Andy Burnham in Scotland: PM offers Holyrood more powers in bid for deeper devolution
He said devolution ‘was never supposed to stop at the doors of the Scottish Parliament’
Andy Burnham has offered to work with the SNP government to create “deeper devolution” in Scotland.
The Prime Minister also ruled out the prospect of a second independence referendum during his first major public visit to Scotland since taking office.
Mr Burnham said he wants to “move beyond the old politics of conflict” and bring an end to “tribal politics and point scoring” between the UK and Scottish governments to help empower regions.
He said he wants to devolve more powers out of both Holyrood and Westminster to the regions of Scotland, including DWP powers on employability - but did not provide any further detail on what this might look like in practice.
The Prime Minister was visiting New College Lanarkshire in Motherwell when he made the comments.
In his speech, he said: “You led the way on devolution here in Scotland with the creation of the Scottish Parliament, and that was absolutely right, but devolution was never meant to stop there.
“It was never meant to stop at the doors of the Scottish Parliament.
“We’ve ended up with a situation where Scotland, the most devolved nation in the UK, is itself one of the most centralised nations in Europe, and I don’t say that to score points, I genuinely don’t.”
He added: “I know enough now to know that tribal politics and point scoring, in the end, doesn’t get you anywhere.
“Politicians like to do it, but the public can’t bear it because it just doesn’t work.”
Mr Burnham then made a direct offer to First Minister John Swinney to work together on devolving more powers, saying that while they do not agree on everything, they can agree on some things.
The Prime Minister said: “Today I make a serious and genuine offer to the Scottish Government - I want to move on from the old politics of conflict to bring people together.
“I want us to design a new model, together, of regional empowerment across all of Scotland, one that puts control where it should be - in the hands of local people.”
He added: “I’m going to be specific and make an offer today - an offer of DWP devolution.
“I want to offer Scotland a model of localised employment support, similar to the one in England, but obviously shaped by Holyrood and one that’s right for Scotland.
“That’s a classic example of where the UK Government should work with the Scottish Government - if you want the best employment support, not a tick-box system, then it has to go deep. It has to go right down.”
When asked by journalists for further clarity on what this means, he said he will “insist on a localised model” and said he is “not going to load up lots of impossible conditions”.
When asked by The Scotsman for further detail on what this will look like, Number 10 said Mr Burnham had been clear in his speech.
The Prime Minister added he will be meeting with the first ministers and deputy first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland soon at the National Economic Council to discuss the idea, and added: “My message to John [Swinney] is simple: I want to push economic power out into the regions of Scotland - do you? Because if you do, let’s agree on it.”
Mr Burnham’s team has also ruled out any prospect of a second independence referendum during his premiership.
He was asked if he is categorically ruling out a second referendum by journalists. He said: “You’ve heard my views. I am somebody who believes in all forms of unions, trade unions definitely, and I think unions of countries are better because you can face a challenging world in a more confident, stronger way.
“I communicated it to the first secretary [First Minister] very clearly. He has a different view, but let’s accept there’s a different view there.
“My view won’t be changing - let’s now move forward where we can make some progress.”
Downing Street sources later suggested that Mr Burnham has ruled out a second independence referendum for the duration of his leadership.
Meanwhile Mr Burnham said the £200m promised for Grangemouth remains “on the table”, and refused to give an indication on when an announcement on the Jackdaw and Rosebank oilfields will be.
The UK Government is expected to announce whether or not to give the green light to the two North Sea oilfields soon, and there had been some hope that a decision would come during his visit to Scotland.
However, he reiterated that a decision will “come shortly”, but insisted the UK Government is “not backing away” from the issue.
Mr Burnham also said he will be visiting Grangemouth soon. He said: “I’m ready to come and visit because I want to see for myself all of the issues there.
“Already £100m has been invested to support the Grangemouth transition, and the £200m is still on the table.
“It’s still being discussed via the National Wealth Fund.”
In response, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “On his rare visit to Scotland, Andy Burnham should have been giving the green light to new drilling, but instead he was droning on about abstract political structures and procedures.
“Burnham has again opened the door for John Swinney to demand another divisive referendum.
“All of this is a massive distraction which won’t create a single job, apart from more jobs for the boys.
“While they were indulging themselves, Kemi and I were visiting a fantastic family business in the west of Scotland to hear about the many challenges they face.”
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