Pandora’s Box and Labour hope

By Ian Lucas MP

The effect of devolution on the UK has always been grossly underestimated. Now open, now hidden, its impact has, nevertheless, been constant. This year’s results in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections have, now the smoke of battlefield has cleared, left an entirely different political landscape in the UK and the world has noticed.

At devolution’s birth, with Labour in government after 1997, its first major impact was on Labour’s opposition. Despite the Conservatives losing all seats in the 1997 general election, Labour’s opponents were given a foothold in both Scotland and Wales by the introduction of additional member voting systems to the devolved institutions in 1999. In Wales, this has enabled the Tories to start to recover: the inability of the nationalists in Wales to capture the Tory vote has left Plaid Cymru struggling to secure a position as the main opposition to Labour. By contrast, in Scotland, the nationalists, when led by the political strategist of real consequence that is Alex Salmond, have secured much of the Tory vote, and cemented thereby their position as the real alternative to Labour.

Observe how differently to Labour the Tories acted on constitutional matters. The Tory/Liberal Democrat UK government moved immediately to preserve its position of power at Westminster following establishment of their coalition in 2010. The reduction of seats from Wales as part of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2011 makes it much more difficult for Labour to win the next general election. This, to date, has been the primary focus of policy for the Conservative Party: what happens in Scotland and Wales in their devolved institutions is of, at most, secondary importance. In this approach, the Tories have been helped by their allies, the Liberal Democrats.

One of the most unexpected aspects of the Tory/Liberal Democrat government has been its willingness to pass powers to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales. By instinct, the Tories are resistant to such steps. But the presence of the Liberal Democrats has diluted the unionism of the coalition. The Tories remain very weak in Scotland and Wales: only one Tory MP in Scotland means that the Tory voice is seconded to the Liberal Democrats there. Though the Tories are stronger in Wales, their secretary of state has no credibility as a political influence either within cabinet or within Wales itself. Tory policy is driven by politics in England.

The Prime Minister has, till now, shown little interest in Scotland or Wales (or, indeed, Northern Ireland). He has been happy to franchise policy in Scotland and Wales to the Liberal Democrats with one very important proviso. The UK government must retain control the purse strings. It is striking how seldom the Prime Minister and chancellor have strayed into policy relating to Scotland and Wales and how ready the chancellor has been to allow his Liberal Democrat deputy, Danny Alexander, to make the running.

2011’s Scottish Parliament election result has shown David Cameron the danger of his devolution policy in government. The Conservatives’ continued weakness in Scotland means that the Prime Minister does not have the authority, for example, to resist the SNP’s calls for an independence referendum. What is new after last Thursday is the weakness of his proxies, the Liberal Democrats, north of the border. How can they, rejected so massively in Scotland last week, continue to be allowed to speak for the UK government there?

From this Pandora’s Box, there comes one small voice of Hope. The only party with strength across all parts of the UK is Labour. For those who believe in the UK across all its nations and regions, Labour’s voice is singularly important. It has authority from the ballot box that no other party has.

To exploit this authority, Labour must develop a political response to the government’s approach to devolution that reflects the reality of governance in the UK in 2011. That response should be grounded in Labour’s unique strength in all of the institutions of government within the UK: Labour – in the UK parliament, in the devolved institutions and in local government – must work together to formulate responses to proposals from the Tory/Liberal Democrat government to the transfer of powers to the devolved institutions.

The test will be simple: what is the best outcome for the people we represent?

This will involve structural change within Labour. It must work more closely as a team across the UK, forever premised on the settled will of devolution within the UK. The strong performance of Welsh Labour last week reflected concerted work to bring together AMs, MPs, councillors and the Labour Party in Wales. Labour must do more with policy vehicles to respond to UK government proposals, reflecting the views of electors in all parts of the UK. Labour must not fall into the trap of agreeing policy government to government – at UK, Scotland and Wales level – without agreeing policy within the Labour Party across the UK.

For example, the change of Scottish Parliament or Welsh Assembly boundaries or election dates is not simply a matter for the devolved institutions. It is a matter for the Labour Party as a whole as it may affect the outcome of more than one election.

Equally, comparative performance in health and education within the UK is now a matter of political debate across the UK, as the Prime Minister has tried to exploit recently, and it is vital that MPs and councillors are better informed to respond in devolved areas of policy.

The strength of the Labour Party is its broad presence across the UK, and its unique voice as a political force in all tiers of government. Its challenge is, in response to the new governmental framework created by devolution, to create internal political machinery to oppose the policies of the Tory/Liberal Democrat UK government and, thereby, to protect the interests of the people we represent.