by James Kelly
AS THEY SAY in the chocolate factory, “Oompa Loompa doompadee doo, I’ve got another puzzle for you”. Why do we treat the word ‘federalism’ as if it’s a synonym for ‘more powers for the Scottish Parliament’? We all do, don’t we? Even those of us who rolled our eyes to the heavens when Scottish Labour predictably reacted to their election disaster in December by trotting out the trusty F word for 74,528th time. It’s true that we ridiculed them for floating a proposal that they’re unlikely to ever deliver. We pointed out that it would require an overhaul of the system of government in England as much as in Scotland, and that the English establishment would never consent to having its world turned upside down for the benefit of the Jocks. But for the most part we didn’t stop to consider the possibility that, even if the miracle happened, federalism could actually be a way of reducing Holyrood’s powers, or at least of keeping Scotland firmly in its box.