Jim Murphy warns Scottish Labour of focusing on extra powers for Holyrood

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Two former Scottish Labour leaders have warned their party against a continued focus on more powers for Holyrood.Lord McConnell said an “endless” debate on the subject is a “blind alley” while Jim Murphy claimed further powers are “not an alternative”.Their comments came as Labour considers a constitutional review led by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown on rewiring the British state.A leaked draft revealed plans to replace the House of Lords and decentralise power across the UK.The agenda also includes the next stage of devolution to the Scottish Parliament.However, speaking at a fringe event at Labour conference in Liverpool, the two Scottish Labour veterans sounded a sceptical note.McConnell, First Minister between 2001 and 2007, said: “We've seen an endless debate really since 2007 about more powers, which I think a blind alley.“I think the real challenge is 'how do you change the way the British state works’ to reflect the fact that the United Kingdom is now a multinational state with different levels of legislative power in different places.He added: “We need to be very careful that we just don't continue with an attempt to find a common ground on powers that is inconsistent.”Murphy, who briefly led the party after the 2014 referendum, said: “My take is that the circular conversation about powers is an attempt to fix a political problem.

Further powers are an important part of the political project [but] they are not an alternative.“Often when I listen to the Scottish Labour party talking about powers, it's 'this is the one thing we believe in'.”Murphy said the political argument had to hinge on the “fundamental nature of nationalism”, adding:“Let's not pretend that a debate about powers is a route back to power.”