John Major Talks Sense Again
I told a story yesterday about John Major and today he pops up on the BBC’s web site talking about Scotland and its political relationship with England.
Here’s an extract.
In a rare intervention into politics, former Prime Minister Sir John Major calls for the Scottish Parliament to be given powers to control everything except foreign affairs, defence and the economy.
Sir John warned against the dangers of devolution before the 1997 election. Today he calls for what some call “devo max”.
If you are wondering why the former Tory leader’s dressing in tartan, he explains that in return the English (and, of course, the Conservative Party) would see the end of the hated Barnett formula which gives Scotland more money to spend and a cut in the number of Scottish (usually Labour) MPs.
This may not seem like a live issue today, but it will be in the run-up to the next election. Scotland’s re-elected First Minister Alex Salmond has always believed that the Tories were most likely to give him at least some of what he wanted.
This is how Sir John puts it:
“The present quasi-federalist settlement with Scotland is unsustainable. Each year of devolution has moved Scotland further from England. Scottish ambition is fraying English tolerance. This is a tie that will snap – unless the issue is resolved.
“The union between England and Scotland cannot be maintained by constant aggravation in Scotland and appeasement in London. I believe it is time to confront the argument head on.
Everybody should read the full article, as it talks a lot of sense.
I particularly liked this comment by a reader on the report.
Wow!
Major speech by a major politician
How on earth, gold help us, did we ever end up with New Labour
So let’s hope the British Parliament does the sane thing in the next few weeks and makes sure that they control the country and not the owners of a few newspapers.
At least none of these proprietors are no Berlusconi!
The Anonymous Widower 
““The union between England and Scotland cannot be maintained by constant aggravation in Scotland and appeasement in London. I believe it is time to confront the argument head on.”
Yet he seems to be advocating even more appeasement. The usual politician’s doublethink. The Barnet formula should be reformed and the Scots excluded from votes on English matters, but without any more passing of powers to the Scottish Parliament. If Scotland has “devolution max” there will, for England, be no remaining advantage in sustaining the Union. The Scots should be offered nothing. If they don’t like it they should go for full independence.
Elsewhere in the article he note that the UK is a shrinking military power. No one is more responsible for that than John Major.
Comment by James Matthews | July 10, 2011 |