Andy Burnham will meet John Swinney in Glasgow on Friday after the Prime Minister called for "deeper" devolution in Scotland. The Labour leader will arrive in Scotland for the first time since he made a landmark speech in Motherwell earlier this month to declare he wanted to "move beyond constitutional questions" and "focus on solutions for people right now".
Summit of devolved leaders
Burnham will lead a summit in Glasgow which will be attended by leaders of the devolved administrations and other senior Labour Cabinet figures. Top of the agenda is likely to be the PM's firm belief that powers must be devolved from both Westminster and Holyrood and pushed out to regions across Scotland.
Swinney said he was looking forward to meeting with Burnham but warned any further devolution must be agreed by the Scottish Government in advance "and not done over our heads".
Cooperation and independence stance
The PM previously said he wanted to foster a new spirit of cooperation between London and Edinburgh that could see powers devolved from both governments and back into local communities. But Burnham has also ruled out a second referendum on independence - and said "my view won't be changing" when pressed on the issue by the Record after his speech in Motherwell on October 16.
The impending visit of the PM north of the Border was a talking point at First Minister's Questions today where Michael Marra challenged Swinney on whether he supported devolving powers out of Holyrood to Scots communities.
Exchange at First Minister's Questions
The Scottish Labour leader said: "The Scottish Parliament is one of the most powerful devolved legislatures in the world, and yet Scotland is one of the most centralised countries. Too much power and money has been hoarded in Edinburgh at the expense of Scotland’s communities. We believe that instead, they should be given the tools they need to attract investment, create jobs, and drive growth."
John Swinney had the opportunity today to explain which powers he would be willing to push out of Holyrood and into local communities but failed to mention a single one. "This inaction risks regions of Scotland missing out on the benefits of being able to make key decisions to boost growth in their area."
Marra added: "Can we not put the betrayal myth away and work together to deliver growth in this country. Labour are driving forward real devolution to regions to help improve living standards. Scotland risks being left on the platform as the train pulls away. When the First Minister gets on the train tomorrow to Glasgow to meet the Prime Minister, can he tell what powers he will put on the table to be devolved across Scotland to drive growth in our communities?"
Swinney responded: "I look forward to holding the Prime Minister to his commitment that he gave to me in July that any additional powers as part of this programme will be done with the consent of the Scottish Government and not done over our heads. I've set out an agenda that's about devolving responsibilities to local authorities on a regional basis, so we strengthen regional capacity to grow the economy. That's been set out very clearly in the papers that have been set out."
