Scottish parties are poles apart on post-indyref Holyrood powers

Sometimes the location of a meeting sends an unintended message.

So it was this week with the Smith Commission the clutch of politicians gathered to hammer out an agreement over more powers for Holyrood after September’s No vote.

They started work on Wednesday in the Edinburgh headquarters of the Green Investment Bank all very modern and groovy. Except the Bank recorded a loss of £5.7m this year. Woops.

The Green Bankers aren’t panicking though. They say renewable projects will soon generate energy and repay investors. And though it sounds risky they’re probably right.

Scotland’s energy resources are so abundant, cash and effort ploughed in now will doubtless pay off in the medium term.

The same can’t be said for the Smith Commission. Its 10 members under the stern but encouraging eye of Lord “call me Robert” Smith are about to expend energy and sit with erstwhile indyref “enemies” to hammer out a deal.

The public aren’t represented on the Commission but Lord Bob has met particular groups last week it was students in Stirling and childcare workers in Edinburgh and individual Scots can submit opinions by this Friday so an outline is published in November and a fully agreed package is delivered in late January.

There’s no messing about with Lord Bob. But there are two big problems.

First, the parties are poles apart. They may be packaged up in the same room but these folk truly are the liquorice allsorts of Scottish politics.

Labour wants the Scottish parliament to raise 40% of its own budget and have the power to increase the top rate of tax and collect housing benefit.

The Tories and Lib Dems want Holyrood to have complete control of income tax so does a group of trade unionists, academics and Labour left-wingers, called the Red Paper Collective.

Can they persuade Scottish Labour to get more adventurous? I hae ma doots.

Even if they can, they’ll meet fierce opposition from the SNP and Greens, buoyed by trebling their party memberships since the September vote.

Devolving income tax without also giving Scots control over oil revenues will mean Holyrood cannot balance its books.

The SNP also want control over welfare provision to block more cunning wheezes like the Bedroom Tax.

Polls show two-thirds of Scots back them and want Home Rule for Scotland within the UK.

Full powers would mean Holyrood grows up to become a normal Parliament that spends what it raises and sends cash south to Westminster only for UK services like defence, foreign affairs and macro-economic policy.

Many regions within federal states like Germany and Canada work this way. In fact, many wee councils in the Nordic countries do too.

It’s only Brits who think democracy means sending all taxation cash to the centre and waiting hopefully for crumbs to be handed back.

Can this circle be squared by Burns Night? It’s doubtful. And that’s just the first problem.

Secondly, any deal Lord Smith can coax from these warring factions could be completely ignored by Westminster leaders.

All eyes down south are focussed on the threat from Nigel Farage and Ukip, not the Scots.

Besides, all’s fair in love and general election campaigns and anything accepted in January by David Cameron won’t bind the new Government elected in May which will immediately have bigger fish to fry in the shape of an in-out EU referendum.

So let’s all wish Lord Bob good luck with his McMission Impossible. He’ll need it.