Trust between the the Scottish and UK governments has deteriorated so much, the relationship has to be rebooted and the Scotland Office dismantled, a Commons report has claimed.
A review of 20 years of devolution by the Common’s Scottish Affairs Committee concluded that the ties between the two governments have reached their lowest point just when Brexit means goodwill and cooperation are needed most.
Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP Government has been at loggerheads with Theresa May’s Conservatives for three years over the refusal to stage a second independence referendum, over Brexit negotiations and a turf war over the so-called “power grab” of EU powers.
After hearing evidence across the divide, Pete Wishart MP, the chair of the cross-party Scottish Affairs Committee, said: “My committee’s inquiry has found that, although the relationship is far from ideal, it is not beyond repair.
"We’re calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to make fundamental changes in their approach to devolution to restore trust.”
The investigation by MPs casts doubt on the usefulness of the Scotland Office in Whitehall, headed by Scottish
Secretary David Mundell.
Wishart said: “The Committee concludes most intergovernmental relations are now conducted directly between the Scottish Government and the relevant Whitehall departments, which brings into question whether there is still a meaningful role for the Scotland Office to play.”
But the UK Government defended the Scotland Office, with a spokesman saying: “Scotland’s two governments enjoy a close working relationship, as the Secretary of State’s evidence to the Committee showed.
“We are pleased the committee acknowledged our joint efforts to develop common frameworks in areas such as agriculture when we leave the EU, which will strengthen the UK’s internal market.
“It is simply untrue to say that relations between the two governments have broken down.”
