I RECENTLY had pleasure in attending an event to mark ten years since the reopening of rail services along the line from Alloa to Stirling.

Passenger services resumed after a 40-year absence on 19 May 2008, after an £85 million investment in the project to bring rail services back on the 13-mile stretch, reconnecting Alloa to the rest of the rail network.

At the time the project was conceived, I was the council leader in Clackmannanshire, so was involved in much of the discussions from the outset – promoting the first Bill of its kind to the Scottish Parliament.

I proud to have played a part in seeing this project undertaken and completed, and in witnessing the significant benefits for Clackmannanshire through the rail line – which included making travel across the central belt and beyond simple and straightforward for people across this area, as well as making Clackmannanshire much more accessible for visitors, with the obvious boost to the local economy that brings.

Another event I attended recently also allowed me to hear the views of older people in the constituency about public transport services. The National Transport Forum event was organised in Sauchie Hall by Age Scotland and Transport Scotland to discuss transport requirements both locally and nationally with older people.

It was great to hear the views of those in attendance, and the feedback Transport Scotland receives through engagement events such as this will allow them to address any issues identified and improve services.

In the Scottish Parliament, recent business has been dominated by the debate over the UK Tory Government’s attempted power grab through its EU (Withdrawal Bill), which as currently written would undermine the devolved settlement by seizing powers over 24 different areas including agricultural support, fisheries management, environmental policy, public procurement and food standards.

There is an important principle at stake here. The people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly for devolution in 1997, with 80 percent of people here in Clackmannanshire in support.

It is simply not acceptable for the Tory Government in London to unilaterally defy the will of the people by re-centralising many important areas of policy to Westminster.

The Scottish Parliament has made its position clear, with a 93-30 vote in favour of rejecting the power grab. As well as the SNP, the Labour Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats all voted against consenting to the offer on the table, with only the Tories isolated as ever in supporting their masters in London seizing devolved powers back to Westminster.

However, even at this eleventh hour, it is not too late for the Tory Government to act reasonably and abandon their plans to gut the devolution settlement by instead agreeing to the principle of consent.

The Scottish Government has never argued that there aren’t areas where it makes sense to have common frameworks with the UK Government in working out a post-Brexit deal, but if this is simply imposed on the Scottish Parliament by Westminster, the entire basis of devolved government will be damaged.