McConnell warns: Hands off Scotland

• McConnell issues warning to Cameron on BBC's Today programme

• Possibility of Tory Westminster government liasing with Labour Executive

• McConnell defends Barnett formula and argues for public spending reform

Key quote

"They [the Tories] would need to be very clear that in the areas where power and responsibility have been devolved to the parliament and the Executive in Edinburgh - that devolution matters in practice." - JACK MCCONNELL

Story in full JACK McConnell issued a warning to David Cameron yesterday not to interfere in Scottish affairs if he becomes prime minister.

The First Minister said that any future Conservative government in Westminster had to respect the boundaries of devolution - implying Mr Cameron might be tempted to encroach on Scottish domestic issues.

Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme about the implications for Scotland of a Tory election victory in Westminster, Mr McConnell said: "They [the Tories] would need to be very clear that in the areas where power and responsibility have been devolved to the parliament and the Executive in Edinburgh - that devolution matters in practice."

Mr McConnell stressed that he had not received any indication from Mr Cameron that the new Conservative leader intended to interfere in devolved matters, but he added: "The proof of the pudding would be in the eating."

The First Minister's "hands off Scotland" message represents the latest brush between Mr McConnell and Mr Cameron, and it also shows that Labour in Scotland is preparing for the possibility of Conservative success in a general election.

Mr McConnell was caught out last month when Mr Cameron arranged a meeting with him and then publicly announced that he wanted to discuss how a future Tory government would work with a Labour-led Executive at Holyrood. The First Minister was thus forced into discussing something which angered his Labour colleagues in London and gave credibility to the idea of a Tory government at Westminster.

The effect of a UK Conservative government on a Labour-led Executive in Edinburgh has become one of the big political issues of the year, and it will gain more attention as the Cameron-inspired revival of Tory fortunes gathers pace.

Mr McConnell also used the Today programme interview to declare his long-term aim of bringing public spending in Scotland more into line with that of England. Figures last month showed public spending in Scotland running at 7,346 per head of population - more than 1,400 higher than in England.

The figures also showed that spending continued to outstrip government revenues raised in Scotland.

Mr McConnell defended the Barnett formula, which gives Scotland this funding advantage, but said he wanted to narrow the gap.

He said: "What we have is a funding formula that is based on a 30-year agreement that has been cross-party, and that is important.

"But at the same time we have to have an ambition for Scotland, and I certainly have an ambition for Scotland that we start to close that gap."

He added: "Although we need a greater level of public spending because of the geography of Scotland and all these other factors, at the same time the challenge for us in Scotland is to have a stronger economy, to reduce that dependency and to ensure we have the ability to grow our own economy in terms that will make sure Scotland is more sustainable, more economically viable and less dependent."

The Barnett formula, which allocates a greater share of public spending increases north of the Border, has a natural convergence built into it which reduces Scotland's advantage every year. Eventually, that advantage will be wiped out, but it will take years for that to happen.

So, by supporting a reduction in Scotland's dependence on England, Mr McConnell was really doing little more than supporting the Barnett formula.

However, what he failed to say was whether he wanted Scotland's share of Treasury resources to be reduced at a faster rate than the Barnett formula allows - which would be a radical departure for the Labour Party in Scotland.