Relax, everybody!

I’ve been a bit under the weather these last couple of days, in case anybody has missed me. It’s difficult to feel anything other than poorly if you read the news. The only silver lining I can find is that yet another intervention from Gordon Brown gives me an excuse to use the above image one more time.

Aye! He’s at it again! Giving the world the dubious benefit of his as yet unproven wisdom. Regional mayors for Scotland?

Our Scottish Future has produced a report written by written by former government adviser Jim Gallagher which insists Scotland “has gradually replaced one form of centralisation with another” since devolution, adding the case for local government reform is “urgent”.

If this new tier of government could serve any purpose other than undermining the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament, I wish somebody would explain it to me. Although, as I wrote the foregoing, it did occur to me that a new form of elected office could mean extra scope for patronage. Because we definitely don’t have enough of that!

I have no doubt local government reform is overdue. But those urging immediate moves on this seem not to have noticed how keen Unionists are to weaponise devolution against Scotland’s democratic institutions. Or perhaps they simply lack enough imagination to see how this might be the case for any reforms over which the British state and its agents in Scotland could exert significant influence.

If it can be used to weaken Scotland’s cause, we damned well better assume that it will be. Especially given that we rely so heavily for protection against British jiggery-pokery on John Swinney and the SNP. I’m starting to feel unwell again.

On the subject of British jiggery-pokery, it looks like Andy Burnham may be an accomplished practitioner. I’m no expert on the arcane workings of the British civil service. But what Burnham is supposedly proposing looks very much to me like accruing even more power to the British executive.

As reported in The Times, the Prime Minister is planning to give cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo legal powers to direct and overrule the officials who run UK Government departments.

The legislation, which is set to be included in the King’s Speech next year, would centralise power and enable Burnham to drive through his policies and cross-departmental reforms.

The worry, of course, is that this too would be used to circumvent the devolved administrations.

Commenting, SNP MSP Calum Kerr said: “Andy Burnham doesn’t quite get Scotland or our devolution settlement, that’s already clear from his first weeks in office. Just as Scotland is not a region, the Scottish Government is not a Whitehall department.

“The Prime Minister must rule out giving a UK Government civil servant the ability to direct the Scottish Government in any way, shape or form.

Thankfully, we have been given a strong assurance that this will not happen.

A UK Government spokesman told The Herald: “We don’t comment on speculation. The UK Government remains unwavering in its commitment to devolution and to making the existing settlement in Scotland work effectively.

“The Cabinet Secretary is leading a review to strengthen the delivery, accountability, innovation and productivity of the UK Civil Service. This has nothing to do with the powers of the Scottish Parliament which are set out in law under the Scotland Act.”

I hope that has put everybody’s mind at ease.