McLeish off the Leash
Well lookee here, the former Scottish First Minister, Henry McLeish, calling for a federation:
The “New Union” strategy should also make a powerful statement about nationality, not nationalism; identity, not isolationism; and diversity, not division. It should embrace the idea of shared sovereignty and shared power between Edinburgh and London; encourage England to develop its own political voice; and promote the positive benefits of some form of federation for the Government of the UK.
It smacks of desperation. Back in May McLeish warned that Wendy Alexander's "Bring it on" could backfire:
If the name of the game is to try and shoot the fox by having an early referendum, the danger is it could backfire and we have a result which does not suit the unionist parties but will suit the SNP – because it will be the first recorded, proper vote on independence, which will only make their enthusiasm that much greater.
The "fox" in this case being the "the verdict of the Scottish people" on the Union. It's such a far cry from the lofty ideals of the Scottish Claim of Right, to which Henry McLeish added his signature as Scottish Devolution Minister.
The contradiction between Westminster sovereignty and Scottish popular sovereignty was fairly obvious back in 1998. I wonder if McLeish can see it now?
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McLeish off the Leash II
from Toque on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 11:35The Lib Dems want Holyrood to have total control over raising funds, the Scotsman tells us:
HOLYROOD should be given complete control over income tax, the Liberal Democrats are expected to demand as part of the review of devolution.
The findings of the
McLeish beats the Federalist Drum
from Toque on Tue, 03/16/2010 - 11:29Henry McLeish has called for a federal United Kingdom on at least a couple of occasions in the past (one here), and here he is again in the Holyrood Magazine:
The constitutional question will not go away! Labour and the other parties need to embrace the
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[...] Henry McLeish was a
[...] Henry McLeish was a ‘architect of devolution’ and certainly wants to see devolution work. We must assume, therefore, that he sees an English parliament as being part of a ‘new union’ and not the threat to the United Kingdom that others in the Labour Party believe it to be. [...]