THE UK Government has been told it must “get to grips” with Scotland pulling its weight on the international stage amid escalating tensions over foreign trips.
Professor Stephen Gethins, who teaches international relations at St Andrews University, accused Westminster of failing to "come to terms” with the Scotland’s activities abroad as new measures were announced to curb the activities of the Scottish External Affairs Secretary.
The former SNP MP said the UK Government could be “embarrassed” by the “pro-European” stance of Scotland while it defended its Brexit policy.
His warning comes after both Angus Robertson and John Lamont, a Scotland Office minister in Westminster, took part in the Tartan Week parade in New York City yesterday.
Lamont’s involvement was seen as the UK Government firing back at the Scottish Government’s role in the celebrations and is reportedly the first Tory minister to attend the event in more than a decade.
Prof. Gethins, formerly an SNP MP, said: “The UK Government has got to get to grips with the Scottish Government having its own international footprint. That did not just start with the SNP, in fact it started with the Conservatives if you go way back to 1992 and the opening of the office in Brussels.”
He argued the SNP was following in the footsteps of its Labour predecessors who took trips abroad to represent Scotland internationally.
Gethins argued there were international examples the UK Government could look to curb the excesses of its “centralised” foreign policy.
He said: “The UK can be quite centralised in terms of its foreign policy and you sometimes wonder if the way we conduct international affairs has kept up with the nature of devolution.
“In other countries, you’ve very much got more clarity around this. If you look at the German Länder [federal states], for example, conducting international policy is a regular thing that the sub-state actors [do].”
Prof Gethins added: “Scotland is a sub-state actor, whether we like it or not at the moment, but one obviously with a significant international brand.
“It’s perfectly normal in other countries – Germany, Belgium, Canada, even the US, Spain – whereby these sub-state actors will have a significant international footprint.
“And that’s all the more so when it comes to Scotland which has one of the strongest international brands, diaspora in the world, you’d want to make the best of that in terms of your businesses, your educational institutions, your cultural exchanges so there’s a lot to be gained in promoting your brand overseas and Scotland has a very powerful brand.
“I’ve got a feeling that there’s a government that is a wee bit embarrassed about where it finds itself in the world at the moment.
“Within the UK, you’ve got a Scottish Government that is very pro-European, anti-Brexit. Brexit is a unilateralist pursuit that has got few, if any, friends anywhere in the world, nobody really thinks it’s a good idea. It could be to do with Brexit.
“It could be to do with the fact that Westminster hasn’t kept up to speed with devolution because devolution means an international footprint.
“That’s not just being pursued by the SNP, that’s been pursued by Labour and the LibDems before them.
“I think it could be a mix of the UK being slightly embarrassed by the international hand it has got to play… as well as a failure to come to terms with the role in international affairs that devolution brings.”
In an editorial for The Times’ from 2005, the paper’s Scottish political editor hit back at criticisms of then-first minister Jack McConnell’s trip to New York City – where he met future president Donald Trump and said arguments positing that “[McConnell’s] time would be better spent sorting out litter in Leith or graffiti in Glasgow is the real Scottish cringe”.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Foreign Secretary is responsible for the UK’s foreign policy, with our embassies and high commissions overseas tirelessly promoting the interests of the whole nation.
“We have a strong record of working constructively with the devolved governments and will continue to provide appropriate support overseas for devolved policies.
“The UK drives the agenda on international issues that matter to people right across the country. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the G7, Nato and the Commonwealth the UK has an unparalleled influence on the international stage.
“Under this government the UK is also the second biggest international donor to Ukraine, the third biggest aid donor in the G7 and the biggest defence spender in Europe.”
