THE two Tory MPs battling to become the next prime minister have consistently voted against giving more powers to Holyrood, analysis has revealed.
Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have rejected further devolution to the Scottish Parliament more than 90% of the time when they have voted on the issue at Westminster.
The legislation has involved key issues such as tax, benefits, human rights law and the right to hold a referendum.
According to the data compiled by TheyWorkForYou.com, former chancellor Sunak has voted against more powers for Holyrood on 31 out of 34 occasions, excluding absences.
This means he failed to back further devolution 91% of the time since his election as an MP in 2015.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also voted against giving more powers north of the border 94% of the time – on 33 out of 35 occasions since she became an MP in 2010, excluding absences.
During the leadership contest, both candidates have expressed their opposition to another vote on Scottish independence.
Sunak told The Spectator podcast this week that another referendum is “not the priority” for people in Scotland.
When asked if she would agree to a request for indyref2 under any circumstances, Truss said last week: “No. The last referendum in 2014 was described as a once-in-a-generation referendum. We’re now in 2022 – that is not a generation ago.”
SNP MSP Siobhian Brown (below), said: “It will come as no surprise to anyone that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have voted almost every time against more powers coming to the Scottish Parliament.
“They were part of a government led by Boris Johnson who thought that devolution was a ‘disaster’, and a pound spent in Croyden is of more use than a pound spent in Strathclyde.
“Tory PM after Tory PM has held the Scottish Parliament in contempt, and that trend will not change, regardless of who comes next.”
She added: “Whether it is Sunak or Truss, Scotland will lose, and the only way we can escape the chaos at Westminster and endless Tory PMs that Scotland did not vote for is by becoming an independent country.”
The raft of powers Sunak voted against included an amendment to the Scotland Bill to require the consent of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people before Holyrood can be abolished.
As part of the same legislation, he also did not support requiring the UK to have the consent of the Scottish Parliament before legislating on devolved matters.
In other votes, Sunak did not support allowing Holyrood to take full control over taxation, borrowing and public spending in Scotland and having the ability to create new state benefits in Scotland.
Sunak voted in favour of giving Holyrood the power to set Scotland’s laws on abortion as part of the Scotland Act.
He also backed giving more powers to the devolved nations on correcting “deficiencies” in EU law retained as UK law following Brexit without having to seek the consent of UK Government ministers.
Truss also backed this vote, but on other Brexit-related issues, failed to support further devolution – such as requiring the approval of Holyrood for the UK’s negotiating aims for international trade agreements.
The Foreign Secretary also voted against allowing the Scottish Government to pay disability benefits for “lower level” conditions along with carer benefits to those under 16.
Sunak and Truss are undertaking intense campaigning before the result of the leadership contest is announced on September 5.
Dr Victoria Honeyman, associate professor of British politics at Leeds University, said the battlegrounds will obviously be “fairly limited in scope” as both candidates were from the same party.
She said: “The key one which is already obvious is tax and the cost of living.
“Sunak doesn’t want to cut taxes yet, while Truss argues it is necessary to stimulate the economy.
“However, through this debate, the two candidates are also discussing their track record, their political instincts and positions and their character.
“Sunak argues that he is the only ‘honest’ candidate – in that there is no money for tax cuts. Truss attacks Sunak’s record and says she is the only candidate with a track record for ‘getting things done’ – but what exactly?
“She stayed in Cabinet, Sunak resigned so what does this tell us about their characters?
“Not big differences in policy, but they will play them up for Conservative Party members to gain their support.”
While Truss has been keen to mention her links to Paisley and Sunak has vowed to do “anything and everything” to protect the Union, both candidates have said little about Scotland apart from opposition to indyref2.
Honeyman said: “Neither candidate has seemed particularly preoccupied with Scotland as an issue, neither seems to be particularly popular in Scotland. Both have suggested that a second independence referendum is unlikely.
“Therefore, I think it is unlikely that either will be particularly popular in Scotland or focus on it as an area ripe for development in electoral terms.”
