Scottish Devolution: What does the Smith Commission report mean for Scotland the rest of the UK? November 27, 2014 It has been labelled as the biggest shake-up to the UK’s taxation system in the modern era, but what exactly does the contents of the Smith Commission report mean for Scotland and the rest of England? As had been expected, the Smith Commission has recommended delivering to Scotland an unprecedented number of new powers [...]
Scottish devolution: Holyrood to get control over income tax and retain right to vote on rest of UK rates November 26, 2014 A cross-party committee of MPs will today propose that the Scottish parliament be handed direct control over billions of pounds of income tax and welfare benefits. Lord Smith of Kelvin will unveil the plans after 11 weeks of secret negotiations culminated last night as representatives from five different political parties put the finishing touches to [...]
Scottish devolution: Holyrood to get control of tax rates and benefits November 26, 2014 Scotland is to be able to set different tax rates to the rest of the UK after Labour dropped its opposition to the changes. The changes came with the reluctant blessing of Eds Miliband and Balls, although the latter is understood to have insisted that Westminster retain control of the personal allowance, the threshold below [...]
Alistair Darling warns of economic woes if tax powers are devolved to Scotland November 24, 2014 Plans to devolve full tax and welfare powers to Scotland could lead to higher borrowing costs for the UK, according to Alistair Darling. The Labour MP and former chancellor, who led the “Better Together” campaign in the run up to the independence vote on 18 September, said in the FT that giving Scotland full control [...]
Alex Salmond: “No” voters in independence referendum have been misled by devolution promises September 21, 2014 Alex Salmond believes "No" voters in the Scottish independence referendum have been misled by false promises of more devolutionary powers. Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Politics programme, Salmond claimed the three main UK party leaders' devolution vows were "cooked up in desperation for the last few days of the campaign." Scotland voted against independence on [...]
What is devo-max and what new devolution powers will Scotland have after the independence referendum results? September 19, 2014 Simply put, devolution means that the Scottish parliament gets more power. Currently, Scotland can make policy across a range of areas, including healthcare and education. This is why university is free in Scotland, even as tuition fees soar in England. Westminster rules the roost when in comes to some key areas: immigration, foreign policy, energy [...]
The devolution genie is out of the bottle – and London must not be forgotten September 18, 2014 WHEN the UK government ruled out devo-max on the Scottish referendum ballot, few decried it as the strategic mistake it later turned out to be. Forced into an unexpected corner by a surge in nationalist support, the leaders of the three main UK parties promised Scotland the earth, magically transforming the No box into a [...]
Devo max is a cheap last-gasp offer – but a federal UK may be the happy result September 10, 2014 WHATEVER the outcome of next week’s referendum on Scottish independence, of one thing we can be sure: the constitutional settlement that had helped make the Union such a success for 300 years will be tainted. This settlement had just about held together after devolution. However, many of us in the other Home Nations have been [...]
Westminster promises “major powers” to stave off Scottish independence: but what is devo max? September 9, 2014 The three main parties have promised to transfer “major powers” to Scotland the day after the referendum takes place if voters decide to stick with the union. By the end of January, a draft law will be ready to vote on by parliament, the Better Together campaign announced today. The campaign claimed: [...]
Will Westminster grant devo max powers to Scotland if it stays in the union? September 8, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne has promised further devolved power to Scotland if there is a No vote in the Scottish referendum. The government will announce a “plan of action” within days on how Scotland will be given further powers to run itself away from Westminster after a shock poll placed the Yes campaign in the lead [...]