Allister Hayman,
Regeneration & Renewal,
10 October 2008
A Tory government will pursue a policy of "mutual respect" with the Scottish Government and will not rule out the possibility of devolving powers over tax and benefits to Holyrood, shadow Scottish secretary David Mundell has said.
Speaking to Regeneration & Renewal at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Mundell said a Tory government would not adopt an "adversarial" position towards the Scottish Government. "It will not be for the UK Government to be the opposition to the Scottish Government," he said. "We will respect the will of the Scottish Parliament, whether or not Westminster agrees with it."
Mundell said that, while the Tories opposed Scottish independence, they would carefully consider the recommendations of the Calman Commission on Constitutional Reform they set up with Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
"People call for fiscal autonomy, but we don't know what that means. If the commission recommends some form of fiscal autonomy with detailed proposals, it is something we will look at. But I'm sceptical about the possibility of a system that doesn't interfere with the UK tax and benefits system."
Mundell rejected suggestions that it would in the long-term interests of a Tory government to strike a deal with the Scottish National Party, with more powers devolved to Holyrood and a quid pro quo of fewer Scottish seats at Westminster. "That sort of stuff just doesn't wash," he said. "People talk about these issues as if we want to gerrymander the UK for the purposes of the Conservative Party. It's just not the case."
But speaking at a fringe event, Professor Charlie Jeffrey of Edinburgh University and Richard Gough, head of constitution at think-tank the Policy Exchange, agreed that a Tory government may need to devolve more powers to Scotland. Jeffrey said a deal between the SNP and the Tories could enhance the union. "It would be separation, not divorce. That system could make the union more robust in the long run."
Last week, Tory leader David Cameron said that, if elected to government, his ministers would be open to scrutiny from the Scottish Parliament. But Cameron said he would not countenance the break-up of the union. "I do not want to be a prime minister of England," he said.
