Scottish Tories and SNP condemn Lord Frost after peer calls for devolution to be put 'into reverse'

Scottish Tories have joined First Minister Humza Yousaf in condemning Lord Frost after the senior peer called for devolution to be put “into reverse”.

The Tory chief Brexit negotiator and former Cabinet Office minister claimed Scotland had too much power, and urged the UK Government to be more "assertive" in its attacks on devolution, arguing the UK Internal Market Act "has not been used assertively as it should".

Lord Frost also claimed the SNP’s “implosion” provided an opportunity to re-visit the devolution settlements which created the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

Writing in The Telegraph, Lord Frost said: “We, the Conservative Party and the Conservative Government, have allowed this to happen. It’s time to fix it. Ministers should make clear that, if re-elected, they will review and roll back some currently devolved powers.

Lord David Frost called for devolution to be rolled back.

“In particular, Scotland does not need to be an independent actor on the world stage. It should not be able to legislate to disrupt free trade within the UK; and it does not need to have most tax raising powers currently available to it.

“These powers are embryonic, independent government powers. They aren’t necessary to run an effective local administration, which is what devolution should be about.

“I hope, of course, that Labour might do likewise and drop its sneaking admiration for socialism in one (devolved) nation, but I am not holding my breath.”

Both the Scottish Tories and SNP criticised his comments, with Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser labelling them “nonsense”. He said: “Devolution has allowed us to shine a light on SNP failures. The Conservatives will not be rolling it back.”

Central Scotland MSP Stephen Kerr posted on social media: "Strongly disagree with this article. A poor Scottish Government isn't justification to roll back devolution, any more than issues at the UKGOV are justification for Scottish separation. Devolution works. It's the SNP that are failing.

"Lord Frost's contribution threatens to undo much of the excellent work the UKGOV under Rishi Sunak has done in Scotland. The PM has taken Scottish issues seriously (the First Minister was one of his first calls on taking office), and supports freeports & Scottish industry."

Donald Cameron, the Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, accused Lord Frost of talking “a load of baloney”. He said: “Devolution hasn’t failed and no Conservative should want to reverse it.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson added: “Lord Frost is a backbench peer and entitled to his personal views. Our view, shared by the UK party, is that the problem is not with devolution, but with this divided and distracted SNP Government.”

Asked about the comments during First Minister’s Questions, Mr Yousaf vowed to "defend our democracy". He said: “We will always defend our democracy and we will always defend the voice and the will of the Scottish people.

“Lord Frost, unelected Tory peer, gave the game away. He said the quiet bit loud, he said what every single Scottish Conservative really thinks.”

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn claimed the comments showed the “Tory mask has slipped”. He said: “It's clear Westminster's repeated attacks on Scotland are a deliberate, co-ordinated attempt to reverse devolution, roll-back the powers of the Scottish Parliament and force Scotland under Westminster control.”