A NEW drive for federalism across the UK is to be launched by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Former MSP Lord Purvis will lead the party’s campaign for “a new set of constitutional arrangements to replace the treaties of union”.

It comes after Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale announced she will join forces with former prime minister Gordon Brown and others to look at how Labour can take forward plans for a People’s Constitutional Convention that will examine how power is distributed across the nations and regions of the UK.

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Lord Purvis, a member of the Commission on Parliamentary Reform, said: “Scottish Liberal Democrats have been at the vanguard of pressing the case for a reformed, federal, fair and prosperous UK where the aspirations of the people of Scotland can be met.

“We have been instrumental in every stage of Scotland’s constitutional journey from the Scottish Constitutional Convention to the 2015 Scotland Act.

“The momentum for a federal UK is building, with Kezia Dugdale now coming out in support of our long-established policy.

“A new set of constitutional arrangements to replace the treaties of union was exactly what was proposed by Lord Campbell’s commission on Federalism in 2012.

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“While we reject the siren sounds of nationalism and independence, we believe there is an optimistic and modern alternative.”