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Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Shadow Leader of the House of Lords

Devolution following the Scotland referendum
House of Lords debate, Wednesday 29
th
October 2014

My Lords, I am grateful to the Noble Baroness, the Leader, for agreeing to table
this significant and necessary debate in Government time.

I have long recognised the importance of constitutional change, and I am proud
of what the last Labour government achieved. But in recent years, with the
country facing so many challenges many as a consequence of Coalition
policies I felt that such changes should not be a priority for legislation. The
experience of the Scotland referendum however, has made me think again and
Im now firmly of the view that we must urgently consider profound changes in
our governance.

Thomas Paine said: Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even
in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.
And my Lords, Government, Parliament, our politics has for too many of our
citizens -become intolerable.

There is much that we can learn from Scotlands referendum:-
The tremendous participation was a shot in the arm for democracy.
People thought that the result really mattered.
There was great passion in the Yes campaign and the No message, and
in many ways they both reached the same conclusion the status quo is
simply not acceptable.
But what it clearly illustrated despite the resounding outcome in favour
of the Union is that people feel powerless that they have no influence
over distant decisions taken for them rather than with them.
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As with their fellow citizens in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, people in
Scotland want power closer to where they live rather than what they see as the
current cosy circle in Westminster and Whitehall. They want this because they
are:-
Fed up with inequality; being left behind whilst those at the top continue
to thrive.
Disappointed by what they see as the yah boo! of Party politics, which
either bores them rigid or reinforces alienation.
And angry about being let down by elite decision makers; not just in
politics, but in the banks, media, police and church.
In a nutshell, peoples faith in some of the major institutions of our country has
crumbled.

My Lords, the granting of votes at 16 was a real lesson for the UK as a whole. I
have long supported this policy, which has now been adopted by both my Party
and the Liberal Democrats. My view was reinforced this morning by a meeting
with a hundred National Citizens Service leaders. And I was also delighted to
hear my Noble Friend, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke say last week in the
chamber:
I was one of the people who thought it was wrong for the franchise to
reduce voting to 16. I was comprehensively proved wrong. I heard some
of the best debates I have ever heard in a lifetime in politics from 16 and
17 year olds.
Like her, I urge both the Government and the Hansard Society to consider the
specific lessons to be learnt from empowering young people at the ballot box;
and then act on their findings.

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My Lords, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to those Conservatives who
during the Referendum campaign were committed to the Union. The Partys
leader in Scotland, Ruth Davidson and the Prime Minister both pulled out all of
the stops to secure a No vote.

However, soon after the counting ended and the results began to emerge, Mr
Cameron, Im afraid to say, reverted to type. He parroted the response of his
general election strategists, and political advantage took centre stage by making
the link between the promises made to the people of Scotland and English
Votes for English Laws. Once again, my Lords, Mr Cameron has been caught
looking over his shoulder at the threats from within his own Party along with
UKIPs bluster rather than responding to the needs of our country.

The Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the
Opposition made a commitment a vow, in fact to further strengthen and
empower the Scottish Parliament. My Party is participating in the process under
the leadership of the Noble Lord, Lord Smith of Kelvin, in the spirit of
partnership and co-operation with others. I would be grateful for an assurance
from the Leader that the Commission will at all times be led by the outcome of
the referendum a result that indicated that people wanted a strong Scotland
inside a strong UK, with the continuation of sharing both our resources and
achievements.

The necessary further devolution to Scotland, together with the clear discontent
of the British people, means it is imperative that we consider and address the
English constitutional anomaly. England has been tolerant for a long time and I
understand some of the frustrations expressed but English votes for English
laws is not the answer.

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My Lords, the Cabinet Committee chaired by William Hague, hastily convened
and meeting behind closed doors, simply wont do. People will no longer
tolerate a Westminster stitch up when what our country needs is an open and
transparent discussion.

A piecemeal approach to constitutional change for political advantage is
unacceptable. Embittered nationalism is always wrong and the fact that some in
the Party opposite want to put what the Telegraph calls English home rule at
the very heart of their election campaign is not a sound basis for action. In fact,
it is morally wrong; and further erodes trust in politics. The future governance
or our country is much bigger than one partys demands or vision.

As Vernon Bogdanor pointed out in an excellent article last month:
the British constitution is not the private property of the Conservative
party or any other party. A constitutional settlement, if it is to be
lasting, needs the support of all parties, and endorsement by the people
as a whole after measured debate.

My Lords, English votes for English laws of which, contrary to expectation,
there are few is, I believe, a purely separatist proposal. And one that would:-
Produce a two-tier system that would enshrine existing inequalities.
Drive a wedge between the English and Scottish systems of Government.
And risk the future of the Union when what is needed is a constitutional
reform that strengthens its integrity.

Earlier this year, colleagues in the Lords Labour Group published an excellent
report, A programme for Progress. Among its recommendations was the
setting up of a Constitutional Convention. They were indeed, prescient.

