91Èȱ¬

David Cameron, in a 91Èȱ¬ Scotland interview to mark the 10th anniversary of devolution in Scotland, admits the Conservatives were wrong not to act on calls for greater self-government.

In Holyrood And The Search For Scotland's Soul (Sunday 28 June 2009, 10.20 pm, 91Èȱ¬ One Scotland) the Conservative leader reflects on his party's stance in the debate ahead of devolution and admits its approach should have been different.

He said: "I don't think we got it right, I think you can argue that the principled position, of arguing that devolution within a unitary state is extremely difficult and there are all sorts of problems it brings, and those problems are there.

"But I think where we went wrong was we should have spent more time in government thinking, how do we give legitimate help to those people within our United Kingdom, who want to have a greater expression of self-government?"

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair says that although a unionist "by temperament" he could see that the feeling of being Scottish as well as British had to be recognised.

He said: "I'm by temperament, probably pretty unionist. On the other hand, I could see, and studying the history reinforced this feeling, that there was a genuine desire on the part of people to have more say over the things that were happening around them.

"And that there was a genuine sense of Scottish identity, now I hope that was alongside a UK identity as well but, you know people felt Scottish at the same time as, as British and that had to be somehow acknowledged constitutionally."

Former First Minister, Henry McLeish, says that Tony Blair's pragmatic sense played a major part in the delivery of devolution.

He said: "I think what was really encouraging when we got to Westminster was that you had a Prime Minister in Tony Blair that certainly didn't embrace the spirit of devolution. But he was a pragmatist, he was the one that made sure the unfinished business was completed.

"And in that sense he gave to Donald Dewar the opportunity to do a white paper, get the bill into an act, and then deliver."

First Minister Alex Salmond says Labour was driven by fear to deliver on its devolution promise.

Asked abut the motive for devolution, he said: "Fear, and that was fear by the Labour Party of the SNP. The feeling that things had got to such an extent that unless this was delivered, proposed, endorsed by the people, then the result would be that Labour would lose control over its, over its heartlands and fiefdoms."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown tells the hour-long documentary that devolution was a response to a gradual centralisation of government.

He said: "There is a strong Scottish identity, but I think what's happened is that, over a hundred years, government became concentrated, decisions were not being made by representatives of the people but being made because of the complexity, of the amount of business that had to be transacted indirectly by civil servants, and not by the people themselves. And I think that's why democracy had to flow."

91Èȱ¬ Scotland's Political Editor, Brian Taylor, presents the documentary which is a part of a range of special programming and online content to mark the 10th anniversary of the birth of the modern Scottish Parliament.

JG2