SNP has just revealed just how shiny its brass neck is over devolution of power

The SNP’s attempt to portray itself as a defender of local government is at odds with its centralising instincts

‘Brass neck’ is a perennial complaint in modern politics. You do not need to cast your eyes too far on social media, in all corners of public life, to find people saying one thing and doing another. The SNP’s costume change into a defender of local councils this past week, however, really does take the cake.

With the launch of the new Council of Nations and Regions in Edinburgh last Friday – with our under-served councils left out of the event – the SNP has turned it into yet more grist for grievance, with nary a hint of reflection on their role in this state of affairs.

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Having squeezed and sidelined Scotland’s local authorities over 17 years in government – even as councils and regions in other parts of the country have been awarded greater powers – SNP politicians from Nicola Sturgeon to Humza Yousaf to current First Minister John Swinney now pronounce themselves defenders of the rights of local councils in Scotland.

SNP’s zero credibility on local government

Their record tells the tale. The SNP are champions of the rights of local government much in the same way that foxes are champions of henhouse safety.

If the argument is that cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow should be represented at the Council of Nations and Regions, then I would agree. In fact I would go further: areas such as the Highlands and Islands – which have interests that diverge from the rest of Scotland – should also be given an independent voice. If this is truly to be a council of “regions”, it cannot simply be dominated by major cities on the basis of population.

Keir Starmer and John Swinney in close conversation during the first Council of Nations and Regions meeting in Edinburgh (Picture: Andy Buchanan)Keir Starmer and John Swinney in close conversation during the first Council of Nations and Regions meeting in Edinburgh (Picture: Andy Buchanan)
Keir Starmer and John Swinney in close conversation during the first Council of Nations and Regions meeting in Edinburgh (Picture: Andy Buchanan) | Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The trouble is that the SNP have zero credibility to make this argument. Honest John is standing by the chicken hutch with feathers sticking out of his mouth.

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This is, after all, the same John Swinney who in 2007 threatened to “play hardball” with Scottish councils in arguments over SNP policy priorities. His plan was to force through a deal with local authorities using threats to centralise the delivery of school education – by extension a threat to strip away close to half of council revenue budgets at a stroke.

Hoarding power in Edinburgh

We may never know to what extent those proposed threats were explicitly in play during the negotiations, but that agreement laid the groundwork for a pattern of behaviour from the SNP for many years since – threaten councils, ringfence funding and centralise power.

From fire services to policing – and more recently the plans to seize control of social care and curtail fishing communities with highly protected marine areas – by hook or by crook the SNP have hoarded power in Bute House to the detriment of local government. I am happy to deplore the exclusion of our councils from this new UK-wide body, but it is the SNP’s hostility to devolving power that has led us here – with a hard legacy of harm to local services.

If we want to revitalise local government and rebuild local control then we need a complete change of direction. Those who dragged us down this path in the first place are never going to be the ones to repair the damage.

The SNP have corroded local government enough. It is time to kick the fox out of the henhouse.

Alistair Carmichael is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland

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