SNP-Green coalition should stop constantly asking for more powers and do better with the ones they have – Scotsman comment

The Scottish Government often seems more interested in having power than actually using it to improve people’s lives

In 2016, following the independence referendum, the Scottish Parliament received a tranche of new devolved powers to deliver £2.8 billion of social security payments. What the then social security minister Jeane Freeman declared was “the biggest transfer of powers since devolution began” would lead to a “social security system for Scotland that everyone can be proud of”.

Seven years on and Scotland is still not administering several supposedly devolved benefits – and might not be until 2026. Another example of a Westminster “power grab”, of which the SNP regularly complains? Quite the reverse. It’s the Scottish Government that has been asking for delays, much to the frustration of UK ministers seemingly eager to hand over responsibility.

And with the Scottish Government’s track record increasingly littered with failures – like the fiascos over new CalMac ferries, the deposit return scheme and highly protected marine areas, not to mention the state of education and the NHS – there are many critics who accuse the SNP-Green coalition of almost routine incompetence.

It is within this context that the SNP’s latest call for more powers should be set. In April, Rishi Sunak dismissed SNP requests for greater devolution but, undeterred, Humza Yousaf yesterday sought to tap up Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner, as she arrived in Glasgow to set out the party’s plans to improve workers’ rights. “I would remind Angela Rayner that we have engaged constructively with trade unions. That is why we haven't had any NHS strikes in Scotland, in stark comparison to Labour-run Wales,” he wrote. "Will Labour commit to full devolution of employment law should they form the next government?"

The First Minister was, we presume, trying to make a point, rather than a serious request. However, Rayner’s refusal – saying it wouldn’t be necessary because Labour would make the necessary reforms – was predictable, almost a reflex. Devolution is about delivering a better quality of government for Scotland. Using it so casually as a tool to fuel the politics of grievance helps no one. Instead of flippantly seeking more powers, Yousaf and co should focus on trying to use the ones they already have.