THE Tories need to “stop playing games with Scotland” over full fiscal autonomy, according to the SNP.
Stewart Hosie, the party’s deputy leader, reacted angrily after Tory minister David Mundell said that the Government will today reject an SNP amendment to the Scotland Bill calling for full fiscal autonomy.
And last night Hosie threatened to call a fresh independence referendum if the Scotland Bill wasn’t toughened.
Hosie said: “The Tories must stop playing games with Scotland, and clarify whether or not David Cameron’s assurance that further changes to the Scotland Bill will be considered still stands.”
He continued: “With only one MP in Scotland and no democratic mandate, the Tories cannot ignore the wishes of half of the Scottish electorate who voted SNP last month.
“Full fiscal autonomy means prising control over the economic and financial levers of government from the Tories, and placing it in the hands of the Parliament and people of Scotland. David Mundell’s rejection of our amendment shows that he wants George Osborne to be able to impose austerity cuts that will hit families across Scotland hard.
“Scotland needs significant new powers over our economy, job creation, welfare, wages and living standards if we are to make the most of our nation’s potential.”
Mundell said that the amendment would be a “full fiscal shambles” for Scotland.
The Secretary of State for Scotland said: “The Prime Minister has made it clear that the Government will carefully consider any changes to the Bill that are sensible. An amendment that kills off the Barnett formula and ends the sharing of resources across the UK is about as far away from sensible as one can get. It would be a full fiscal shambles that would cost every family in Scotland around £5,000.
“The Government will not accept amendments that are not good for Scotland. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that fiscal autonomy would mean Scotland having almost £10billion less to spend by the last year of this Parliament. That is not good for Scotland. That is why the Government will stand up for Scotland and resist the amendment.”
The SNP said that their amendments for full fiscal autonomy would be the priority, but they would “consider” an amendment by Tory backbencher Edward Leigh to allow the Scottish Government to collect and spend taxes. The speedy timetable and conditions of Leigh’s amendment will likely be an obstacle.
Labour’s Scottish MP Ian Murray said that his party would “oppose the Tory amendment for full fiscal autonomy”. The Shadow Secretary of State said “it would be a disaster for Scotland’s finances”.
Today marks the first day of the Committee Stage of the Scotland Bill, where MPs go through the legislation clause by clause. It is the first of four days dedicated to the bill. There are also amendments to the Bill on formalisation of the Sewel Convention and the permanence of the Scottish Parliament.
The first would mean that Westminster would now need to seek consent from Holyrood before it could legislate in devolved in areas.
Although this has been the convention since the Scottish Parliament began in 1999, the amendment, if passed, will see it become law. The second amendment, if passed, would mean that there was no way the Scottish Parliament could be abolished unless that was the outcome voted for by the people of Scotland.
Scottish Government ministers are expected to set out the powers they would like to see transferred to the Scottish Parliament later in the week.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said yesterday: “The Scotland Bill must deliver real power for the Scottish Parliament. It must fulfil the Smith Agreement in full, but we have always said we will argue for more levers to grow our economy and tackle inequality.
“The Scottish Government believes we should move towards full fiscal autonomy as the best route to fulfil Scotland’s potential. In the meantime, we are prioritising the transfer of additional powers to incentivise key sectors, raise productivity and attract investment.
“Powers over the minimum wage, employment policy and benefits would allow us to build a coherent approach to training, education and support for people out of work or experiencing in-work poverty. We would use powers over equality to create a fairer society by tackling the gender pay gap and strengthening protection from discrimination.
“These are our priorities and I will be making the case for devolution of further powers to the Secretary of State for Scotland.”
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