In case you needed reminding, these are officially the strangest of times. A quick peek at the weekend papers – MPs demanding dental checks on child refugees, porn stars accusing US presidential candidates of unwelcome sexual advances – tells you everything you need to know. But as if all that wasn’t enough to send you running to the hills, there’s Ruth Davidson’s current reinvention as doyenne of BBC Friday night light entertainment.
Not content with making an appearance on Have I Got News For You a couple of weeks ago, the Scottish Tory leader popped up on Friday night’s episode of An Extra Slice, the Great British Bake Off offshoot hosted by Jo Brand, to discuss fondant fancies. What in heaven’s name is she up to? You’d have thought with a second independence referendum on the cards she’d be holed up with Theresa May talking tactics for the latter’s crunch Brexit summit with Nicola Sturgeon today, rather than focusing on soggy bottoms.
Then the penny drops, of course. Ms Davidson, a savvy and intelligent operator, is angling for a presenting career now she has realised her time as a politician could soon be up. It’s pretty clear, after all, that she has no influence whatsoever on how her colleagues at Westminster are dealing with the “Scottish” question post-Brexit. No, the Tory steamroller is revving up and preparing to run rough-shod over any possibility of constructive action that could protect Scotland’s economic interests in the months and years to come. And, following a fairly good showing at the Holyrood elections in May, does Ruth really want to hang around and take the flack for the economically damaging right-wing bile being unleashed by her Westminster colleagues? If she has any integrity - and indeed any sense - she won’t.
Read more: Theresa May warned imposing Brexit settlement on Scotland could break up Britain
One only needs to look at how Brexit secretary David Davis handled his trip to Scotland last week. Amid all the usual patronising talk of listening to businesses and ensuring Brexit negotiations reflect the interests of Scots, in one fell swoop he ruled out devolving immigration policy to Holyrood, perhaps the only move that could give Scotland a chance of finding a way through the English-made Brexit mess while remaining within the UK.
Only yesterday, leading economist Professor Robert Wright of Strathclyde University outlined why all this is so important, estimating that with fertility rates falling up to 100,000 migrants will be needed in Scotland a year if we are to fill the demands of the labour market and grow the economy. He also highlights the case of Quebec, which has joint sovereignty over immigration policy with the Canadian government and has created its own skilled worker visa programme to plug its gaps. Australia has a similar devolved set-up.
It’s not rocket science; Scotland’s particular geographical and economic factors mean it is has different immigration needs to other part of the UK. And surely if the Scottish Parliament can decide how much tax we should pay, it is also best placed to resolve our people shortage?
Read more: Theresa May warned imposing Brexit settlement on Scotland could break up Britain
But without even being seen to consider such a sensible approach, Mr Davis dismissed it out of hand as “unworkable”. This rebuff is particularly galling since the City of London is already making plans to run its own visa system along similar lines following a hard Brexit. It’s hard to conceive of such demands being knocked back by a Tory government with such close links to banking and finance, no matter what Mrs May says about hers being a government “that works for everyone”. You can just imagine how such exceptionalism will be sold to we peasants in Scotland and the North of England, with talk of how we all rely on London’s wealth creating abilities and not even Brexit could possibly stand in the way of the City.
With all this in mind, Ms Sturgeon was morally and politically right to publish the Referendum Bill last week. In the three months since she received Mrs May at Bute House in July and the pair spoke cordially of working together, much has changed, not least the UK government’s grim rhetoric on “foreigners” and prioritising immigration controls over entry to the single market.
Read more: Theresa May warned imposing Brexit settlement on Scotland could break up Britain
If Theresa May is savvy, if she genuinely wants to be seen to do business with Scotland, tomorrow she will announce that she has changed her tune on devolving immigration to Holyrood. This would instantly improve the outlook for the Scottish economy and give it at least the potential to thrive. Lord knows, such a bold move might even prevent a second indyref – for now, at least.
It would also, of course, give Ruth Davidson reason to hope she can continue in her current career; until then, expect to see more of her on Friday night telly.
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