A SCOTTISH Labour MSP was unable to say what in Gordon Brown's report about reforming the UK could persuade people against supporting Scottish independence – after it was described as key to winning support of voters.
Lothian MSP Sarah Boyack also failed to deliver a defence for the controversial and shifting commitment by Labour to abolish the House of Lords.
She joined the BBC's Politics Live from Holyrood to discuss the recommendations outlined in Labour’s Commission on the UK’s Future report.
Boyack, Scottish Labour's spokesperson for constitutional affairs, was asked to highlight which part of the recent report “is going to change people’s minds who want to see an independent Scotland”.
The MSP failed to point to any arguments, instead saying it was "about democracy".
She said: “I’ll take you back to 1997. We set up the Scottish Parliament, it’s been successful. The bit we didn’t focus on was taking power out the centre … it's about democracy. It’s time for change, a stronger Scotland, in a transformed UK.”
Launching the report in Leeds on Monday, former prime minister Gordon Brown said the package of measures outlined could be key in winning the support of voters who are not committed to independence but still want to see change.
On the panel in the BBC studio, SNP MP Drew Hendry described Boyack’s response as “thin gruel”.
Hendry reminded viewers of the promise made in 2014 by Gordon Brown in The Vow, a last-minute pledge made by Unionist politicians which aimed to provide a stronger Scottish Parliament in opposition to independence.
Hendry said: “What we’ve seen since then is the Internal Market Act, stripping powers away from Scotland and so forth so [The Vow] has not happened."
Boyack was asked once again asked to highlight what “is going to persuade or change minds of people who are in favour of independence” to which she argued Scottish voters don’t want a second referendum next year.
She added: “The thing we’ll be saying to independence voters is that independence is like Brexit times 10.”
Both parties agreed that the House of Lords needs updated and Hendry was asked what his objection to proposals outlined by the report to implement an elected House of Lords were.
He said he was against “the constant hot air and lack of action” which comes with promises from both Labour and Tories who “tinker” around the edges of reform of the House.
“We know that things are not going to get delivered. The Labour Party has been telling us they are going to get rid of the House of Lords for 112 years. This is something they have passed down through the generations.”
Boyack was pressed to provide evidence on the likelihood of Labour to deliver on the proposals after some Labour peers said they don’t support the recommendations.
The MSP said: “I’ve spoken to a lot of Lords who are very supportive. It's about democracy. It's about accountability.
"If you look at the economy in the paper that Gordon Brown presented, we’ve got inequalities and they need to be addressed. A key issue of a new house of nations and regions would be like the rest of the world, it would be more democratic and empower Scotland.”
Boyack added that this would lead to further devolution and “entrench” further powers.
Another on the panel, Lucy Fisher from Times Radio, was asked to react to a headline from the Independent which stated: “Speaker of Lords warns against wholly elected Upper House of Parliament."
Fisher agreed with some of the prioritisation rhetoric and said the abolishment or reform of the Lords will “soak up so much time and energy”.
She further said: “People don’t necessarily want machinery of government changes, they want growth, they want good jobs and opportunities – and these don’t necessarily match up in people’s minds.”
