Lord Frost’s call for the Tory Government to strip Holyrood of powers shows he and his fellow Brexit fanatics have lost the plot. Devolution is the settled will of the Scottish people and the Parliament has gradually acquired extra powers.
But an unelected peer claims the SNP’s woes are a “huge opportunity” to reverse the trend of the last two decades. With breathtaking cheek, he believes powers should be clawed back to put the SNP in their place.
We accept the SNP at a party level just now is nothing short of a shambles. The police investigation has paralysed the party and Humza Yousaf is unable to get any momentum as First Minister.
But the idea that short-term challenges justify a reversal of devolution is opportunistic nonsense. Devolution is bigger than any one party and to suggest otherwise is absurd.
It is also worth thinking about the record of the governing party Lord Frost believes should benefit from a power grab. A party that over the past 13 years has punished the poor with policies such as the bedroom tax and the rape clause.
Ministers who cut the top rate of income tax while telling the rest of us to tighten our belts. Tories who partied hard in Downing Street during lockdown while ordinary Scots were unable to attend funerals of loved ones.
A party whose reflex is to appeal to the lowest common denominator by demonising vulnerable minorities. And a Government which, under Liz Truss, nearly wrecked the economy with the most reckless budget in decades.
It is also worth asking – who the hell is Lord Frost? He is not a minister or an MP and is accountable to nobody.
He sits in a legislature full of cronies and is out of touch with mainstream Scotland. His only claim to fame – if it can be put this way – is to be considered an expert on Brexit, which has been catastrophic for the whole of the UK.
Part of the reason Scots voted for devolution was to protect themselves from the damage inflicted by Tory governments. From the poll tax to the closure of key industries, Scots wanted to be able to shape policy and not have it imposed.
The idea the average Scot wants to hand back power to the Tories is laughable. The backlash to Frost’s views shows how exposed he and his right-wing friends are in Scottish politics.
But he has shown his hand and Scots should be vigilant about a reactionary agenda that would be a kick in the teeth for democracy.
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