Labour Pledges Home Rule Bill For Scotland

A new Home Rule Bill for Scotland will be introduced within 100 days if Labour wins the General Election.

Ed Miliband made the promise ahead of a campaign visit to Scotland, saying devolution would be "one of the first things on our agenda".

He said: "This will be real Home Rule for Scotland in the 21st century, giving Scotland the powers it needs."

Referring to former Labour prime minister Tony Blair's establishment of the Scottish Parliament after his 1997 election victory, Mr Miliband said: "Just as in 1997, devolution will be one of the first things on our agenda for the next Labour government.

"This Bill will give Scotland the powers that were promised over jobs, welfare and tax.

"But we want to go faster. Scotland needs the job creating powers that the Smith Agreement promised. And Scotland needs them now. Next month, Labour will force a vote on our Bill to pass these powers now.

"If that's not accepted, we will devolve control over the work programme immediately on taking power, so Scotland has the tools it needs to put people back to work."

He praised new Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy as "already leading the agenda in Scotland", having set out plans to increase the number of nurses and help the oil and gas sector.

Mr Murphy is also "talking about how Labour will use the new powers to deal with unemployment and get our young people back to work", Mr Miliband added.

Scottish National Party (SNP) deputy leader Stewart Hosie said: "Trying to claim that this is Home Rule could be reported under the Trade Descriptions Act for being completely untrue.

"Recently, Lewis MacDonald MSP specifically denied that Labour had ever talked about 'Home Rule', which renders the claims of Ed Miliband and Jim Murphy laughable.

"The reality is that, with 70% of taxation and 85% of welfare spending staying under Westminster control, Labour and the other UK parties are offering Westminster rule not Home Rule - and it is embarrassing for Mr Miliband to try to pretend otherwise.

"People in Scotland don't believe Ed Miliband - who has achieved the extraordinary feat for a Labour leader of having even worse poll ratings in Scotland than the Tory Prime Minister.

"The way to achieve the real powers of Home Rule is to vote SNP in May, for a strong team of SNP MPs holding the balance of power at Westminster."

Meanwhile, influential pollster Lord Ashcroft has told Sky News that the surge of support for the SNP is real, coming after last year's independence referendum in which 45% voted for the party.

The Conservative peer said: "You could say if you voted 'yes' to independence, why now wouldn't you vote for the SNP in the Westminster Parliament?"

A Sky News projection said the SNP could increase its number of seats at the General Election from its current six to 53.