as we leave the EU but we are prevented from presenting a united front by Nicola Sturgeon’s determination to use Brexit to fuel demands for independence.
Her party’s obsession with separation is the biggest obstacle to a new era of both governments working together for the good of everyone. That needs to change.
A climate of uncertainty that erodes confidence