Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s visit to Scotland last week has seen renewed questions about devolution and independence.
Speaking in Motherwell on 16 October, Burnham said too much “time has been wasted debating what differentiates us.”
He also reached out to First Minister John Swinney, with a proposal for further devolution of employment support.
Meanwhile, at the SNP’s annual conference, Swinney criticised Burnham’s approach to devolution, stating “Scotland is no city. We are no region. We are a nation.”
He also laid out plans for a renewed push for a second referendum on independence – often called ‘indyref2’.
Currently, the Scottish Government must be granted a Section 30 order by Westminster to hold this referendum, although past prime ministers have repeatedly ruled this out.
However, Burnham’s potentially softer position made headlines in September after he suggested that he would consider a referendum, provided there was a “clear consensus” in Scotland.
Since then, however, Burnham has written to Swinney to confirm that a referendum remains “off limits.”
The Student contacted YES Students for Independence, who said that Burnham is “out of touch with Scotland; [he] remains unwilling to strengthen the Scottish Government’s hand” through further devolution.
In a poll of 30 students in George Square, 89 per cent supported another referendum, while just 4 per cent opposed, and 79 per cent agreed Burnham was out of touch with Scotland’s interests.
However, others remain sceptical of independence.
One student expressed doubts about the “long-term sustainability” of independence given the Scottish Government’s debts and underfunding of public services.
Burnham’s remarks add fuel to the debate about ‘indyref2’ that has dominated Scottish politics since at least 2016, when a majority in Scotland voted to remain in the EU.
Now, with Swinney suggesting Burnham could be the “last Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,” it is clear this debate is not going away anytime soon.
Photo by Tegan Conway on Unsplash.
