Devolution has largely failed in Scotland and Wales and some powers need to be returned to Westminster. This is a precis of a controversial article by Lord Frost in the Daily Telegraph last week that continues to provoke outrage. Leading members of the SNP have denounced it. Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has vowed to ‘defend our democracy’ in the face of the attack, and Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader at Westminster, has called it evidence of ‘a deliberate, co-ordinated attempt to reverse devolution, …and force Scotland under Westminster control.’ Even some Tories and unionist commentators have slammed Frost’s piece either as outright ‘nonsense’ or a tactical error gifting the seemingly moribund SNP a ‘lifeline’ in the form of fodder for its ever active grievous machine.
They are wrong, and Lord Frost is right. Devolution has been a disaster for Scotland, offering unchecked power to one of the lowest quality cohorts of politicians the UK has ever seen, with lamentable consequences for the country.
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