On Wednesday, MP for Carlisle, John Stevenson, put on the record that he was keen to see Carlisle, the North of England and South West Scotland working together.
During Scottish Questions, the Carlisle MP said: ‘With greater fiscal devolution to the Scottish Parliament, places such as Carlisle, will assess the potential effects on Carlisle, of measures in the Scottish Government’s budgets, as well as the national Budget. Does he also agree that the Carlisle Principle set out during the election campaign is important not only to the north of England but to the south- west of Scotland.’
The Secretary of State for Scotland responded by saying ‘The nature of the devolution settlement means that different decisions will be taken in Scotland on those matters that are devolved, so inevitably different policies will be pursued on one side of the border from the other. I think the Carlisle Principle set out by the Prime Minister during the general election should be followed.’
John said ‘It is important that towns, cities and counties around the Scottish/ English border are well represented, and that there are protections in place so that when policies are being made on either side of the border, it is not detrimental to places located on the other side.
There are many people who live on one side of the border and go to work or school, shop or have a GP on the other side. Differences in policies would potentially affect these people the most and I want to ensure that through measures, such as the Carlisle Principle, they are not affected.’