By Stuart McMillan MSP

AFTER Brexit happened, the SNP highlighted the ‘power grab’ which the UK Government would initiate, ie. removing powers from the Scottish Parliament. In effect, the power grab has now started.

What our Parliament, our ‘Peoples Parliament’ has witnessed in recent weeks from an increasingly obstructive UK Government is concerning and alarm bells should be ringing for every person in Scotland.

Our Parliament voted for a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in 2021. The committee I chair was processing the amended regulations only last week. We were getting ready to implement, next spring, the DRS which was to include glass. The UK Government stepped in and refused to grant an exemption using their Internal Market Act. An act that came in after Brexit which in effect was London taking back control from the devolved Parliaments.

Some businesses have invested large sums of money for the implementation of DRS. That investment will now lie dormant until 2025, at the earliest, as that’s when the UK Government are considering introducing a DRS.

So, over the next 2 years, if we see a continuation of glass, cans and plastic bottles littering our community, we can thank the UK Government for it.

Anyone who is supportive of our Parliament or devolution should be worried but sadly some other parties, including Labour, sat by and attempted to negate the actions of the UK Government.

Make no mistake, Devolution is now under threat. Holyrood has implemented the Smoking Ban and Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) under different governments. Both policies have saved lives. I just wonder if they would have been implemented now that the Internal Market Act allows Westminster a veto over Scottish decisions.