UNISON’s case for the full devolution of housing benefit has been supported by the respected think tank IPPR. Scotland needs all the policy levers to effectively address our housing crisis. The command paper ‘Scotland in the United Kingdom: An enduring settlement‘, (love an optimistic title!) sets out the legislative provisions to enact the Smith Commission […]
Posts Tagged ‘Devolution’
The case for fully devolving housing benefit to the Scottish government
Feb 3rd, 2015 by Dave Watson.
Two cheers for the Smith Commission
Nov 30th, 2014 by Dave Watson.The Smith Commission report is an important step forward on the devolution journey, even if many of us who support further devolution will be disappointed over its omissions. First of all let’s dispose of the political froth. It’s impossible to know if the ‘vow’ has been delivered as, other than a newspaper headline, it was […]
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Why energy policy should be devolved
Oct 22nd, 2014 by Dave Watson.Devolving energy policy would tidy up the often conflicting mix of devolved and reserved powers and enable Scotland to develop new approaches to energy policy. At present energy is a largely reserved matter to Westminster. Specific reservations in Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 include the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity; the […]
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Greater devolution for a fairer Scotland
Oct 6th, 2014 by Dave Watson.If the referendum result tells us anything, it’s that most people living in Scotland want a big change in how we are governed so that we can can seriously address poverty and inequality. This means that further devolution has to be more than just tinkering at the edges. As Lord Smith started his work with […]
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I voted Yes, but I won’t be joining the SNP
Oct 2nd, 2014 by Guest.I am a Labour Party member who voted Yes in the independence referendum, but I won’t be joining the SNP or any other party. I voted Yes for a complex array of reasons and it was a close call. Partly out of despair over Westminster politics, not just current Tory policies, I expect them to […]
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Cameron rats on early devolution & is nakedly partisan to secure Tory interest
Sep 21st, 2014 by Michael Meacher.So much for ‘The Vow’ agreed by all three party leaders just a week ago in the spirit of the union together. It is rapidly unravelling in a welter of uncertainty over what the ‘extensive new powers’ for Scotland will be, the timetable for their delivery, and above all by their being linked to party […]
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Referendum fallout: what next for politics?
Sep 21st, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.It’s been a huge week, a profound week for British politics. What does it all mean for the parties and movements jostling for position in the referendum’s aftermath? As far as Westminster is concerned, a bullet has been dodged. There is a cloying desire for a return to business as usual, and just as many […]
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Scotland: Now comes the reckoning
Sep 20th, 2014 by Michael Meacher.The 55%-45% divide was larger than any of the polls had predicted and may reflect the last-minute fear factor strongly projected by the inglorious and verging-on-hysterical Westminster establishment. But it will come as an immense relief both to Cameron, who would almost certainly have been unceremoniously ejected if the Yes vote had won, and to […]
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Devolution or Independence: We must not neglect the North East
Sep 18th, 2014 by Grahame Morris.In the early hours of Friday morning we will learn whether Scotland has voted in favour of Independence. The arguments have been well rehearsed from the uncertainty of Independence, and the stability offered by the Union, to the economic and democratic freedom offered by Independence. As a supporter of the Union, and the Better Together […]
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A new constitutional settlement for England
Sep 15th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.We could well be days away from ending the 307 year old union between Scotland, and England and Wales. This penny has finally dropped with establishment politics. They have looked into the abyss and are terrified that irrelevance could be staring right back at them. Characteristically, their attempt to ward of the spectre has been […]
