John Swinney today appeared to concede defeat in his bid for another independence referendum as he accepted the Prime Minister’s offer to devolve more powers to Scotland.
Following their meeting at the National Economic Council at UK government offices in Glasgow, the two leaders thrashed out a number of plans that would be taken forward by the Prime Minister’s No10 North office.
These include working together in a “policy sprint” to devolve more employment support for young people to reduce the number not in work or training.
However, Mr Burnham once again ruled out a second referendum on splitting up the UK.
The First Minister welcomed Mr Burnham’s pledge to respect the Scottish parliament and said he looked forward to the two Governments “jointly developing a plan to consider further devolution to Scotland.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and First Minister agreed the meeting at the NEC had been extremely positive.
“They said it had been a valuable exercise in starting the process of exploring how each government could contribute to regional empowerment, reindustrialisation and achieving good growth in every postcode.
“They agreed that now there would be a policy sprint led by No10 North, involving officials from both governments, to take this agenda forward.
“Outside that process, the Prime Minister said the UK Government would review and respond to a range of issues raised by the First Minister.
“This would not include a second independence referendum in Scotland, which the Prime Minister has repeatedly made clear, is off the table.”
Mr Swinney pledged to work “constructively and collaboratively” with the UK Prime Minister to devolve further powers to Scotland “for the benefit of the people we serve.”
While the UK Government disagrees with the Scottish Government that the best future for Scotland is as an independent European nation, the First Minister said both do agree that Westminster is not working for people in Scotland, and the best decisions are taken by those who live north of the border.
Mr Swinney also welcomed the commitment made by the Mr Burnham to respect the constitutional role of the Scottish Parliament.
He said: “While the Prime Minister and I disagree on independence, we do agree that Westminster does not work for people in Scotland. And when the people of Scotland take issues into their own hands, the best outcomes will come about.
“To that end, I will work constructively and collaboratively with him to devolve more powers from Westminster to Scotland – as long as those proposals drive economic growth that is felt in higher wages, better jobs, more opportunities for business to start and expand, and support with the cost of living.
“Today’s meeting of the National Economic Council was a welcome start of work to develop the UK Government’s new principle of ‘devolving by default’ and the Prime Minister has been clear that he will not bypass the Scottish Parliament in this endeavour.
“I welcome that commitment, and look forward to our Governments jointly developing a plan to consider further devolution to Scotland that will boost economic growth.”
Daily Business Bulletin: Subscribe here for our free morning bulletin of breaking news
… refresh for updates
#Swinney #backs #indy #vote #gain #powers #Daily #Business