Since taking the job of leader for Scottish Labour, Jim Murphy has by most accounts apart from the Sunday Herald, done a decent job. We would generally go along with that view; Murphy has energized Labour's camapign, provided a strong leadership image, executed a successful re-shuffle of his shadow cabinet, provided short term campaign issues and started to paint a picture of what Scottish Labour stands for, albeit slowly.
However on the issue of 'more powers' Murphy has been disappointing. He has fallen into the trap of trying to buy off the Nats by offering extra devolution. In other areas Murphy has been innovative and clever; on devolution he has been lazy and careless. By allowing Gordon Brown to come up with the 'vow-plus' he has moved the rhetoric back onto devolution, shaky ground for any party trying to preserve the union. Why? Because you can't out-Nat, the Nats. Unless Murphy decides to support independence, this is a battle he cannot win.
The Home rule bill that is proposed and signed up to by Milliband has already been degraded and scorned by Nicola Sturgeon. Murphy made loud noises about the fact that Scotland would have the power to top up benefits, to very little positive reception. The simple fact of the matter is that devolution is now a toxic area right across the UK. Because of the Smith commission, the case for English votes for English laws is being made more than ever before and is resonating with English voters; they want a fairer deal. In Scotland devolution is an area of bitter debate about how much there should be. Murphy needs to play to his strengths and his party's and devolution is not one of them.
The vow plus will not satisfy nationalist demands and it will only succeed in inflaming the devolution debate and has potential for Labour to yet again be hit with accusations of betrayal and 'keeping Scotland down'. Tactically it is a poor idea and constitutionally it is ill judged. As the General election campaign heats up, Murphy would do well to put this bill on the back burner.
However on the issue of 'more powers' Murphy has been disappointing. He has fallen into the trap of trying to buy off the Nats by offering extra devolution. In other areas Murphy has been innovative and clever; on devolution he has been lazy and careless. By allowing Gordon Brown to come up with the 'vow-plus' he has moved the rhetoric back onto devolution, shaky ground for any party trying to preserve the union. Why? Because you can't out-Nat, the Nats. Unless Murphy decides to support independence, this is a battle he cannot win.
The Home rule bill that is proposed and signed up to by Milliband has already been degraded and scorned by Nicola Sturgeon. Murphy made loud noises about the fact that Scotland would have the power to top up benefits, to very little positive reception. The simple fact of the matter is that devolution is now a toxic area right across the UK. Because of the Smith commission, the case for English votes for English laws is being made more than ever before and is resonating with English voters; they want a fairer deal. In Scotland devolution is an area of bitter debate about how much there should be. Murphy needs to play to his strengths and his party's and devolution is not one of them.
The vow plus will not satisfy nationalist demands and it will only succeed in inflaming the devolution debate and has potential for Labour to yet again be hit with accusations of betrayal and 'keeping Scotland down'. Tactically it is a poor idea and constitutionally it is ill judged. As the General election campaign heats up, Murphy would do well to put this bill on the back burner.