Scottish powers

With each new proposed amendment to the Scotland Bill that is contemptuously rejected by David Cameron’s “puppet”, the Secretary of State for Scotland, it is becoming increasingly evident that not only will the terms and spirit of the Smith Commission recommendations not be fully honoured but that the Prime Minister would rather consolidate the Conservative Party’s vote in England than attempt to secure Scotland’s continuing place in the Union.

The suggested proposition of introducing Evel (English votes for English laws) through the back door of House of Commons Standing Orders would appear to confirm this assessment.

The deliberate disrespect of the wishes of the majority of people in Scotland as expressed first through the referendum, following the infamous Vow and Gordon Brown’s clear interpretation of that Vow, and then through the recent general election, should, in the long term, help bring about the goal sought by independence supporters, such as myself.

In the interim, though, as charities and other bodies have already indicated, many poor and vulnerable people will suffer as the Scottish Government, whatever its composition after the 2016 Holyrood election, will have to wrestle with limited economic and welfare powers that cannot be prudently joined up to effectively deliver more growth while minimising the impact of austerity cuts in Scotland.

One would have thought that as the Labour Party in Scotland struggles to find a positive direction that the plights of families being pushed into poverty might focus minds and finally bring to an end the party’s negative obsession with the SNP but there appears little sign of an “epiphany” among politicians and activists who continue to obliviously wander down the same narrow path that most can see leads to the Labour Party’s eventual demise in Scotland.

Stan Grodynski

Longniddry

East Lothian