It’s time to have a think about devolution

The Scottish government has launched another white paper on independence, this time on the subject of migration. It is the sixth paper in the ‘Building a New Scotland’ series setting out the SNP-Green administration’s vision for a post-UK Scotland. The substance of the document isn’t as important as the fact of its existence. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Scottish parliament cannot legislate for an independence referendum. The UK parliament shows no inclination to permit another referendum. So why is the Scottish government using public resources to promote a prospectus for a constitutional event that is opposed by Westminster and may never happen?

This is yet another reason why the leaders of the main parties at Westminster should agree to the establishment of a Royal Commission on devolution. The Scottish parliament turns 25 next year and that would be an opportune time to reflect on devolution. The expending of public resources, not just monies but civil servants’ time, on matters that are reserved to the UK parliament would be a prime candidate for investigation.