Scottish Labour splits on the constitution have reopened after a senior MSP dismissed a high profile report by Gordon Brown as “stale” and “irrelevant”.
Former deputy leader Alex Rowley also accused his own party of trying to ignore the constitution as an issue.
Brown, prime minister between 20007 and 2010, was asked by Labour leader Keir Starmer to chair a commission on the future of the Union.
It made a series of recommendations on Lords reform and devolution of power, but some in the Scottish party were disappointed it did not contain a list of powers to devolve to Holyrood.
Senior figures in Anas Sarwar’s party want Starmer to commit to an ambitious programme of devolution if he is Prime Minister.
In an article for the left-wing Red Paper Collective, timed to appear ahead of Scottish Labour conference this week, Rowley was critical of his party’s approach.
He argued that the ongoing debate on independence suited the Tories and the SNP at the expense of Labour.
He wrote: “So, whilst both these parties use the constitutional question to win over voters, the general approach from Labour since the 2014 referendum has been “don’t mention the constitution”.
“Labour believes it can rise above a petty dispute over independence, and, despite all the evidence to the contrary, the line tends to be that people are more interested in the NHS, in education and in day-to-day life than they are in the constitution.”
However, it was Rowley’s criticisms of the Brown report that may be most startling, given he has been a friend of the former Prime Minister for decades.
He wrote: “Whilst there was much to welcome, and indeed much at a UK level that would support greater devolution in Scotland, the report does not acknowledge how much further Scotland is down the road of devolution when compared with its neighbours and, as such, fails to address the need for a new settlement between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“Therefore, the report appears stale on delivery, irrelevant to a Scotland that has already been debating the merits of further devolution or, indeed, independence, for over a decade at a national level.”
Rowley, an MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, backed “greater” borrowing levers and the devolution of immigration powers as examples of the next stage of devolution.
He urged Labour not to “close down discussion” and stop allowing the Tories and the SNP to “define” the terms of the debate.
SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “It’s telling how divided Scottish Labour is on the constitution when Alex Rowley - a key lieutenant of Gordon Brown for many years – dismisses his old boss’s plans as stale and irrelevant.
"And Alex Rowley is spot on. Gordon Brown has been trying to flog the same cauld kale het again for years now.
"The simple fact is that no amount of constitutional tinkering will undo the damage of this hard Brexit – which Labour now supports as vehemently as the Tories. Scotland’s only route back to the EU is to become an independent country.”
Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Alex Rowley is not Scottish Labour’s Constitution spokesperson.”
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