The Report of the Smith Commission for Further Devolution of Powers to the Scottish Parliament has been published. It contains an array of significant proposals concerning the devolution of further authority to the Scottish Parliament. Stepping back from the detail, however, it also contains two — related — proposals that are potentially of constitution significance in bigger-picture terms.
In his foreword, Lord Smith writes:
The Scottish Parliament will be made permanent in UK legislation and given powers over how it is elected and run. The Scottish Government will similarly be made permanent.
In the report itself, these ideas are fleshed out (slightly) in the following terms:
UK legislation will state that the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government are permanent institutions.
The report goes on to say that:
The Sewel Convention will be put on a statutory footing.
Viewed from a purist legal-constitutional perspective, these statements promise more than they…
View original post 2,151 more words
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
Recent Comments