By stewartb
The Tories – that very same party which has failed, often by a long way, to win any national or UK election in Scotland since the mid 1950s – has the gall to threaten to downgrade the Scottish Parliament. They have certainly changed the political climate with their expressed intent, if elected to be the UK government, to remove further powers from the Scottish Parliament in order to impose nuclear power generation within Scotland and regardless of the policies of the latter’s elected government.
It’s worth revisiting the foreword penned by Lord Smith of Kelvin to the Smith Commission report in 2014:
“Scotland voted ‘No’, but it did so with each of the three main UK parties promising more powers for the Scottish Parliament.”
And significantly: “I took on the job in the knowledge that the three leaders of the main UK parties had committed to take the recommendations set out in the agreement and turn them into law – fulfilling their commitment to strengthen the powers of the Scottish Parliament within the UK.” (my emphasis)
And also of note: “.. the recommendations are explicitly designed to create a coherent set of powers that strengthen the Scottish Parliament’s ability to pursue its own vision, goals and objectives, whatever they might be at any particular time.”
The clear impact of the latest Tory proposal will be the opposite, to prevent the Scottish Parliament from pursuing its own vision, goals and objectives!
And later in the Smith Commission report there is a reference to agreeing reforms in order to create ‘A more autonomous Parliament’. For the avoidance of doubt (!), Smith was referring to Holyrood becoming a ‘More autonomous Parliament’ – one was always suspicious of this given the reputation of ‘perfidious Albion’.
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_11_14_smithcommission.pdf
The planning-related power that the Tories wish – perhaps as a minimum – to remove from the Scottish Parliament is of course NOT one that was devolved as a result of the post IndyRef1 Smith Commission and the subsequent Scotland Act. The power the Tories wish to remove is foundational, one that dates back to the original devolution settlement. But then devolved power is conditional: it is no substitute for the agency available to an independent nation state.
One upon a time, the UK leader of the Liberal Party could write this (in ‘A Personal Manifesto’, 1983) ): “I do not like the word devolution as it has come to be called. It implies that power rests at Westminster, from which centre some may be graciously devolved.”
Grimond went on: “I would rather begin by assuming that power should rest with the people who entrust it to their representatives to discharge the essential tasks of government. “
‘Once we accept that the Scots and the Welsh are nations, then we must accord them parliaments which have all the normal powers of government, except for those that they delegate to the United Kingdom government or the EEC.’
But devolved power remains limited, conditional and fragile.
A veteran politician from the Labour Party in Scotland, David Martin , writing in Labour List (October 1) states this: ‘For two decades, Scottish Parliament elections have behaved like classic second-order contests. ….. voters use Holyrood ballots to signal discontent rather than choose the government that commands their primary economic loyalty. These elections reward niche grievances and ideological signalling in a way Westminster contests simply do not.‘
And: ‘We are not a regional protest outfit; we are a party built to govern. Holyrood elections may generate headlines, but Westminster elections decide who holds power across these islands.’ So let’s rub it in for the Union?
Given such attitudes alongside Tory threats, those that value our Scottish Parliament cannot be complacent. Perhaps the status quo is really not an option for Scotland’s governance! We need to choose – if we’re ‘allowed’!
stewartb
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“Latest Tory proposal is to prevent the Scottish Parliament from pursuing its own vision, goals and objectives”!
What Bowie stated in his speech, in that a future Tory government would overrule the Scottish government on Nuclear in Scotland , was of absolutely no interest to the BBC in Scotland on their website or in their news reports, as apparently that , as news, was not important.
But wait what of BBC Scotland’s Scotcast ?
Scotcast is supposedly a current affairs and news podcast produced by BBC Scotland that is on TV twice daily from Monday to Friday. (once on BBC Scotland channel 9 and then later on BBC 1) and also on BBC Radio Scotland too at 5pm.
One of the subjects it covers and analyses is Politics.
Bowie’s speech was on the 5 October at 9.45am (long before Scotcast on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC SCotland TV).
Scotcast episodes on this date (5/10/26) and since that date have covered these topics:
5 October – What on earth is going on at Celtic?
6 October – Why Scottish Greens waded into the Zionism row?
7 October – What should happen to BBC Scotland?
8 October – Is Swinney in trouble over pensions claim?
Scotland is still a part of the UK and so subject to UK government reserved policies , so one would have thought that any major change , like imposing Nuclear power in Scotland against the will of our Scottish government and also Badenoch’s intention in potentially removing devolved powers from Holyrood, would warrant a discussion, on this , checks notes, Scottish podcast on BBC?
Badenoch, at the Tory conference , included a future intention by her as the Tory leader to seek a fundamental review of the Scotland Act to potentially strip the Scottish Parliament of certain devolved powers , that is if the Conservatives win the next UK general election, well surely that is a also a subject that Scotcast should want to discuss ?
Nope.
However when it came to Peter Murrell , well he was the focus of several episodes of Scotcast this year, as was Nicola Sturgeon.
Plus we also saw Scotcast cover these below subjects:
What it’s really like in A&E right now – A discussion featuring John Swinney’s proposed ‘radical’ reforms to public services and health boards from his Programme for Government.
Has Swinney gone shy on independence? – An episode examining why First Minister John Swinney wasn’t actively pushing for a second independence referendum after comments by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Policy Debates: In-depth coverage of specific party stances, including Will the SNP’s food price cap happen? and How smart is the SNP independence plan?
Does the NHS care about women?: An exploration of gender health inequalities, waiting lists, and treatment for female-only conditions.
NHS whistleblower on personal cost of speaking out: An interview with consultant microbiologist Dr Christine Peters regarding patient safety concerns at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
They also had six episodes discussing nurse Sandie Peggie.
Four episodes on JK Rowling and the transgender policy.
There has also been episodes on Reform UK:
Malcolm Offord: I can be a Reform First Minister
Unpacking Deacon Blue’s row with Reform
Why Scots are warming to Farage
Is Swinney scared of Farage?
I’m with Farage’: the Graham Simpson interview.
Rise of Reform UK.
Will Nigel Farage’s gamble pay off?
See that is the role of Scotcast and the BBC , they always target , attack and criticise those they, the BBC , wants to see lose seats in Scotland (SNP) , while also choosing to ignore, retreat from and praise those others that they, the BBC, want to see win seats in Scotland against the SNP.
BBC Propaganda.
Liz S
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