Westminster ‘split over Scottish powers’
ALEX Salmond last night claimed that the Westminster coalition was split over the referendum after indications that the UK government would be prepared to offer Scotland more powers in exchange for a No vote to independence.
As he prepares for a week in which he will meet the Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore, the First Minister called on the coalition to clarify its position.
Salmond was reacting to comments by Moore, who yesterday appeared to promise that more powers would be devolved to Holyrood after the referendum.
Cameron has insisted that the referendum scheduled for the autumn of 2014 should be limited to a straight-forward Yes/No question on independence without a second DevoMax option.
Although both Cameron and Moore are against DevoMax appearing on the ballot paper, the Scottish Secretary’s suggestion that more powers could eventually be transferred to Holyrood goes against Conservative ministers who have reservations about giving Scotland more control over taxation.
Salmond’s spokesman said: “It is clear there is growing consensus that the proposed timetable for Scotland’s referendum is entirely reasonable.
“However, only this weekend it is obvious there are divergent views within the Westminster coalition on their position in regard to more powers – with the Prime Minister refusing to offer any further powers and the Secretary of State for Scotland saying Scotland could get greater financial powers.
“If that is a genuine offer it should be articulated clearly to the people of Scotland at this stage.
“It is wise for politicians to listen to the views of the people – already, there have been over 1,500 responses to our consultation – and that is what the Scottish Government will do.”
In his referendum consultation, Salmond said that a DevoMax question could be included if there was a demand for it from people in Scotland.
At the moment, various voluntary organisations, trades unions and churches are examining the constitutional question with a view to reporting their findings to the consultation.
Salmond will meet with Moore tomorrow and with Cameron on Thursday.
Yesterday Moore said: “The central point is to let Scotland decide whether it’s part of the United Kingdom or not.
“I’m confident it will say ‘We are’. Then we can work through the detail of what the next stages of devolution will be.”
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Comments
There are 37 comments to this article
Page 1 of 3
samcoldstream
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 08:29 PM"Irrespective of the reduction in the number of Scotland's MPs from 59 to 52, and those of MPs in Northern Ireland and Wales, a similar percentage reduction will also take place in England which is to lose 31 MPs, and the Barnet consequentials will be unaffected and continue rolling in for the Devolved Institutions." (Source: The Financial Times)
Pilrig.
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 09:18 AMWe're gettin' neo- Alec Douglas-Home's, next step is neo-George Cunninghams. Some o' the latter appear now and again in letters columns .
famous15
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 12:20 AM#33 Daniel Your pretended ingenuosness about the trams is hilarious. Trams were approved by LabourToryLibdem to hobble the SNP Government and you hint at blame for the SNP. Get away with you!
Next Generation Photodynamic therapy
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 05:07 PMThe people of Scotland are sovereign, in effect it doesn't matter what Cameron or Moore flap about claiming because in constitutional terms Scotland is (and always has been) a representative democracy as opposed to the parliamentary democracy of England. In 1953 Lord Cooper stated in his judgement in McCormack vs the Lord Advocate that the Treaty of Union protected the people of Scotland's sovereignty sine die ( a point conceded by the Lord Advocate) and could find no basis in the Treaty of Union for the assumption of purely English constitutional norms by the UK Parliament and that any such assumption was perverse and contrary to the Treaty of Union. The reality is that under independent Scots Law and the Treaty of Union the UK Government has no right to claim Scottish sovereignty for itself. At no time since 1707 have the sovereign people of Scotland seceded their sovereignty to the UK Government at Westminster. In the aftermath of the 1998 Scotland Act it was realised by Westminster there was no legal enforcing body with respect to sections 5 and 30 of the Scotland Act and so Blair cooked up the 'Supreme Court'. As we have seen in AXA and others vs the Scottish Government the Supreme Court could not allow the challenge - even though all the legal experts were certain they would set aside the bill - because it was the expressed will of the people of Scotland. In effect this judgement has rendered section 5 and 30 of the 1998 Scotland Act unenforceable if, as the referendum vote certainly has, the support of the sovereign people of Scotland. As the SNP gained in May 2011 48% of the votes cast and pro independence party votes represented 56% of the votes cast, the sovereign Scottish people have spoken. Westminster's current tactics to seek control of the Scottish referendum and control the question asked are in breech of the UN Treaty of Human Rights (of which the UK Parliament is a signatory). The referendum will happen in Autumn 2014 because that is what the sovereign people of Scotland gave their authority to their duly elected Scottish Parliament to do by dint of the SNP majority.
