London - Scotland's first parliament for nearly 300 years moved a crucial step closer last night when legislation setting it up cleared the House of Commons after a parliamentary marathon. The historic Scotland Bill was given a third reading without a vote following more than 80 hours of debate spanning 13 days over the last four months.
More exhaustive scrutiny is certain as peers pore over details of the legislation when it moves to the House of Lords next month, with debate there expected to spread into a spill-over session in the autumn.
The measure allows the Scottish parliament to vary taxes by up to 3p on the standard rate of income tax.