UK premier offers Scotland more regional powers, urges cooperation

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Friday offered Scotland greater regional powers, including devolving employment support, and urged closer cooperation between the two governments to improve public services. Speaking at an event in North Lanarkshire, Burnham said he had come to Scotland with "a big offer" and was seeking common ground with the Scottish government. "I care about Scotland a lot, and I am coming today with a big offer and in search of common ground," he said. Burnham said politics should put "place first, not party first," adding that people in Scotland "deserve better from politicians and politics." He described his proposal as a "serious and genuine offer" to put more control in local people's hands and called for faster progress on regional devolution. "We need to look at the resources and decision-making powers that sit at the regional level in Scotland, so that no Scottish city regions are left behind," he said. "But if you ask me, we've got to move faster … if we don't move now, Scotland could lose out." Burnham warned that some Scottish towns and cities risked falling behind parts of northern England, where regional powers were being expanded. He proposed devolving responsibilities related to the Department for Work and Pensions, seeking a localized employment-support model similar to England's but adapted by the Scottish Parliament. "Devolution was never supposed to stop at the doors of the Scottish Parliament," he said. Independence debate Scottish First Minister John Swinney said before Burnham's speech that he was interested in "working constructively" with the UK government and supported giving the Scottish Parliament as many powers as possible. Burnham also called for an end to "tribal politics" between the two governments, saying they could cooperate on some issues without agreeing on everything. Asked whether regional devolution could affect support for Scottish independence, Burnham urged both governments to focus on practical solutions rather than constitutional disputes. "People in Scotland are suffering from the cost-of-living crisis, like they are in England and everywhere else," he said. Swinney is expected to renew his push for independence in his keynote speech Saturday at the Scottish National Party conference.