THE SNP believe Boris Johnson is eyeing up another Holyrood power grab after this week’s General Election.
In the Tory manifesto the party has pledged to “look at the broader aspects of our constitution” after Brexit. To do this they plan on establishing a commission to look at plans for reform.
That vague and open-ended promise has already spooked a number of legal commentators and Remain supporters, who believe it signals the Government’s intention to come after the Supreme Court.
But yesterday the SNP’s Tommy Sheppard suggested Number 10 could also be trying to “re-write the rules of government”.
The Tories branded the claims “hysterical scaremongering”.
Sheppard said: “The Tories never supported devolution in the first place – and ever since Brexit they’ve tried to undermine the Scottish Parliament.
“Now they’re pledging to rip-up the entire way Westminster works and stop themselves being held accountable by the courts.
“This from a Tory leader who was already blocked from unlawfully shutting down parliament to get his way. Boris Johnson simply can’t be trusted. The Tories have repeatedly shown that they’re desperate to strip powers from the Scottish Parliament.”
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He added: “Make no mistake, if the Tories get a majority they’ll use this vague and open-ended manifesto commitment to rewrite the rules of government.”
Maurice Golden, Scottish Conservative chief whip, dismissed the claims. He said: “This is the kind of hysterical scaremongering we have come to expect from the SNP. Voters know that these baseless accusations are designed only to distract from the SNP’s woeful domestic record. Only the Scottish Conservatives can stand up to the SNP, stop indyref2 and get Brexit sorted.”
Asked about the line during an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, party chairman Brandon Lewis insisted there was nothing sinister planned.
“It means exactly what it says. First of all, I’ll be very clear the independence of the judiciary is sacrosanct,” he said.
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