CONTRADICTING his own previous comments, Boris Johnson today said devolution has “absolutely not” been a disaster for the United Kingdom.
The Prime Minister told the BBC that he had benefited from devolution himself, equating his experience as mayor of London to that of the administrations governing Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Johnson was speaking from a mass coronavirus vaccination centre at Cwmbran Stadium in South Wales, as part of a series of Covid-19-related visits in the country on Wednesday.
He was asked if he considered devolution a “disaster”, following reports he told Tory MPs it had been “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake”.
Speaking in November last year, Johnson also said that he does not “see a case” for handing down further powers from Westminster to the devolved nations.
READ MORE: Scottish politicians slam PM for claim devolution is 'disaster north of Border'
He said: “I think that a lot of people looking at the way the NHS across our whole country has performed, the way the armed services have been so valuable, the way the drugs that we have had been procured nationally, invented nationally, I think people can see the strength of the Union.”
Asked the same question again, Mr Johnson said: “Certainly not overall. Absolutely not. I speak as the proud beneficiary of devolution when I was running London. I was very proud to be doing things that made a real difference for my constituents and my electorate, improving quality of life.”
He added: “I think that devolution can work very well, but it depends very much on what the devolved authorities do.”
Has devolution been a disaster?
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 17, 2021
"Certainly not overall," says Boris Johnson at a vaccination centre in Wales
"Devolution can work very well, but it depends very much on what the devolved authorities do"https://t.co/EMBuXlDuq5 pic.twitter.com/rYOluCr8rX
The Prime Minister's comments echoed the defence used by Downing Street after he initially labelled devolution a "disaster".
At the time, No10 sources did not deny the Prime Minister had made the comments but attempted to clarify his position, claiming he has “always supported devolution”, though “not when it’s used by separatists and nationalists to break up the UK”.
As the row went on, Tories insisted further that Johnson had been talking about the SNP Government, and not devolution itself.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel