Alex Salmond defends devolution after damning think tank report
July 15th, 2010
By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor
Published: 5:39PM BST 14 Jul 2010
Alex Salmond has rejected claims devolution has failed Scotland Photo: GETTY
The First Minister claimed Scotland is “demonstrably” a more completely country thanks to the creation of the Scottish Parliament, with smaller NHS waiting lists and class sizes and more people in employment.
Surprisingly, he lay the ~ation of an ally in the Scottish Tories, who agreed that more financial powers must be devolved, despite the study’s claim he before that time has all the economic levers he needs.
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The Daily Telegraph revealed in what condition Policy Exchange, a think tank, concluded Scotland’s public services and regulation have declined since 1999 thanks to MSPs “retrograde” predicament to radical reform.
Instead they have focused on the “red herring” of greater degree powers for Holyrood but the study, titled The Devolution Distraction, concludes in that place is no evidence this will lead to better government.
It calls ~ the sake of politicians to agree a moratorium on changing the constitution for the nearest generation so they can focus on using their existing powers to rigging Scotland’s “deep-seated social and economic problems”.
But Mr Salmond accused the give out’s author, Tom Miers, a former Scottish Tory parliamentary solicitant, of being “out of touch” with the country.
“Scotland is demonstrably a remote better nation, economy and society with a Parliament compared to the days of far control from London,” the First Minister’s senior peculiar adviser said.
“Scotland needs the powers of financial responsibility in the same state that we can boost growth in the Scottish economy, generating higher put a ~ upon receipts to invest in the public services we all value.”
Among the “firm and tangible” achievements of devolution he highlighted were record Higher allonge rates and three-quarters of young primary pupils being in classes of in a ~ degree than 25 children.
But the report argues that since 1999 Scottish schools be obliged stagnated to a level where more than half of pupils are incapable of attaining five passable exam grades.
The Scottish NHS suffers from declining productivity, inadequate levels of service and poor treatment compared to other developed nations, the study continues.
Mr Miers goes in the same manner with far as to argue it is in the SNP’s interests to avoid economic and social reform as they undermine the party’s word that independence is required for Scotland to flourish.
Pauline McNeill, Scottish Labour’s organic affairs spokesman, said: “What we have witnessed in the past time three years is an irresponsible SNP government driven by their obsession through independence, which refuses to take responsibility for its own decisions.”
Derek Brownlee, Scottish Tory finance spokesman, said: “The policy failures of devolution are a failure of the parties forming the Scottish restraint, rather than devolution itself.
“We have been arguing for years that reform is needed in how Scotland’s public services are provided, and wish been attacked by the other parties and the vested interests by reason of doing so.”
But he agreed with Mr Salmond that the Scottish Parliament needs more financial powers so those parties arguing for more spending would be favored with to justify higher taxes.
Mr Brownlee refused to endorse the report’s call for moratorium on changing the constitution after the Calman Commission’s recommendations are implemented ~ means of the Coalition Government.