Gordon Brown outlines proposals for a stronger Scottish Parliament

Today Gordon Brown will give a speech to the 17th State Of The City Economy Conference in Glasgow where he will propose his plans for a stronger Scottish Parliament

Brown, who was widely heralded as one of the strongest voices in the Scottish referendum campaign, will say that this plans will not just mimic the SNP’s one-dimensional focus on constitutional change but will unite the people of Scotland.

He will propose using 17 new powers to the Scottish Parliament, which he thinks the Smith Commission should endorse. These powers, he will say, will encourage economic growth and reduce inequality and deprivation. To do so, Brown is proposing (amongst other things) a £200million scheme – the funds of which would be raised from a Uk bankers’ bonus tax –  to end youth unemployment and a new community service organisation ‘Serve Scotland’ to empower communities in the fight against poverty.

He will also say that he wants a joint UK/Scotland task force on globalisation and jobs and suggest for an infrastructure programme to cut down travelling times between Scotland and London.

He will sum up the crux of of his speech by explaining:

“Someone, somewhere, with some vision of the future and some sense of what Scots can now agree upon, must demonstrate that we can break free from the deep divisions that are hurting Scotland and show how Scottish people can unite around a bold, radical and innovative programme of social and economic change that respects the result of the referendum – more powers for Scotland within the United Kingdom.