DEVOLUTION OF extra powers from London to Scotland will not be considered until the Scottish independence referendum is over in two years’ time, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers has said.
The statement, which was sharply criticised last night by the Scottish National Party (SNP), was made by the recently appointed secretary of state during a meeting of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Glasgow.
“In terms of the debate about potential devolution, whether in Scotland, or Wales, or Northern Ireland, I think what the statement we have made about potential Scottish devolution is that now that there is a referendum agreed, now that that there is a referendum taking place, any debate about further devolution needs to wait until after that referendum before decisions can be realistically taken about the possibility of further powers for Scotland,” she said.
The constitutional instability created by the Scottish referendum could impact upon Northern Ireland’s bid to win powers to cut its corporation tax rate to match the 12.5 per cent rate applied in the Republic.
“I have said many times that it is a change that I would like to see happen. I can see the case for it. I can see that it would bring some real benefits to the Northern Ireland economy,” she told the assembly.
“The question is: will it be possible to resolve the practical issues that remain, not least how much the deductions to the NI block grant would need to be to satisfy EU criteria?
“And also another matter which, no doubt, the prime minister will consider when he makes the decision is the wider constitutional implications for the UK as a whole,” she said.
The assembly includes TDs and House of Commons MPs, along with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish parliament, the Welsh assembly and public representatives from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.
Conservative MP Laurence Robertson, the co-chairman of the British-Irish assembly, acknowledged that the Scottish referendum would “dominate debate” over the next two years.
“But it is important not to lose sight of other issues such as economic development in both Britain and Ireland,” said Mr Robertson, who co-chairs the assembly alongside Fine Gael TD for Donegal North East Joe McHugh.
Last night, the SNP said the Northern Ireland Secretary’s remarks showed that Conservative promises to Scots of greater self-government cannot be trusted.
SNP member of the Scottish parliament Linda Fabiani said Mrs Villiers had “let the Tories’ mask slip and has revealed that despite their previous hints, they are not even prepared to debate the prospect of more powers for Scotland”.
“There is a severe credibility gap when the anti-independence parties are asking people to vote against an independent Scotland without even tolerating discussion of what their alternative plans might be,” she said.
“While the SNP are setting out our vision of what an independent Scotland will look like, it seems the Tories are not prepared to come clean on what will happen to Scotland if it stayed in the UK.
“People in Scotland have long memories and know only too well that the Tories have a previous track record of failing to live up to their promises of more power for Scotland.”
