Keir Starmer needs to play an active role in Scotland to help Labour win Holyrood 2026
Labour UK Government should not be scared off from showing the benefits of the Union in Scotland by SNP cries of ‘interference’ and ‘power grabs’
During the early years of devolution, there was a sense that the UK’s Labour government was largely content to leave Scotland to its own devices. A Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition was in charge, relations were relatively smooth, and there was little reason for Westminster to interfere in Holyrood’s affairs.
Indeed, given its status as a fledgling parliament, doing so might have caused unnecessary ructions. And being one of New Labour’s first big projects, they had an interest in seeing devolution grow into an effective and robust part of the UK’s constitutional make-up.
This reasonably hands-off approach continued despite the SNP’s 2007 election win and, by and large, it persisted after the 2010 general election resulted in a Conservative-led UK government. Relations were cordial enough that David Cameron agreed to the 2014 independence referendum. It was in the years after the Yes campaign was defeated vote that nationalist complaints about “power grabs” began to be heard more often and with greater force, reaching a crescendo during the negotiations over Brexit.
In 2020, the then Constitution Secretary Michael Russell complained that the planned UK Internal Market Act represented "an outrageous power grab”. “It is a major weakening of devolution and it should not be permitted to take place,” he fumed.
More recently, the UK Government’s refusal to grant the necessary exemption under that same Act for the Scottish Government’s ill-fated Deposit Return Scheme and its decision to prevent the Gender Recognition Reform Bill from becoming law have both seen SNP politicians attempt to whip up a sense of nationalist outrage at Westminster ‘interference’ in devolved affairs.
Such tactics may have had little effect on public opinion in Scotland, but the spats have demonstrated, if anyone was in any doubt, that the SNP is keen to go to war with Westminster and make political capital out of any disputes.
This could make Keir Starmer, Anas Sarwar and co nervous as they seek to retain the support of soft nationalists who switched from the SNP to Labour at Thursday's general election. These voters now represent a key battleground for Scotland’s two largest political parties.
However, instead, Labour should continue the Conservatives’ policy of ‘interfering’ in Scotland's affairs as the SNP would put it or, as we would say, showing an interest in them. Voters need to know that Scotland is not just an afterthought in the minds of UK ministers or the sense that Scotland is a separate country will grow.
Labour needs to work hard to demonstrate that the Union has meaning. The decision to set up the headquarters of the planned publicly owned company Great British Energy in Scotland is an excellent first start, particularly given the justified concerns over the future of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
A major UK Government project that creates jobs in Scotland is a tangible sign of the benefits of the Union that could come to symbolise some of the more intangible ones or perhaps just help people to realise they exist. But GB Energy should be just the first of other similar steps. The more ties that bind our nations together within the Union, the stronger the bond will be. And, if Starmer demonstrates his commitment to Scotland, the greater the chance will be that Scottish Labour will oust the SNP at the 2026 Holyrood election.
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