Douglas Alexander: The next step for devolution is into our regions
It’s time to take powers away from the centre at Holyrood, says Secretary of State for Scotland
When Donald Dewar opened Holyrood, he called devolution "not an end: a means to greater ends". Nearly 30 years on, it’s time to take the next step; moving power out from the centre of Holyrood and into Scotland’s regions.
It’s this message on further devolution – for London and Edinburgh alike – was what the Prime Minister brought to Glasgow yesterday. We came to the National Economic Council wanting a different approach, not the old politics that too often puts party before place.
Andy’s offer was simple. Scotland’s two governments working together to improve lives right across the country, so that people see and feel real change where they live.
I’m glad the First Minister accepted the offer, as did Rhun ap Iorwerth, the First Minister of Wales. It is good news for Scotland.
And it comes with substance. No10 North will now facilitate a ‘policy sprint’ with the Scottish Government, focused on how each government can contribute to regional economic empowerment and reindustrialisation to deliver good growth in every postcode.
Glasgow, the city where I was born, shows why this matters. It has talent, world-class universities, and ambition to spare. But it could benefit from more power and resources being put in its hands. Young people are leaving because they can’t see a future at home. On too many high streets, the shutters are down. Landmark buildings are sadly burnt out.
Those problems won’t be fixed from a desk in Whitehall or St Andrews House. They’ll be fixed by people who know their place, and have the powers and resources to act.
That is what a place first, not party first, approach means. Giving our regions a real say over employability and skills, transport, housing and investment.
Of course, there are issues on which we will continue to disagree – independence most obviously. But disagreement on the constitution is no excuse for failing to cooperate on what matters most to families, from Easterhouse to Peterhead. A good job, a decent home, a bus that turns up.
The Prime Minister knows this better than anyone. He isn’t just an advocate of devolution, but a practitioner of it. In Greater Manchester he took real powers over transport, skills and growth, and used them. The result is a city region with a plan, and the clout to deliver it.
A couple of weeks ago in Motherwell, he made a sincere and genuine offer to work together. Yesterday, the Scottish Government accepted it. And the timing matters.
South of the border, the train is leaving the station. The regional empowerment agenda is gathering pace in England, and this week’s Budget advanced it. The people of Scotland must not be left behind on the platform.
Nor is this just a British story. Around the world, city regions are the engines of prosperity. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, and the regions around them, should be leading that race, not watching it.
Three decades on from Scotland voting for its own parliament, the question is no longer whether power should be devolved, but how far it should travel. Power devolved must be power used, not hoarded.
Yesterday was a good start. Now the work begins. Turning an agreement in a Glasgow meeting room into real change on Scotland’s high streets. I can assure you that today and tomorrow the UK Government's focus will be on strengthening Scotland's regions, with the aim of delivering good growth across our nation.
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