The Scottish National Party performed an embarrassing eleventh-hour about-turn last night when its MSPs backed the Calman Commission’s proposals to give Holyrood more financial powers, signalling another shift away from the party’s long-time demands for full independence.
After months of condemning the Calman plans, claiming that they amounted to a sell-out which could even cut the Scottish Budget by £800 million, Alex Salmond and his 46 MSPs apparently decided they could not sustain their opposition.
Instead, they took their place alongside the three unionist parties and supported the Scotland Bill, now going through Westminster, which gives the Calman scheme legislative force and will be implemented over the next four years.
The conversion of the SNP was greeted last night with derision by opposition parties, with the Conservatives asking what the point of the SNP was now, while Labour claimed that Mr Salmond’s credibility was seriously damaged.
Under the terms of the Scotland Bill, Westminster has agreed that MSPs should give their consent to the legislation. The consent motion put forward by Labour was backed as expected by Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MSPs and, unexpectedly, by the SNP after their own amendment calling for Holyrood to be given “a full range of powers and responsibilities” was defeated.
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The SNP change of heart came only two days before the party holds its pre-election spring conference in Glasgow. The U-turn may give Mr Salmond an uncomfortable time from rank-and-file Nationalists who regard Calman as a diversion from independence and in the words of John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, only a few months ago, as “a poison pill” which Scotland could not afford to swallow.
However, it is understood that Mr Salmond and his colleagues came to the conclusion that there was little mileage for a nationalist party in continuing to oppose the acquisition of more powers for Holyrood.
By voting for the consent motion, they believe, they have outflanked the unionist parties who were geared up to launch a bitter attack on the SNP during the coming election campaign for wanting to deny Holyrood more powers.
Sources close to Mr Salmond also explained that he viewed last night’s consent motion as essentially a “staging post” in the Calman process and that another consent motion at Holyrood would be required later this year when MSPs consider Westminster amendments to the Scotland Bill. The sources said the SNP’s position then would depend on which amendments were passed at Westminster. Mr Salmond also believes the SNP can make the case for more extensive financial powers for Scotland over and above Calman during the election campaign.
The Scotland Bill aims to increase the accountability of MSPs by making them responsible for raising in tax around 35 per cent of the annual Scottish budget and giving the devolved Parliament limited borrowing powers. It also gives MSPs new powers over firearms, drink-driving laws and speed limits.
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However, a report by a all-party committee set up at Holyrood last week to examine the Bill envisaged going further than Calman by extending the planned borrowing powers from £2.2 billion to £5 billion and giving MSPs the power to borrow from the financial markets by issuing bonds. It also called for Holyrood to be given the power to vary higher rates of income tax independently in the future.
Supporting Calman leaves the SNP open to the charge that separation has lost its momentum — especially as the word “independence” appears to have been written out of the SNP script recently in favour of “financial autonomy” and a “social union” with the rest of the UK. Iain Gray, the Labour leader at Holyrood, said: “The way the SNP has conducted itself throughout the Calman process has damaged its credibility ... Instead of playing a constructive role they chose to snipe from the sidelines and have now made a last minute U-turn.”
Murdo Fraser, the Conservative deputy leader, accused the SNP of being “all at sea” on the constitution. He added: “SNP voters who support independence will wonder what is the point of a party which is now prepared to swallow these unionist proposals.”
Meanwhile, an amendment by Margaret Mitchell, a Conservative MSP, calling for an all-Scotland referendum on the Calman powers, won the support of SNP MSPs, but was overwhelmingly defeated by the other parties.
However, her move damaged Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory leader, because it raised questions over her control of her backbenchers, especially since the official Tory position is to reject a referendum.