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Ashdown's Scottish Trip
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Ashdown: in Scotland today
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The Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown is visiting Scotland today and tomorrow in order to promote his party's campaign for a Yes, Yes vote. He will spend the two days making appearances at various events in Fife and Edinburgh.
In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Mr. Ashdown said that he saw the establishment of a Scottish parliament as just the beginning of a series of constitutional reforms. "Our constitution is stuck in the 19th century...the attitudes and atmosphere of the House of Commons is one reflection of that. The centralisation of power at Westminster is another." The current reforms would pave the way towards a modern constitution for Britain as it enters the 21st century, he explained.
Later on Ashdown hit back at critics who fear a Scottish parliament would reflect what they call the factionalism dominating Labour controlled councils. Cronyism, as Ashdown calls it, was a product of the present voting system and he stressed that a Scottish parliament wouldn't be dominated by a single party because it would be elected by proportional representation.
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