David Cameron’s apparent willingness to contemplate greater devolution after an independence referendum (pithily summarised by one SNP MSP as: Vote no to cake today so I might give you some cake tomorrow) really is both sensible and startling. As recently as last month the official UK government position was, if I remember it correctly, independence or nowt. Now it is some kind of souped-up Home Rule or independence. This is quite a dramatic, sudden shift. Has anyone told Ruth Davidson about this or asked her opinion?
Those of us on the right of Scottish politics have reason to welcome the Prime Minister’s shift. Again, just last month Downing Street “sources” were telling the press that greater fiscal powers for Scotland were simply “inconsistent” with life within the United Kingdom. This no longer seems to be the case.
Perhaps I’m running too far ahead of the Prime Minister here, but I assume his willingness to countenance greater devolution implies some form of fiscal autonomy.
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