The nations and regions should be given powers allowing them to negotiate directly with the European Union over parts of the Brexit settlement, Gordon Brown has suggested.
In a speech in London, the former Prime Minister said the United Kingdom appears united in name only and needs wholesale constitutional reform to ease the strains caused by the referendum vote.
Read more: Scottish Government will consider 'actively opposing' Brexit judgment appeal, says Nicola Sturgeon
Scrapping the House of Lords and replacing it with an elected senate to represent different areas in the UK should be considered, he told the Fabian Society.
Mr Brown called for a constitutional convention to be set up that would look at giving Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions control over areas grabbed back from Brussels, such as agriculture and fisheries, when Britain quits the bloc.
Read more: Scottish Government will consider 'actively opposing' Brexit judgment appeal, says Nicola Sturgeo
It should also look at granting the nations and regions power to deal directly with the EU to determine what links they keep with Brussels in areas like research funding for universities and the European Arrest Warrant.
The Brexit vote means further devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland should be examined as well as a system of "co-decision making" between the UK's four nations, the former premier said.
"This would ensure that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could not be forced out of the European Convention on Human Rights against their will," he added.
"We should agree that if England wishes to leave the ECHR, Scotland should have the ability either to veto that decision or to remain part of it. This would involve recognition that some policy areas should be considered neither fully devolved nor fully reserved, but in fact shared between central and devolved government."
Read more: Scottish Government will consider 'actively opposing' Brexit judgment appeal, says Nicola Sturgeo
The nations and regions should be able to sign up to international organisations that tie in with their devolved powers and they also need a new financial settlement to help cover the impact of Brexit, Mr Brown said.
"I want to suggest today that there is now an overwhelming case for a UK-wide people's constitutional convention, mandated with setting a roadmap towards a more federal constitution that empowers all of the nations and regions," he added.
"The convention would focus on the areas of concern to people right across the country - jobs, the economy and standards of living - and then ask what constitutional settlement can best meet their needs and aspirations.
"We need wholesale reform because today the United Kingdom appears united in name only.
"Politically, the strains of Brexit are already showing, as different nations, regions, sectors and companies desperately seek their own opt-outs from a hard Brexit and call for their own a la carte version of Brexit."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel