Alarm Raised Over Tightening Westminster Control
Ahead of a debate in Holyrood this evening, the SNP has called for devolution to be defended from escalating Westminster Tory attacks.
The SNP’s Keith Brown MSP will be leading the debate today which is titled ‘Protecting Devolution and the Scottish Parliament.’ The motion outlines a pattern of undemocratic behaviour and attacks from Westminster on the devolution settlement and the Scottish Parliament, including the use of an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to veto devolved legislation and the regular breaches of the Sewel Convention by the UK Government.
In preparation for the debate, Mr Brown said the unelected Tory government at Westminster – which has just six MPs in Scotland – was taking control of devolved powers such as environmental protection, food standards and a range of other areas without the consent of the Scottish Parliament or the people of Scotland. He will make the case that such undemocratic claw backs in devolved areas underline the vulnerability of the Scottish Parliament.
It also comes as the UK Government blocked the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland that would include glass, as was agreed by MSPs.
The debate will highlight that support for extending the powers of the Scottish Parliament has grown substantially, and support for independence is regularly the majority option in frequent opinion polls.
Today’s debate is clearly necessary, given the trajectory of increasing attacks on devolution.
GRAEME
The increasing frequency with which the UK Government is undermining the will of the Scotland’s Parliament and people demands a response.
Shamefully, the Labour Party under Keir Starmer has not felt the need to object to these developments either – we will see if any of their MSPs at Holyrood can bring themselves to do the right thing this afternoon.
This is a critical moment for Scottish democracy, and any party in Scotland that would not speak up proves itself indifferent and only further highlights the need for independence.
