The dispute over the Smith Commission report turns on whether additional powers should be decided by negotiations between political parties or the views of the majority of the people of Scotland.
The dispute over the Smith Commission report turns on whether additional powers should be decided by negotiations between political parties or the views of the majority of the people of Scotland.
The ??Vow?? didn??t refer to Home Rule, devo max or federalism but Gordon Brown did, in widely reported comments in the last few weeks of the referendum. Opinion polls show majorities for devolving far more powers than Smith recommends.
A recent ICM poll found 63 per cent want all welfare powers and taxes devolved to the Scottish Parliament. This would have to exclude Scotland??s share of defence and foreign policy funding, but would go far beyond Smith??s recommendations of only devolving disability and carers?? benefits and the bedroom tax . Similarly Smith only recommends devolving income tax, air passenger duty, the Aggregates levy and the first 10 per cent of VAT. The UK Government retains all corporation tax, capital gains tax, national insurance, oil and gas revenues, vehicle excise duty and other revenues raised in Scotland.
One telling line is Paragraph 24, page 13: ??The Scottish Parliament will have no powers over the regulation of political parties (including donations)??.
This indicates a deal in the interest of parties, not voters. The major UK political parties rely heavily on donations from banks, hedge funds, big firms and the super-rich, particularly the Conservative party.
It also ensures no requirement for more internal democracy within all political parties in Scotland. So Labour leader David Miliband can keep imposing his policies on the Scottish branch of his party.
One month was long enough for horse-trading between the main UK parties on what level of devolution they??d tolerate. It wasn??t long enough to receive and read submissions from thousands of members of the public. Nor should we be presented with a take-it-or-leave-it package decided only by parties. Opinion polls and consultations, and/or a second elected constitutional convention could be used to draw up a list of possible additional powers, with a multi-question referendum allowing voters to vote for or against each.
Gordon Brown might want Scottish politics ??reset?? with constitutional issues labelled ??dealt with??, but opinion polls suggest many voters disagree.
Duncan McFarlane,
Beanshields,
Braidwood,
Carluke.
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