In his interview with The Herald yesterday, Andy Burnham hit so many nails on the head that resistance to common sense must be in danger of giving way. At least we are entitled to hope so, even if experience points in the other direction.

Burnham is a remarkable politician – probably the most effective in Britain and anyone who dismisses his advice and ambitions because they are coming from outside Scotland is a fool. Indeed, casual dismissal of Burnham’s analysis only serves to confirm its validity.

The awkward truth is that much of England, and certainly Greater Manchester, now has more effective devolution than any part of Scotland would recognise. They are doing it without the pomp and preening of a Parliament which has become an impediment to original thinking, rather than its source.

Instead, Burnham and his counterparts have worked to bring people together in shared interest. What can they do to advance the cause of their region? To achieve Greater Manchester’s successes, not only are 11 local authorities inside the tent but party differences have been largely set aside, in a common cause.

In response to the Burnham interview, a spokesman for the Scottish Government declared that there is going to be a “Local Government Review with COSLA to ensure communities have greater control and influence over decisions that affect them most”. What’s more, said St Andrew’s House proudly, “Scottish councils have received greater powers over planning, parking charges (and) workplace parking”. After 18 years of systematically draining the lifeblood out of local government........

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