Help us to helpthemselves

This is interesting (via wonko):

Former First Minister Henry McLeish has made a rare return to Holyrood - where he spoke out on home rule for England.

...in his speech he said it would benefit Scotland if England also had devolution. And he added safeguards should be brought in to prevent Westminster abolishing the Scottish Parliament or reducing its powers.

The interesting thing about this is that it is a predictable reaction to the current devolution problems. The current state of devolution undermines both Britain and England. It cannot be allowed to continue and McLeish knows this. There are those that might call for the eventual abolishment of the Scottish parliament or a serious reduction in its powers as a way of solving the problem. Perhaps the whispers are stronger than we think. Supporting an English parliament or some other kind of English devolution is a way of heading off this kind of outcome at the pass.

Perhaps the chattering is getting louder. Perhaps we can expect more talk like this from north of the border.

Posted by John at November 8, 2005 10:57 AM | TrackBack