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My Party Leader, Ed Miliband, has announced proposals for a Constitutional
Convention. Rooted in the UKs nations and regions, this would address the
need for further devolution not just in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but
in England too, and reform of Westminster including this very House. It is the
best means of arriving at a consensus on the governance of our country and
would give citizens a stronger voice in politics.

I recognise, my Lords, that this is also the policy of the Liberal Democrats. So I
would strongly urge the Noble Baroness, the Leader, to commit the
Conservatives to something that has broad support, including among civil
society and our citizens. Now is not the time for partisanship. Consensus has to
be the way forward, and we should learn from the experiences of Irelands post-
2008 constitutional convention and Scotlands own pre- 1997 convention.

The process must be time limited and involve not just the political class. A
Convention, driven by the people indeed, for the people - with views and
voices from communities across our country, would mean that change could be
part of addressing feelings of powerlessness in the face of globalisation and its
impacts. It would encourage participation in the decision making process, both
within our new constitutional arrangements and the democratic system it
delivers.

Greater devolution is at the heart of my Partys policies with radical plans to
disperse power and responsibility downwards. My Rt Hon Friend, Hilary Benn,
has announced a New English Deal in which the equivalent of 30 billion worth
of spending would transfer away from Whitehall. This is crucial, because right
now, our country is too centralised. Only a quarter of public spending is at a
local or regional level, compared to an OECD average of a third. Our sub-
national taxation is 1.7% of GDP, compared to 16% in Sweden.
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A report released last week from the City Growth Commission, chaired by Jim
ONeill, focuses on how to push power down to our top 15 metropolitan areas.
Starting from the position that this is the age of the city, it makes an eye-
catching observation that these 15 areas performing to their potential up to 2030
could net an additional 79 billion to our economy.

But my Lords, its not just about cities. Our more rural and coastal areas are just
as important, as recognised in my Noble friend, Lord Adonis excellent review
Mending the fractured economy. They too within county regions need
greater powers to chart their own course on infrastructure, skills and
employment.

City regions and county regions are of course, already taking shape across
England. Councils of all political persuasions understand that working together
makes sense, whether to deliver better local services, be more efficient in the
use of public money, or market their economic and cultural potential on a wider
international stage.

As a consequence, they are building up local university, IT and service sectors,
with the jobs and prosperity that this all promises. The cohort of authorities
around big cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham have been doing
this for years, as too are less urban areas like Derbyshire and Staffordshire.

So, it is no wonder that some are now saying that if its good enough for one
part of the UK, then why not the rest? Many who voted Yes in Scotlands
referendum did so not out of a new found belief in Scottish Nationalism or
support for gesture politics. They voted Yes because:-
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They believed nobody else was listening to their concerns that politics
was not working for them and their families.
Nobody was offering them hope of better times, if not economically then
at least an opportunity to flourish and grow.
The conversations our great parties wanted to have with them often
started from a different premise, and as such failed to reflect what people
were actually worried about.

It would seem to make perfect sense, therefore, that Scotland should be looking
to devolve internally in the same way as England. Not just to city regions
around Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen, but to county regions too.

More powers closer to home, for local authorities to work together, influence
change and offer the promise of a better future. Not just to those youngsters
who voted Yes but also their younger siblings who werent yet old enough to
vote but might hold similar views. And my Lords, such an approach could also
help deal with the false promises of the SNP and their political bedfellows, for
whom a centralised a more centralised - Scotland is everything.

My Lords, it is only two short years since that wonderful summer of 2012, when
we came together to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The games
may have lasted just one month but they were the culmination of a decades
hard work from the initial bid to the event itself. This wasnt the achievement of
any one party: we all played our part in making it a success. And that work goes
on through benefits of the Olympic legacy.

In many ways the glorious summer of 2012 already seems like a long time ago:-
Our huge feeling of optimism, togetherness dare I say. One Nation
as people in communities across Britain took an interest in sports that we
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usually pay little or no attention to, just to see how well the Team GB
competitor had done.
Our excitement, looking at the Medals Table evening after evening, to see
how far we could climb competing with the likes of China and the US.
Our pride in the modern, diverse, outward looking, optimistic Britain that
was on display during the extraordinary opening ceremony; and those
wonderful volunteers the Games Makers.
And of course, that Super Saturday, when Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford
and Mo Farah all won Gold in what must have been the greatest 46
minutes of British sporting history.

My Lords, we felt like a nation at ease with itself. And we felt like a country
that could achieve anything we set our sights on, if only we put our differences
aside and work together.

Two years on, that feeling has gone. We have seen a sometimes bitter
referendum campaign in Scotland; the debate about Europe and immigration
gets more intolerent and feeds peoples fears; and distrust in politicians and
government goes from bad to worse. We are not however, going to find
solutions with partisan politics and playing people in different parts of the UK
off against each another. A Constitutional Convention wont resolve all of our
problems my Lords, but it would certainly make a start.

ENDS