Burnham asks Swinney to help push power out to Scotland's regions

The story

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has invited Scotland's First Minister John Swinney to work with him on what he calls deeper devolution, moving more economic power out of both Westminster and Holyrood and into Scotland's regions and cities.

Speaking in Motherwell on his first substantive visit to Scotland since taking office, Burnham said he wants to design a new model of regional economic development in the coming months. Part of the offer is handing over some employment support that is now run by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Burnham argued that the Scottish government is one of the most centralised devolved administrations in Europe, and he wants Holyrood to give local areas more say as part of the deal. He pitched the plan as a way to bring jobs and industry back to struggling places, and he pointed to Ravenscraig, the steelworks that once employed tens of thousands of people before it closed in 1992.

He also urged politicians to move beyond the independence question and focus on solutions now. At a meeting in Glasgow, he told Swinney that a second independence referendum remains off limits.

Swinney said he was keen to work constructively with Westminster and that he backs the Scottish Parliament holding as many powers as possible. He is expected to make a fresh case for independence in his keynote speech at the SNP conference on Saturday.

The talks could move quickly. Burnham said the National Economic Council will meet the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in a couple of weeks, the first such meeting since he became prime minister.