Tom Griffin (London, OK): Gordon Brown has been coming around to the case for giving more tax powers to the Scottish Parliament for some time, as Brian Taylor notes, but last night's speech to the Scottish CBI puts fiscal devolution more firmly on the agenda.
"First of all," he told Scottish business leaders, "devolution has worked but I do see one problem. While there have been good reasons why this is so, the Scottish Parliament is wholly unaccountable for the budget it spends but not for the size of its budget. And that budget is not linked to the success of the Scottish economy. That is why we asked the commission to look carefully at the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament and this is a critical part of Calman's remit."
Earlier this week, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond complained about his lack of economic powers while introducing his annual programme for Government. Salmond's spokesman suggested that Brown's comments were a bid to court Scottish opinion ahead of the forthcoming Glenrothes by-election.
"Only last year, Gordon Brown was rejecting all calls for any increase in the powers and responsibilities of the Scottish parliament," he said.
"Since then, we have had SNP success in the Scottish parliament election and in Glasgow East, and now Gordon Brown is singing a very different tune.
"With the Glenrothes byelection around the corner, Gordon Brown is caving into pressure from the SNP and the people of Scotland."
The longer term significance of Brown's speech may lie in the political context it provides for the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution, which is currently considering the case for more tax powers.
The Commission recently published the submissions received by its consultation, and is about to embark on a round of public meetings, beginning in Glasgow on 10 September and Dumfries on 25 September.
Gordon Brown's intervention has boosted the case for fiscal devolution in principle, but hugely significant questions remain, such as who controls oil revenue and the rate of corporation tax. The Commission's first report, due by the end of the year, will be an important step in those debates.
