Brown vows to 'lock in' Scots powers

20 September 2014 Last updated at 13:09

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Gordon Brown: "Time for Scotland to unite"

Gordon Brown has said the promises made ahead of the Scottish independence referendum on change and further devolution will be delivered.

The former prime minister said it was time to move from the "battleground to the common ground" after a majority in Scotland voted "No" to leaving the UK.

He added: "We will lock in today the promises that we have made".

Politicians in England and Scotland are considering how the UK will be governed in the future.

In a speech in Dalgety Bay, Fife, Mr Brown described three "lock ins" which he said demonstrated that pre-referendum promises would be kept:

• a resolution has been signed by David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Ed Miliband and Mr Brown committing to a timetable of action including draft legislation for a new Scotland Bill by the end of January. The motion will be placed in the House of Commons on Monday.
• civil servants were already at work drawing up a timetable and detailed plans so that a "command paper" setting out new powers can be published by the end of October.
• a House of Commons debate to be held on Thursday 16 October to ensure the plans are on track.

Following Thursday's result, which saw 55% of of voters rejecting independence against 45% in favour, there has already been significant disagreement over the timing and extent of further devolution.

Prime Minister David Cameron vowed to deliver on the pre-referendum promises made by the three main Westminster parties to boost the powers of Scotland's devolved parliament.

He has tasked Lord Smith of Kelvin, who led Glasgow's staging of the Commonwealth Games, with overseeing the process of taking their commitments forward, with new powers over tax, spending and welfare to be agreed by November, and draft legislation published by January.

Mr Cameron has also proposed a system where only MPs from England would vote on English issues in Parliament.

Chris Mason Political correspondent, BBC News

Constitutional change very, very rarely happens quickly - and yet there was that promise before the referendum that it would in the case of Scotland.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have said that they will honour that promise but here is the sticking point: Can the two issues of England and Scotland be unpicked?

Labour is insisting that the two should be unpicked, that devolution for England cannot be rushed and that there has to be conversation in the rest of the UK, just as there's been a conversation in Scotland.

But the Conservatives say the two have to remain together - that the English cannot be fobbed off.

This will not be easy to resolve.

Some Labour figures have warned against creating "two classes of MP"..

In Manchester, delegates are gathering for Labour's UK conference as the party forms its response to the "No" vote fallout.

The party leader Ed Miliband has made it clear that he is not likely to sign up to Mr Cameron's proposals on new powers for English MPs.

Mr Miliband favours a nationwide constitutional convention to come up with ideas, convening next autumn.

Meanwhile the SNP faces a change of leadership after First Minister Alex Salmond announced he is to stand down.

A former treasurer of the party, Ian Blackford, has called for the nationalists to wield their negotiating power in the wake of the independence referendum and campaign for a form of Home Rule.

He said: "I think what we've got to do over the course of the next few months is say to Westminster, look there is a real desire for change in Scotland."

Further powers: Parliamentary motion

That this House...

• welcomes the result of the Scottish independence referendum and the decision of the people of Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom;
• recognises that people across Scotland voted‎ for a Union based on the pooling and sharing of resources and for the‎ continuation of devolution inside the United Kingdom;
• notes the statement by the prime minister, deputy prime minister and leader of the opposition regarding the guarantee of and timetable for further devolution to Scotland;
• calls on the government to lay before Parliament a Command Paper including the proposals of all three UK political parties by 30th October and to consult widely with the Scottish people, civic Scotland and the Scottish Parliament on these proposals;
• further calls on the government to publish heads of agreement by the end of November and draft clauses for the new Scotland Bill by the end of January 2015.

Speaking to an audience of No campaigners in Fife, Gordon Brown described himself as a "promise keeper" and said the leaders of the three main UK parties were "promise makers" and would not be" promise breakers".

He also moved to quash any suggestions that he planned to return to frontline politics. He said he was "too old to be the comeback kid" and "too young to be an elder statesman".

Mr Brown said the eyes of the world had been on Scotland over the past week and he called for unity.

He said: "There is a time to fight but there is a time to unite. This is the time for Scotland to unite.

"I am sure sure we can find ways to unify against the odds. "

He added: "Let us think of ourselves not as Yes Scots or No Scots but let us think of ourselves, all of us simply as Scots and united let us be a nation again."

What the 'No' vote means at home and abroad

In the wake of Scotland rejecting independence, Mr Salmond announced on Friday that he would resign as SNP leader at the party's conference in November, before standing down as first minister when the party elects its next leader in a membership ballot.

The 59-year-old told journalists there were a "number of eminently qualified and very suitable candidates" to replace him, with his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, seen as a clear favourite.

He is Scotland's longest-serving first minister, having held the post since the SNP won power at the Scottish Parliament in May 2007.

He has also served as leader of the SNP for a total of 20 years.

He will stay on as MSP for Aberdeenshire East, and described serving Scotland as first minister as the "privilege of my life".

On Saturday morning, Rupert Murdoch tweeted: "Alex Salmond's sudden resignation makes him most honest politician in Britain. Actually he seems to have changed country's future."

The media mogul followed it up with another tweet about the promise of more powers.

He wrote: "Cameron's promise of devolution, now for all parts of country, without consulting cabinet, clever politics, but divisions in all parties."

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

First Minister, Alex Salmond: "For me as leader my time is nearly over"

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Brown vows to 'lock in' Scots powers

Dengan url

http://cangkirtehhangat.blogspot.com/2014/09/brown-vows-to-lock-in-scots-powers.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Brown vows to 'lock in' Scots powers

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Brown vows to 'lock in' Scots powers

sebagai sumbernya