Tom Griffin (London, The Green Ribbon): More symptoms of the UK's continuing identity crisis were seen today when Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond met Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy today to discuss the future of the Joint Ministerial Committee.
The JMC is meant to provide a link between Whitehall and the devolved nations, but in a formerly Labour-dominated UK, it was largely bypassed. It last met in 2002.
Salmond has long sought its revival, and, faced with the growing political diversity of the devolved administrations, the British Government accepted the logic of the move.
Nevertheless, it's clear that there are very different agendas at work, as the BBC's Brian Taylor notes:
Just look at the separate billing for today’s discussions. The Wales Office in the UK Government reckons Paul Murphy “met with First Minister Alex Salmond”.
By contrast, the Scottish Government says that “First Minister Alex Salmond has today hosted a bilateral meeting with Secretary of State for Wales Paul Murphy”.
The Scottish Government's bold language differs even more starkly from the "senior Westminster source" who briefed the Daily Telegraph ahead of the meeting:
This is not a relationship of equals. (Scottish Finance Minister) John Swinney is dealing with the Treasury of the United Kingdom.
The JMC is part of the devolution settlement - it does not exist to undermine it. What it will expose is the narrowness of the claims and pomposity of the posturing of Executive ministers.
One key factor to watch: How far is the Scottish Government's more ambitious vision for the JMC shared in Belfast and Cardiff?
