ROBBIE DINWOODIE, Scottish Political Correspondent, monitors the storm
of protest
FURY and scorn from Scottish political opponents marked the Prime
Minister's brusque rejection of constitutional change which, it was
predicted, would backfire on the Conservatives at the next General
Election.
Labour claimed Major's attempt to instill fear in electors south of
the Border would fail, while the SNP compared the Prime Minister to King
Canute, fighting a battle that was already lost.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats scorned his appeal to a ''little
Englander'' audience, while the Scottish Constitutional Convention will
now actively campaign in the South to allay the fears being stirred up,
beginning with an open letter to the English people from joint convener
Canon Kenyon Wright.
Scottish Labour leader George Robertson said: ''This has more to do
with a united Conservative Party than a United Kingdom. It will be the
Tories' arrogant rejection of the views of the Scottish people which
will be the biggest danger to the Union.
''Labour's plans have been carefully thought through to give real
decision making in Scotland to the Scots, while strengthening and
maintaining the integrity of the UK.
''The one characteristic of this campaign isn't its truth or accuracy
but the fact that it is one of the few campaigns which might unite the
Tory Party -- maybe the only such campaign.''
He predicted that by twisting the facts to have something that their
English MPs can unite behind, they were creating fresh problems for
their Scots contingent.
''I would have thought that Scottish Tory MPs, sitting at 12% in the
opinion polls, will look at this campaign with genuine dismay.
''People will quite rightly ask why the Government is proposing major
constitutional change for Northern Ireland while rejecting it for
Scotland.''
He also claimed that Labour now had its English MPs united behind
constitutional change and decentralisation. ''There is strong support
for our whole decentralisation package throughout the British Labour
Party,'' he said. ''We are coming to this after a long period of study
and careful consideration, and we are ready to take the Tories on over
this.
''Let them defend the status quo and all the difficulties that go with
that at their peril -- continuing quangoisation, centralisation, the
concentration of power at Westminister, and the attack on local
government, north and south of the Border. There is a seething
discontent through Britain that they will have to reckon with.''
Dismissing Major's ''King Canute stance'', SNP leader Alex Salmond
said: ''Since the 1992 General Election the constitutional debate has
moved on in Scotland. It is now focused on the choice between devolution
and independence in Europe.
''The status quo has been left far behind as a credible option. Major
clearly wants to start the debate all over again, but he is too late.''
The current devolution plans had flaws and contradictions, but the
debate had crystallised between an Assembly and a sovereign Scottish
Parliament within Europe. ''In attacking the concept of Scottish
self-government, Major is on very thin ice indeed,'' he said.
''Having witnessed the incompetence and sleaze of his Westminster
Government, no-one in Scotland now believes we could not govern
ourselves much better than he or any other London politican can.''
Ray Michie, the Liberal Democrats' Parliamentary spokeswoman on
Scottish Affairs, said: ''This is the language of a man running scared
because he is using this as a smokescreen to divert attention from his
own party problems.
''If he does not understand that Scotland has a right to look after
its own affairs, his knowledge of the constitutional reform that is
required in the UK is scant indeed.
''I don't know who he is trying to impress, whether it's the people of
Scotland or of Little England, but unless he recognises the legitimate
right of Scotland, this will lead to the break-up of the UK.''
Recognising that the debate had moved South, Canon Kenyon Wright spent
yesterday penning an open letter to the people of England explaining the
justice of Scotland's cause and the reason why they had everything to
gain from constitutional reform.
He broke off from his writing to say: ''We've heard it all before and
we are going to hear it ad nauseam from now on, as it is clear that the
Government has decided that this will be one of its major emphases in
its election campaign.
''He referred to the Labour Party's plans for a tax-raising Scottish
Parliament which would weaken the UK. Rarely can one short statement
have contained such an amazing number of misrepresentations.
''It is not a Labour Party plan. It was drafted by the Scottish
Constitutional Convention, by any standard of measure the most
representative body in Scots society.
''It is not, in the sense he means it, a tax-raising assembly,
certainly not in the way Westminister is. Taxes would be varied only if
a party stood on that plank, so it would be down to the Scottish
electorate.
''The suggestion that this plan threatens the UK is ludicrous beyond
belief. The thing that threatens the unity of the UK more than anything
else is the attempt to keep the UK as the most centralised, unitary
state in the European Union and to do so by undemocratic means.
''My appeal to the politicians is 'please stop giving us these myths.
Let's have an argument on genuine issues'.''
STUC deputy general secretary Bill Spiers said that, as the Prime
Minister appeared to be conceding that there should be a referendum on
constitutional change in Scotland, let it be arranged forthwith, and not
left until after the next General Election.
He added: ''The Prime Minister's tirade against the establishment of a
Scottish Parliament, which verged on hysteria at times, was deeply
insulting to the 75% of our people who, at the last election, voted for
parties committed to the establishment of such a Parliament.''
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