Revealed: the Tories’ plan to separate

7 April 2007

The slide towards extinction in Scotland has persuaded the Tories to draw up a blueprint for separation, says Fraser Nelson. The Scottish Tories would split off — and Cameron’s Conservatives would become the English party

The other storm rising is that of English nationalism, which may well start to power the wind turbines of the newly branded English Conservatives. This is the second aspect to the split. Just as devolution has accentuated Scottishness, English sentiment is also on the rise — most visibly during the World Cup last year, when fans universally adopted the St George’s cross rather than the Union flag. And — as Mr Blair knows — today’s football trend is tomorrow’s political movement.

In particular, there is growing resentment about the role of Scottish MPs. Why, for example, should they have been the decisive factor in the vote to raise university tuition fees in England three years ago when the Scottish Parliament has used its slush fund to ensure Scottish universities have no up-front charges at all? In a few months’ time, there may be an even greater provocation to English sensitivities in the form of a Scottish prime minister with a Scottish constituency. Mr Brown will be the living embodiment of the infamous West Lothian question: why should Scottish MPs decide issues for England that do not affect their own constituents? There is also the small issue of the £11 billion subsidy Mr Brown already ships each year to Scotland. New analysis by The Spectator shows that this represents an annual levy of £450 from each English taxpayer.

For years, such issues were only rarely raised in Westminster, as all parties had votes to lose in Scotland. But freed from such electoral constraints, the new English Conservative party would have a field day exploring the constitutional and financial imbalances bequeathed by devolution. Why do Scots enjoy Scandinavian levels of public spending? Why should Scottish MPs vote for foundation hospitals for England when the Scottish Labour party has rejected it as a dangerous idea for Scotland?

Another scenario may very well present itself: that Mr Brown goes into coalition with Sir Menzies Campbell after the next general election. Here are two MPs from Fife who were first in coalition when they went hillwalking in Scotland together in the 1980s in the wonderfully named Radical Ramblers club. The idea of them reunited, discussing England’s governance on the aircraft back from their Scottish constituencies, is one which would infuriate voters.