Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
Michael Gove should emphatically rule out any attempt by the Tory government to seize control of devolved powers when he appears before Holyrood’s environment committee today [Wednesday],the SNP have said.
The Secretary of State recently threatened interference with the devolution settlement, suggesting that the UK government should be able to legislate and spend in areas such as health and education – which are fully controlled by Holyrood. That comes despite his pledge before the EU referendum that Brexit would see Holyrood given substantially increased powers.
Members of key Scottish Parliament committees wrote to Mr Gove on Saturday, demanding that he keep his hands off Scotland’s powers. Mr Gove failed to respond to requests for comment at the weekend.
The First Minister addressed the Tories’ “grubby” power grab last week – making clear that the people of Scotland and their parliament should make all decisions, and that Brexit must not be a cover for Westminster centralisation.
Environment committee member Stewart Stevenson MSP said:
“Michael Gove has the perfect opportunity today [Wednesday] to emphatically rule out his threats of a power grab.
“The Tories never wanted a Scottish Parliament in the first place, and now they’re seeking to reverse the hard-fought gains of twenty years of devolution.
“Mr Gove’s comments were deeply troubling. Key powers over health, education and the environment should lie with Holyrood – not with a Westminster government working against Scotland’s interests.
“And his remarks also expose his 2016 claims about Scotland gaining power over immigration after Brexit as the empty rhetoric it always was.
“Scotland’s future should lie in Scotland’s hands– building on the success of devolution, and winning the powers that our parliament still needs so we can thrive as an independent country.
“The Tories can’t be trusted, and we cannot allow them to drag Scotland backwards.”
“The Tories never wanted a Scottish Parliament in the first place, and now they’re seeking to reverse the hard-fought gains of twenty years of devolution.
“Mr Gove’s comments were deeply troubling. Key powers over health, education and the environment should lie with Holyrood – not with a Westminster government working against Scotland’s interests.
“And his remarks also expose his 2016 claims about Scotland gaining power over immigration after Brexit as the empty rhetoric it always was.
“Scotland’s future should lie in Scotland’s hands– building on the success of devolution, and winning the powers that our parliament still needs so we can thrive as an independent country.
“The Tories can’t be trusted, and we cannot allow them to drag Scotland backwards.”