Danielrober2
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 12:53 PM# Stanis and Gillie ............................. Oh come on guys, when will Alec.S actually start work as the First Minister as opposed to whatever the h=ck he is up to now. Attacking other parties for policy failures, without mentioning successes which they have engaged in, in government is more than getting annoying. Its been 5 YEARS, come one guys lets see some meat. Action without blaming, the counties, the UK, the EU, the Banks, the USA, now the BBC or whatever the next excuse will be. .................... The Devolved Government has lots of powers, for projects such as the Tram projects, if the SNP Devolved Government either gets stuck in or starts providing full governmental resources. Work, Works so give it a try.
Willie Boy
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 11:28 AMIt's for the people of Scotland to decide their future and not the colonial Tories and their rump LibDem supporters to decide what Scotland can and cannot have.
Stanis
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:29 AM#28 Danielrober2............To answer your question, you may not be aware of it but there was an election in Scotland last year in which the SNP gained an overall majority and Alex Salmond thus became First Minister. They thus have been given the right to represent Scotland - unless, of course you do not accept democracy. To extend your argument you would presumably assert that David Cameron only represents the Conservatives, not the UK................ I still do not know what Michael Moore's job is.
Gillie
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 08:33 AM28, Daniel Doh! the Dear Leader represents Scotland in everything he does, I know you think he should treat Scotland, as the LibDemsToriesLab do, as north Britain but he is bucking the trend and putting Scotland first, just as the unionist have been doing for England for the last 305 years.
Gillie
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 08:27 AM24, Daniel Doh! first there is no UK constitution, the EU is reserved and they do deal with other parts of the UK, but why should they deal with Milliband? What position of authority is he in at the moment or will be in the future, do you think if Ed gives his agreement for the referendum to be held, as the Dear Leader has stated, it will happen because he says so, what planet are you on, you're nothing but an unionist apologist.
Danielrober2
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 08:02 AM# 23 Stanis ................................. Could you and the SNP clarify if Alec.S intends to represent Scotland or to continue to only represent the SNP?
zetetic
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 10:29 PMI do wish people would stop yabbering on about who is giving whom powers, the real truth is Scotland will do as it wishes and their is NOTHING Westminster can do about it......end of story!!
.The Answer
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 10:10 PM2015 election at Westminster - scotlands 59 MP's reduced to 52, scotlands population 2015 will be less than 8.3% of the UK, which means a cut in the block grant ..... Westminster is clearly bending over backwards to keep scotland in the union.
rider000
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 10:02 PMSounds like Alex 'I really don't want independance' Salmond is clutching at straws again.
Danielrober2
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 07:49 PM# 21 Abridged too Far ........................ Oh good grief, you cannot boil everything down to Constitutional Law, is boring and one dimensional. Alec.S must deal with living and breathing politics not some old dusty books covering arguments centuries old. The issues of today, tomorrow, next year and next decade are important. One sided politics work for elections but not for good governance and trade. This is a problem the SNP has and therefore a problem that Scotland has. ................................ The SNP Devolved Government must not only deal with the Coalition they must deal with other EU governments, other parts of the UK and quite frankly Ed Milliband, the Leader of the UK Labour Party. Now he may be young and for those that not have had kids look very young. Yet the First Minister hiding behind single issues and only talking about what he wants to talk about will do Scotland no good.
Stanis
Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 07:40 PMCan someone please clarify if Moore represents Scotland in Westminster or Westminster in Scotland? I really don't know.
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