More sorrow than anger
I spent the whole of this morning in an Edinburgh hotel. The Radisson, to be precise.
That new/old structure on the Canongate, just up from Holyrood.
Why, you ask? I was attending a parliamentary committee. Why there, you ask again? Why not in Holyrood?
Because it was not a Holyrood gig but an offshoot of the mother of parliaments.
. (Or at least five committee members - three of them Welsh - plus associated clerks.)
It was an intriguing occasion. Dignified not solemn, polite but incisive, detailed but ultimately, and inevitably, inconclusive. At least at this stage.
Very affable
Scottish Government Ministers Sturgeon and Crawford gave evidence.
Separately but self-evidently in tandem, they suggested that the Scotland Office within the UK Government was past its sell-by date.
You couldn鈥檛 call it an attack. Far too genteel. Bruce Crawford made plain that he gets on personally very well with David Cairns, the Scotland Office minister.
. All very affable.
But he鈥檇 rather, on balance, be chatting with the Cabinet Office or the Leader of the House at Westminster.
Nicola Sturgeon, similarly, sounded the note of 鈥渕ore in sorrow than anger".
The era of the Scotland Office was past. Given that it was only established post devolution, the term 鈥渆ra鈥 perhaps overstates things somewhat. But no matter. We definitely got the concept.
Why now? Because there is about to be a searching examination of devolved powers and relations with Westminster. Not just by the justice committee. And not just in an Edinburgh hotel.
Enhanced status
But by the Wendy Commission (aka the Brown review/working party.) By Labour, the Tories and the LibDems. Added, of course, to the national conversation opened by the SNP ministers.
Why this initiative against the Scotland Office? Because the SNP Scottish Government would prefer to deal directly with the Labour UK Government.
Because that enhances the status of the Scottish administration, removing the need to go through an emissary.
In response, the Scotland Office argues that it facilitates cross-border relations, direct and indirect. It says that Whitehall departments use the Scotland Office for advice in dealing with Holyrood.
In practice, of course, there are already bilateral relations between departments in Edinburgh and departments in London.
Also giving evidence this morning, the Scottish permanent secretary Sir John Elvidge said he welcomed such contacts with his Whitehall counterparts.
While staying, of course, strictly neutral on the shape of UK/Scottish governance, Sir John said he did not think of the Scotland Office 鈥渁s the key interlocutor in making contact work.鈥
I'm 
Comments
like a lyric in a meatloaf song the past dead and buried that is the scottish office the past and it is now dead and needs buried.
song called life,s a lemon and i want my money back comes to mind.
your the past -it,s dead and buried that is what the scottish office is westminister can,t see that and do the right thing and bury it
All this documentary evidence will make fantastic reading and source materials when, in 30 years time, historians are drafting 'The End of a Union: Why and How'.
Here we are in Scotland 2008, our democratically elected government has to approach an emissary in the guise of The Scottish Office to open dialogue with Westminster.
It's time for Des Browne to concentrate on his other job, it's time for David Cairns to Mchatter to someone else,it's time for our elected government to speak directly on our behalf.
For Goodness Sake, It's Time !
Given that there are concordats between whitehall depts and the scottish govt/exec although come to think of it, that between dcms and leith needs updating- one wonders if the scotland office really does have a locus or weight and if so, how and why and is the best way to organise civil service structures never mind ministerial?
ask professor peter hennessy to investigate and report
Brian,your piece reads like a wistful memory of times past in post-colonial India or Africa,meeting up 5 or 10 years after independence,or in this case devolution,to check up that the natives understood what they are supposed to be doing with the new powers.And making sure that they are largely still governing by the same old tried and trusted methods.
Different skin colour or different language but essentially our sort of people.
We're not even 1 year into the SNP Government and these discussions are taking place!Have things really changed to that degree since the last government,or to the same degree in Wales and Northern Ireland?
The behaviour of the Scotland office is on par with Britains Colonial past.How the Labour party and the press cant see this is beyond me ,but just as colonial governer generals of the past the present Scottish Secetary will soon be consigned to the bin.
Labour are an embarrasment.
"Because that enhances the status of the Scottish administration, removing the need to go through an emissary."
Executive not Government, First Minister not Prime Minister, the Scotland Office to act as emissary to Westminster not direct contact.
These and many other more subtle shackles have been put in place to keep the Scottish Parliament in its place and at arms length from the 'proper' MPs, Cabinet and PM at Westminster.
Unfortunately not everyone is playing the game. Prime Minister Salmond and his team of upstarts are not only doing a far better job than Labour did they're even calling themselves the Government.
And now growing numbers of their ragamuffin supporters have taken to calling the Salmond, Prime Minister for Gods sake. As if!!
I really can't think why we don't just close it down. It's not as if there would be much of a fuss now would there? Would there???
Perhaps you could get the location of the hotel correct.
