The Prime Minister emphatically rejected calls from the SNP and
Labour for additional powers to be devolved to Scotland, blaming Holyrood’s record of delivery. Rishi Sunak, who is attending both the Scottish and Welsh Conservative party conferences in Glasgow and Newport on Friday, told delegates it was not the time to begin discussions on devolving additional responsibilities to the Scottish Government. He labelled Holyrood the most devolved “assembly” anywhere in the world and said he wanted devolution to be “as close to people as possible”. Advertisement Advertisement Critics said the comments demonstrated Mr Sunak and the Conservative party mask had “slipped” in regards to its “hostility to devolution”. The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said the Prime Minister should be apologising to families for the pain of the cost-of-living crisis. In only his second time in
Scotland as Prime Minister, Mr Sunak attacked the SNP’s record and quashed suggestions Holyrood should have more powers. He said: “We can't devolve and forget. Scotland is already the most devolved assembly anywhere in the world, all this talk of needing any more powers is clearly not appropriate. "The SNP and the Scottish Government don’t use all the powers they already have so we shouldn’t start talking about anymore. We believe devolution should be as close to people as possible." The Prime Minister added: “In the same way that Westminster doesn't always know best, it's not the case in Scotland that the SNP and Holyrood always knows best. "What we believe is we can devolve power to local communities, and that's what we've done.” Mr Sunak also referenced the
UK Government’s levelling up programme which involves local authorities bidding for funding directly from the UK Government , bypassing Holyrood in the process. Advertisement Advertisement This, the Prime Minister said, is “real devolution in action”. During his speech, the Conservative leader also joked about the ongoing
police investigation into the SNP, quipping the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon is learning to drive because “someone’s got to drive that motorhome after all”. The Prime Minister went on to highlight Conservative opposition to the Scottish Government’s proposed deposit return scheme for drinks cans and bottles as showing the Tories are “the ones who have got the Scottish people’s interests at heart”. First Minister Humza Yousaf has been forced to delay the launch of the scheme, pushing it back from August to March next year, amid concerns from businesses about how it would operate. The governments are locked in a row over a key exemption to the internal market act, required for DRS to go ahead. Mr Sunak also spoke about the war in
Ukraine having highlighted problems with “being dependent on places like
Russia for fossil fuels”, the other political parties “think we should ignore what we have at home”. Rival parties’ focus on renewable energy, rather than
Oil and gas from the North Sea, “ignores the economic benefits, the jobs, the energy security and increases our reliance on foreign dictators for the energy we know we need for the next couple of decades”, the Prime Minister added. Stephen Flynn, SNP Westminster leader, said the Tories have “no mandate in Scotland”, and called on Mr Sunak to apologise for the “disastrous mess” caused by Liz Truss’ leadership and
Brexit. Advertisement Advertisement Ross Greer, finance spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said the speech was “predictably terrible” which “showed a total contempt” for Scots. He also reacted with anger about the comments on devolving powers, stating: “The Tory mask has definitely slipped when it comes to their hostility to devolution. Like Lord Frost before him, the Prime Minister said the quiet part out loud. "This isn't new. The reality is that over recent years we have seen escalating attempts from
London to block and obstruct our Parliament, whether it is on the gender recognition reform bill that MSPs overwhelmingly passed, or our deposit return scheme.” Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the Prime Minister’s speech was “without vision and without energy”. “The people of Scotland know what this Tory government means – sleaze at the highest level while people go hungry and face soaring bills,” she added. Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson, called the comments on devolution “patronising”. She said: “Patronising comments like this just play into the constant constitutional confrontations between the Tories and SNP, which do nothing to help anybody. "Devolution is the settled will of the people of Scotland. These are the same people who are demanding action on issues like sewage dumping, failed ferry contracts, the NHS in crisis and the cost of living. Advertisement Advertisement "It’s time both of our governments quit the bickering and got on with the day
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