Lord Forsyth: White paper needed on further fiscal devolution

The UK Government should set out a blueprint for devolution of further fiscal powers in light of last week’s General Election “revolution” north of the border, a former Scottish Secretary has said. 

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, who held the role between 1995 and 1997, said a white paper on full fiscal autonomy was required following the SNP’s success at the polls last week.

Nicola Sturgeon’s party claimed 56 of the 59 Scottish seats at Westminster with Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives returning just one MP apiece north of the border. 

“I think we have to recognise what happened in Scotland last Thursday was a revolution,” Lord Forysth told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“The Conservative in me was full of joy for what David Cameron had achieved, but the unionist is greatly dismayed. We used to say that if the SNP won a majority of the seats in Scotland they could have independence. They got 50 per cent of the votes and 95 per cent of the seats.

“The reality is that you have to respond to that and I think that what the government needs to do is to produce a white paper which sets out how fiscal autonomy, ‘devo max’, call it what you will, would work in practice so the people are aware of the advantages and the disadvantages.

“The big advantage being of course that Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP would not be able to produce manifestos that promise the earth without carrying the possibility of raising the money in the first place.”

The Conservative peer had spoken out in the final few weeks of the General Election campaign amid concerns his party’s election strategy was “short term and dangerous”, threatening the future of the UK.

Lord Forysth has now endorsed pre-election calls by Labour for a constitutional convention as a “sensible proposal”. 

“We need a solution that would bring stability, not just to Scotland, but to the whole of the United Kingdom and treat the constituent parts of the United Kingdom fairly,” he added. 

“We just can’t go on with these piecemeal additional powers and tinkering of the constitution which, as we have seen, simply feeds the nationalist tiger and has created the disastrous situation where the unionist parties have only one MP in Scotland representing each of them.”