THE DEVO'S ADVOCATE

On 25th anniversary of first Holyrood election, Labour deputy demands UK and Scottish governments stop squabbling that threatens the future of devolution

- ANDREW QUINN

THE UK and Scottish governments have been urged to stop picking fights on the 25th anniversary of the first Holyrood election.

Labour said Scotland needs "to reset devolution so that our governments work together".

The Lib Dems called for more devolution by giving councils more powers.

The likely next SNP first minister, John Swinney, claimed that Holyrood's powers could be "eroded" and called on the next UK government to work to "re-establish the purpose of devolution".

But a constitutional expert hit out at the Scottish Government, accusing it of being a "power hoarder" that is "dictatorial" towards local government.

Today marks a quarter of a century since Scots first went to the polls to elect their MSPs.

Swinney and Scottish Labour's deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, both won their first seats at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election.

Baillie said: "After 25 years, the Scottish Parliament has put itself at the heart of Scottish society. But it is still a young institution and its best days lie ahead of it.

"Right now, we need to reform Holyrood to deliver transparent government for the people of Scotland and to ensure Scots can hold their politicians to account.

"We also need to reset devolution so that our governments work together.

"Right now the SNP and Tories would rather pick fights than deliver for Scotland and the people are paying the price.

"Scottish Labour is committed to defending devolution and delivering for the Scottish people so that they have a Scottish Parliament worthy of the name." When announcing his leadership bid, Swinney said: "For most of the devolution years, the UK Government has been a rather benign presence in the operation of the devolved structures. That is different now.