Patrick Harvie critiques LibLabCon 'Devo-Next' proposals

[NickB]

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(Quoted verbatim from an opinion piece by Patrick Harvie, leader of the Scottish Greens, in the Daily Record)

Labour, Lib Dems and Conservatives 'devo-next' tax proposals will not lead to an equal and prosperous Scotland in event of No vote

WITH the publication this week of the Scottish Tories’ ideas for the next stage of devolution, we now have proposals from all three anti-independence parties about Scotland’s constitutional future. It’s taken them a while but Labour, the LibDems and the Conservatives now have something to say to the Scottish voters about what will happen if we vote No in the referendum in just 15 weeks’ time.

They differ on many points. They propose various levels of control we might have over income tax, from complete freedom on allowance levels, rates and bands, to more limited proposals which simply extend the existing power to vary income tax. They also disagree about the other taxes which might, or might not, be devolved.

What all three versions have in common is that instead of offering Scotland the chance to make meaningful economic choices, they really just amount to alternative ways of funding devolution.

A UK Government doesn’t just look at each of its departments and work out in isolation how to pay for it; it can decide on the balance of raising taxes, spending on services, and borrowing for investment. Even taking the issue of tax on its own, a UK Government can strike its preferred balance between personal income tax, corporate taxes, environmental taxes, and so on.

Give the devolved Scottish Government the limited power to vary income tax levels, and the responsibility to raise half its budget that way, and you don’t need a crystal ball to predict the result. In short, the tax level itself might be devolved, but the economic policy it sits within is fixed in Downing Street.

So I’m sceptical that any of these three models of “devo-next” will give Scotland what it needs to find our own path to an economic recovery that works for all of us, to close the gap between rich and poor, or to build a sustainable economy that’s fit for the 21st century.

Many people also doubt that these proposals would ever see the light of day in the event of a No vote.

Let’s remember, just seven months after the referendum the UK will see a general election, with all three parties making their pitch to voters south of the border as well as in Scotland. Once a new government forms, whether Labour or Tory led, the focus will move on to a likely European referendum, and Scotland may slip way down the priority list once again.

But even if we trust all three parties to stick to their guns, another question remains. When exactly does Scotland get to choose between these future directions for devolution? The choice of UK government will be made by the whole UK, and won’t necessarily reflect how Scotland votes – it certainly didn’t last time! A UK Prime Minister with a UK mandate won’t be able to claim the consent of Scotland for his plans for our future.

On the 18th of September, with that referendum ballot paper, our future will be in our own hands. Will we keep hold of that power, or hand it back to an unknown future government at Westminster?

That’s the only question we’ll face on the day, and I can’t see anything coming from the No side that will convince me not to seize the opportunity.