Chisholm calls for ‘Devo Max’ powers for Scotland

By IAN SWANSON
Published on Wednesday 19 October 2011 12:06

LABOUR’S Malcolm Chisholm has broken ranks and called on the party to back a much bolder increase in the powers of the Scottish Parliament, going well beyond the proposals in the current Scotland Bill.

The Edinburgh North & Leith MSP said the Calman Commission, whose recommendations formed the basis of the Bill, had failed to tackle Holyrood’s lack of financial powers.

And he claimed some Labour supporters would opt for independence if the Calman package was the only alternative on offer. Mr Chisholm, a former Scottish Cabinet minister, argued Labour should instead advocate some form of “Devo Max”, where the Scottish Parliament’s tax powers were significantly increased.

And he said such a scheme should be presented as another option in the SNP’s independence referendum.

Writing on the Labour Hame website, he said: “Scottish Labour is currently caught on the Calman hook and needs to get off it fast if we are to create a parliament with meaningful financial powers.”

He said former Labour leader Wendy Alexander had identified the lack of financial power and accountability as the great weakness of the original devolution settlement, but the Calman commission had “failed to address it in any significant way”.

He said the current devolution arrangements were ideal for the SNP to boost its popularity. “All problems can be blamed on Westminster, with a great deal of justification in many cases, while the Scottish Government can claim credit for any improvements that do take place,” he said.

“Scottish Labour must respond by developing a Devo Max position.”

Mr Chisholm said that did not have to mean “the greatest possible devolution” – the transfer of all taxes and revenues to Scotland – and suggested “Devolution Plus” as advocated by think tank Reform Scotland, should also be considered.

Reform Scotland has said that since Holyrood is responsible for about 60 per cent of Scottish public expenditure it should have access to a range of taxes that covers about 60 per cent of Scottish tax revenues.

Mr Chisholm said: “I believe that Devo Max in some form is the right position for the good governance of Scotland.

“Those who are not convinced of that should perhaps reflect that nailing our colours to Calman and the Scotland Bill will boost the independence vote in the forthcoming referendum, as evidenced a few weeks ago when two well-known Labour figures told me they would vote for independence if the alternative was Calman.”

The SNP has criticised the Scotland Bill, claiming the limited increase in tax powers could result in less money for Scotland.

Mr Chisholm’s comments come after former Labour First Minister Henry McLeish also called for the party to support Devo Max.

A source close to First Minister Alex Salmond described Mr Chisholm’s comments as “potentially very significant”.

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brianwci

Thursday, October 20, 2011 at 02:32 AM

Than goodness for Henry McLeish and Malcolm Chisholm, both have a clear view of Labour's major problem i.e. sticking to Calman and the current Scotland Bill while knowing that the country has moved on from those a year or more ago and the solution, one make Labour in Scotland truly Scottish and back that up with support for some meaningful alternative to Independence, i.e. Devo Max. There must be thousands of Labour voters, members and officials who are now following the McLeishChisholm line and who are praying that the party officially adopts Devo Max as Scottish Labour's policy at which point Alexander and Murphy can stand holding the Saltire without any hint of hypocrisy whatsoever.

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Brond

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 06:32 PM

Interesting. Labour need to come up with something more than the usual claims about them tackling poverty. Despite many many years in power both at local government level, at Holyrood, and at Westminster, there is still massive poverty in Scotland and much of that has gone up since Labour were in power. They seem wedded to the idea that only they can deliver us from poverty, even though they have opposed measures to change Scottish society for the sake of appearing to be a tough opposition (a position that has spectacularly backfired). But Devo Max has to stop at some point. And the SNP will just keep pushing for that little bit more. How will Labour convince voters that they've had enough. Are they going to campaign under a slogan: "You'll have had your tea? Vote Labour". And how ironic that Malcolm Chisholm is now critical of Calman - years wasted...

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Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 01:23 PM

#2: The SNP and the labour party are both extreme leftists. The SNP more so at present (think supermarket taxes). None of the politicians that we can vote for are worth a tinker's cuss, but the SNP and labour are probably the two very worst of the bunch.

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Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 01:20 PM

In light of the track record of ALL Scottish politicians, it is plain that they cannot be trusted with the powers they already have. Giving them more powers would be disasterous for the whole of Scotland. Before we even consider giving this parliament more powers, there has to be an "upper house" in place and functioning properly as a moderator in order to quell the lunacy that we currently all have to put up with.

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Heinz Doofensmirtz

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 01:17 PM

They just open their mouths spouting nonsense and hope someone else works out the mechanics.

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StewartLochhead

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 01:14 PM

Consider this.. The SNP now claims to be the national party of Scotland having stolen support from Labour,LibDems,Tories,Greens & SWP and presents a positive Social Democratic position to the electorate. How is Labour going to be re-elected to power without parking some tanks on the SNP lawn? Which popular SNP policies will Labour adopt and how does Scottish Labour persuade the Scottish electorate its still a Social Democratic party while London Labour espouses right-wing Blairite policies? Its widely held that 20% of Labour Members support independence yet the Stalinist legacy(that drove me away)smothers real debate inside the party. Malcolm presents the most optomistic AND realistic options for the future of Scottish Labour. I for one look forward to an independent Scotland with a re-invigorated Scottish Labour Party playing an important role in running the country.

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Moniker Lewinsky

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 12:58 PM

Good stuff.

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