Afew weeks ago, I was invited to attend a roundtable event with The Rt Hon Lord Smith of Kelvin. Arranged by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, the event focused on one key theme: devolution of further powers to the Scottish Parliament.
I was joined by those from a number of sectors, all from the Highlands, to discuss Devo Max, or whatever any constitutional arrangement would look like in the future.
Perhaps it should be called Devo MaC – it’s for the people of Scotland? Parts of the rest of the UK are already on the bandwagon so they can use the term Devo Max. Centralised government looks to be a thing of the past. Decentralisation is the future.
Whatever you call it, Lord Kelvin has one heck of a job on his hands, and it’s one which I do not envy. His role will see him referee the Smith Commission and Scotland’s political parties on what they can agree will constitute a new constitutional arrangement.
Recently, we have seen the Scottish Labour Party in turmoil with a fall in the polls and an exodus of its leadership in Scotland. How will this disintegration influence and affect the discussions from a Labour perspective or will the quest for a new leader just add to the time taken to agree on what is best for the people of Scotland?
It is of vital importance that we get this right. Both Nicola Sturgeon and Gordon Brown, two formidable politicians, have very strong views on what powers Scotland will need to achieve Devo Max. To accommodate these two and a lot of lesser voices Lord Smith has got a lot of refereeing to do.
A deal on new constitutional powers for Scotland is set to be reached at the end of this month. Now is the time to work together and build a better Scotland for the Scottish people and make Devo MaC work.
More to life than politics
Politics has its place.
Samantha Cameron hosted a reception at Number 10 on behalf of Motor Neurone Disease Scotland to which Lynne and I were invited. We met very brave young people there who have MND and listened to appeals on behalf of MND Scotland.
The disease affects thousands across the United Kingdom and there’s no known cause of the disease and as yet no known cure.
Gordon Aikman was very actively involved in the Sottish referendum before his diagnosis – which side of the debate doesn’t matter. He is just 29 and he gave what can only be described as the bravest speech I have ever heard about his fight and why MND Scotland unfortunately needs charitable funding.
We also met a young lady in her teens who has been told she only has a few months to live. It is heart breaking.
MND Scotland is the only Scottish charity providing care and support to people with MND, their families, friends and carers. Through education, campaigning and research, the charity works collaboratively to ensure that people affected by MND have access to the highest quality care and support.
The work MND Scotland does is invaluable.
We pledged a donation to the charity to help them maintain the fantastic work they do throughout Scotland.
We encourage readers to help in any way they can – www.mndscotland.org.uk