Dundee LibDems welcome new Constitutional Commission

3.44.10pm GMT Fri 7th Dec 2007

Dundee LibDems welcome new Constitutional Commission

Dundee Liberal Democrats today (Friday 7th December) welcomed the Scottish Parliament's decision yesterday to endorse the establishment of a new Constitutional Commission.

Along with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, the Labour and Conservative groups in the parliament backed the establishment of the commission. It will review the devolutionary settlement, looking to the future within the United Kingdom. The independently chaired body will also look at non-fiscal powers over abortion, broadcasting and air guns.

Scottish LibDem Leader Nicol Stephen said, "This is a cross-party and cross-border initiative that will involve parliamentarians from Holyrood and Westminster. It will also involve a wide section of Scottish society - civic Scotland, churches, trade unions, business and the voluntary sector.

"Its remit will be to examine the powers of the Scottish Parliament, nearly ten years after the passage of the Scotland Act.

"You will have seen in opinion poll after opinion poll that the extension of the powers of the Parliament (and also rejecting independence) is supported by 60% of people in Scotland. Despite that, only Liberal Democrats have been consistently campaigning for this change.

"That means we can be rightly proud that a serious and substantial Commission will be working to bring our party policy to life and has gained the support of the Labour and Conservative parties."

Here in Dundee, City Council Liberal Democrat Council Group Leader, Cllr Fraser Macpherson, said, "The Constitutional Commission is a sensible route forward for all of us who wish to see Scotland move forward, but without breaking up the UK. It is a very positive decision for the parliament to have made."

You can read Nicol Stephen's full speech below:

SPEECH BY NICOL STEPHEN 6TH DECEMBER 2007

It would be right to call this a "historic day".

Liberal Democrats favour more powers and a better, more effective Parliament. We think it would lead to a stronger Scotland in a stronger United Kingdom.

Over the last few years we have been the only party campaigning for more powers for the Parliament, but rejecting independence.

It is 10 years since the passage of the Scotland Act and now is the right time to look at gaining those new powers.

There may be some here, perhaps on the SNP benches, who would like to think that this cross-border, cross-party campaign to gain more powers will drift away because of the trauma, uncertainty and doubt hanging over the Labour Party.

My response is this: the powers we seek, the reforms we propose, the commission we support are intended to be substantial, far-reaching and permanent.

Their benefits for Scotland and for the rest of UK will resonate well beyond this Parliament - and this generation of political leaders.

However far public confidence has fallen in the Labour government because of their spinning over the date of the general election, spin about the party funding scandal, this process must - and will - outrun that.

It is, simply, that significant.

Labour's time in office will end. But the changes we are initiating today should be profound and will be able to outlast and to thrive under any future UK or Scottish government.

The powers I seek on new legislative matters and wide ranging financial powers give a real opportunity for Scotland to succeed in the 21st century.

I want the 21st century to be internationalist, one of co-operation, of parties, nations and people working together.

Too often the 20th century was one of narrow nationalism.

And people paid too often a terrible price for that.

That is our challenge today: to create the foundations for Scotland's success in the 21st century.

It is welcome to see the Conservatives in support of this motion and this wider process.

Not really since Edward Heath in the late 1960s proposed legislation for Scottish devolution have the Conservatives really been here.

There have been one or two noble voices that have spoken out. Malcolm Rifkind in the 1970s; the late, and still missed, Alick Buchanan-Smith.

But this wholesale agreement brings the Conservatives into the discussion and debate in a way we haven't seen for two generations.

And for Labour - the devolution principles of John Smith and Donald Dewar - are built upon.

But there are many in the Labour Party who still do not share those hopes and that will remain challenging. However, today is a big move forward for them and that should be acknowledged.

As recently as August, the Secretary of State for Scotland said that the devolution settlement should remain as it is.

In September, when I suggested greater fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament I was rounded on by Labour ministers.

I am pleased that Donald Dewar's doctrine has held sway on the Labour benches - that devolution is "a process not an event".