It is in the High Street and not the Canongate.
getting this simple location wrong, then what else do you get wrong?
Political commentator?
What a fantastic idea. Get rid of this obstacle. Have you seen Scottish Questions on TV that is the most disgusting boys club I have ever seen. These people are there point scoring and backpatting it makes you sick to think they represent Scotland with their demeaning holier than thou attitude. If we can cut them out of the loop Scotland will be the better for it.
Brian, you said:
"You couldn't call it an attack"
Yet the 成人快手i headline reads:
"Row over Scotland Office attack"
All this Westminster/Holyrood grief surely isn't manufactured by mischievious hacks who know what pushes David Cairns' buttons, is it?
brian, this is just scot.off.trying to look like the BIG boys they think they are!!!i dont think its anything to get excited about,snp.will eat them for breakfast,
Brian
I am surprised you did not include the latest quote from McChatering Cairns.
Mr Cairns said: "It is typical of the arrogance of the minority administration that they believe that their narrow party interest is identical with the interest of Scotland.
Could you remind McChatering the next time you speak to him that the SNP won the most seats in the Scottish parliament with a higher % of the vote that Labour achieved in the last election.
DoDos come to mind when thinking about McChatering.
David Cairns doesn't want to lose his cushy job, surprise, surprise! His name calling of the "minority" Government (sorry David, Executive) as arrogant beggars belief. It was the arrogant Labour party that lost last may. By the way, David, don't you think the Scottish Government would protect whisky, if given the chance? Also David should smile more. What is it with these guys, Brown, Browne and Cairns, they never smile. Correction, Brown does now, his spin doctors told him to. Must have taken a lot of practise, not to mention a spanner and elbow grease.
And theres poor Brian waiting for a rant from the Scottish People.
Things were going well for Westminster until May's election. Wee Jockee was doing what he was told by the Brit Nats, Labour Party Corruption was in full swing and the envelope brigade were well satisfied with their wage subsidies. And then the Scottish People dared to elect Scotlands First Scottish Government in three hundred years.
Alex Salmond dared to challenge Tony Blairs agreement with Gadaffi and then followed that up with telling the Scottish People the truth about Benns broken promises concerning England Foot & Mouth Disease compensation for the innocent Scottish Farmers, who were affected financially by the British Governments poor management of a facility that stored very dangerous diseases. The poor Management thing was then repeated over and over and over again with their handling of highly sensetive personal information on the general public.
Then David Cairns was put in place to cover for Des Browne who thought that his Department of Defense job was so easy he could take on even more.That then led on to the debacle of our Soldiers going into battle against well organised fighters for the other side, with not enough good equipment.
I guess that is enough justification for now, so lets throw them out of the building and the country so we can get on with the job of fixing all the evils they have left us with.
The SNPs National Conversation is the main event, because it is all inclusive.
The wendy commission is just a side show distraction that isn't meant to achieve anything, and of course it can't anyway.
Merely a mechanism to keep Scotland (SNP) at arm鈥檚 length whilst appearing to be interested in matters Scottish.
Matters Scottish have only ever been important around election times for both leading political parties with the obvious exceptions of Clyde Naval Base / Trident, and the oil industry; all else has been shut down or downsized.
Even the English Conservatives who snubbed the Scottish Conservative at Blackpool in September of 2007 will unashamedly simulate interest in Scotland come election time.
Labour have more to lose from Scottish voters abandoning their 50 year old affair with the party that was once seen as the champion of the working classes; Tony Blair sowed the centre ground seeds but unfortunately for Labour Jack McConnell was left to tend the crop,; it is never easy to see the bigger picture when you have tunnel vision.
What will London Labour鈥檚 policy be, continue with damaged Wendy, give Jack McConnell the kiss of life or nurture A N Other? Either way if Labour lose Scotland they lose Downing Street.
Seriously - would anyone notice if the Scotland Office ceased to exist? Nope - thought not. How much does this "emissary role" cost the tax payer anyway?
Time to get Wesminster out of our hair for good! Maybe if we get rid of this millstone that has been round our necks for 300 years we could actually move on and become friends with our English neighbours. Scotlands gripe has always been with rule from Westminster and not with the English people. Unfortunately for Westminster most of the North of England would probably prefer to become part of Scotland as they seem to feel the same about Westminster as we do. Independance is now the only way forward.
And I wonder who is paying for wendys kangaroo review of devolution, plus the review of the calling in the Trump plans.
A total waste of time, space and money these old timers are (LibourCon).
It should be called evolution rather than devolution, because we are looking forward, not backwards.
From all the droplets of wisdom falling from the mouth of Mr Cairns, it is clear to me , and perhaps a growing band, that he cares not for the people of Scotland.
The Scotland Office should be disbanded , there is now little for them to do other than protect their own sinecure ,which is certainly not in the interest of Scotland.