The Case Against
By ALASTAIR HETHERINGTON THE case against Scottish home rule is, in short, thll other things are more urgent. A Scottish Parliament, pleasant as it would be, is not the answer to Scotlandl immediate problems. That is why the major political parties in Scotland relegate'it. It can wait. The foremost Scottish problems are inseparable fronl British problems as a whole. Can we keep up the prosperitY of Clyde shipbuilding, Lanarkshire steel, Tweedside textiles. Edinburgh printing, and Spey whisky ? How long must our young men be taken for National Service ? When will more money be available for roads, bridges, and Highland develoP' ment ? Can the burden of taxation be lowered ? Not one of these is a problem which a Scottish Parliament could ease' They must be resolved, so far as parliamentary action cl° solve them, in the wider United Kingdom setting. Shipyard orders, for example, fluctuate with world trade. That depends on such matters as tariff agreements, peace on' ferences, blockades, and Point Four programmes. A parlia' ment in Edinburgh would have no influence on these matters--; at least if it was modelled on Ulster's—whereas the central parliament at Westminster does exercise some control' National Service, another example, is determined by the government's foreign policy, its overseas commitment and Allied defence agreements; money for roads, bridges, IP, Highland development is a question of . overall investnielli policy and competing defence costs. So one might go threa.1; the list of outstanding problems. Nearly all are conditioneo by Britain's situation as a whole. The Scottish MPs l)t Westminster have a voice—a strong voice—in shaping Britaill's This does not imply that administration should all be central. It should not be. nor is it. Much has been done to give Scotland its own government offices, and more might yet be done. There have been scandalous mistakes because officials in England were ignorant of elementary Scottish geography. But these can be remedied without a separate parliament, which at present would be irrelevant.
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