By voting today, this Parliament will permanently unlock the door to progress on home rule.

What is started today by this motion should deliver long term benefits to Scotland that will run well beyond this generation.

Liberal Democrats were proud to be part of the Constitutional Convention. We had wanted home rule for Scotland for a hundred years.

Under the leadership of Malcolm Bruce and Jim Wallace we helped to make it happen.

Our Steel Commission is widely regarded as a significant and substantial piece of work. It is a Report that provides a framework for progress. It provides a blueprint for action.

It is vital that this new initiative has such wide support.

I welcome support from all around this Chamber, some of it very fresh and new, and unexpected.

I also welcome wider support from all parts of Scotland. There should be significant places in this process for Scottish business and civic Scotland, for the churches and the voluntary sector; with direct involvement.

To deliver all the things we want Scotland to be, we need a stronger, more effective, more responsible Parliament.

That means granting more powers to our Parliament - including tax raising powers.

As an enthusiastic European I am keen to learn from the experience of our neighbours.

I met the Spanish Ambassador last month.

In Spain there are now 17 autonomous regions. Each has a degree of devolved power to suit its specific needs.

In Spain the process of devolving power is constantly evolving. More and more decisions being made close to the people they impact.

We talked about how Navarre enjoys maximum autonomy from central government with very wide tax raising powers across both business and personal taxes.

Far from inviting independence this has secured and strengthened the Spanish state.

The Navarre government is on course to generate 100% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010.

Gutsy initiatives like this can only be achieved because governments are equipped with the necessary powers.

And now, two regions - Navarre is one - have almost complete fiscal controls. In fact, Navarre keeps everything it raises in tax and makes a payment to Madrid for the costs of defence, foreign relations and other issues that are the province of the Madrid government.

That is not what is proposed by the Steel Commission but it proves we can deliver far bolder, more ambitious devolution in Scotland, that strengthens our position in the UK and in the World.

I don't believe that a self-respecting parliament can exist permanently on a single grant from another parliament.

The United Kingdom is currently the developed country which takes the greatest proportion of taxation centrally.

It is my determination to bring government as close to local communities as possible which leads me to campaign to end this centralisation of the UK state.

Static devolution, by its very inflexibility, encourages nationalism. This is why proposals to build on the current settlement with new responsibilities must offer powers for a purpose.

These proposals must be significant and substantial.

For Scotland, standing still is not an option.

Spain has become the most decentralised country in Europe yet has secured and strengthened the Spanish state at the same time. Navarre has home rule but it is still a vibrant part of Spain.

In Catalonia, the nationalists there have accepted devolution. They do not seek independence.

They have the powers - for a purpose - that Scotland can win. For renewable energy, we could have control over the way the Grid works, the way connections are made, the charges applied and the priorities set.

I propose that personal taxation can be determined by this Parliament. It will mean that a local income tax to replace the discredited council tax could be introduced straightforwardly - with all of the fairness and the benefits that can bring to the low paid and to pensioners.

And it can avoid the regressive side-effects of the SNP's council tax freeze policy.

Under the SNP, the people who benefit least from their tax freeze policy are the poorest - those people who local income tax will benefit most.

On corporate and business taxation there is no reason why the power and the accountability and the innovation shouldn't come from this Parliament.

And how much more attractive to business that will be than the SNP proposals to erect barriers between Scotland and our biggest market - creating separation and division and disruption.

Scotland can seize the opportunities presented by the 21st century. We have huge opportunities in fields like renewable energy and the life sciences. We need to be gutsy and bold.

This motion sets out to achieve forward-looking, modern home rule for Scotland. It rejects backward looking nationalism - that wants the past more than it wants the future.

Most people in Scotland support more powers for the Scottish parliament.

They want a stronger, better Parliament, better equipped, with tax raising powers.

That is what we can deliver: a stronger Scotland in a stronger UK.

Related Links:

MSPs back devolution review body - BBC.

Devolution review unites Scots opposition - epolitix.com.