Nick Clegg has claimed that moves for further devolution to Scotland are now “unstoppable” – despite accusing other parties of having no interest in reform.
The deputy prime minister told the Liberal Democrats’ conference that it was “perfectly legitimate” to be concerned that the transfer of powers could be held-up by Tory plans to link it to English-only votes in Westminster.
However, he insisted the “cat is out of the bag” and there was no going back on promises made to Scots during the independence referendum campaign.
Mr Clegg appeared relaxed and upbeat as he took questions from delegates at the Glasgow conference, dressing more informally than usual in jeans and a shirt.
Asked if devolving powers to Scotland and Wales would be held-up by Tory moves to link it to resolving the “West Lothian question”, Mr Clegg said: “It’s a perfectly legitimate concern, but I don’t think that will happen.
“The cat is out of the bag. The momentum now towards further devolution in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and radically greater decentralisation in England, which is the missing bit of the jigsaw in many respects, I think is now unstoppable.”
However, later in the session he attacked both Labour and the Conservatives for having “absolutely no interest at all in wholesale coherent constitutional reform”.
The Lib Dem leader said: “They will pick off the things they think are of narrow political advantage. But anything which threatens their vested interest in the political system and they are absolutely ruthless in blocking it.
“They both had manifesto commitments to Lords reform. They buried it.
“The Labour Party’s own manifesto commitment was the Alternative Vote, it wasn’t our proposal. We stuck it on the ballot paper for the referendum, they didn’t lift a finger to help to win the argument.
“And on party funding, despite solemn pledges on their manifestos that they would deliver it, when David Laws actually convened a cross-party group, guess what happens – the vested interests from the trade unions in the Labour Party and big finance in the Conservative Party killed it dead.”
Mr Clegg mocked Prime Minister David Cameron’s call for “English votes for English matters”.
“Actually, if you listen to them, they aren’t really interested in English votes for English matters, they are interested in Tory votes for English matters,” he said.