Kemi Badenoch could strip Holyrood of powers in Tory devolution shake-up if she wins the next general election

Kemi Badenoch will order a review of devolution which will consider withdrawing powers from the Scottish Parliament if she wins the next general election.

The Conservative leader is planning to hit back at SNP failings by unveiling a commitment to look again at the Scotland Act should she enter Number 10 Downing Street.

Insiders have confirmed that the review will propose stripping Holyrood of some powers it currently holds if doing so would improve the governance of Scotland and the UK.

It is part of a deliberate change of strategy by the party to move away from the 'devolve and forget' approach of previous Tory governments.

The controversial move – which will be heavily resisted by the SNP – has won the support of the Scottish Conservatives.

A senior member of Mrs Badenoch's team said: 'We will review the Scotland Act and consider withdrawing powers if it would ensure better governance of the UK.'

The policy is currently being worked on by her shadow cabinet and could prove a major issue in the next general election campaign north of the Border.

Her team of shadow ministers is increasingly alarmed about SNP policy failings on issues like health, education, energy and the economy and wants to take a more hands-on approach to doing something about it.

A senior member of Kemi Badenoch's team said the Tories will review the Scotland Act and consider withdrawing powers if they win the next general election

Successive Tory governments have previously adopted a 'devolve and forget' approach where powers are transferred to the Scottish Parliament and then it is left to MSPs to scrutinise the performance of the Scottish Government. 

The original powers of the Scottish Parliament were set out in the Scotland Act 1998 but there have been two transfer rounds of further powers since then, in 2012 and 2016.

Current devolved powers controlled by Holyrood include health, education, the environment, large elements of the tax and benefits systems, planning and the economy, while reserved powers controlled by Westminster include defence, foreign affairs, national security, international affairs and the constitution.

A Scottish Conservative source said: 'The time has come to start looking at this.

'Education is an area we have been raising concerns about because of the gap between Scotland and England and Michael Gove offered to share details of his approach in England.

'Broadly, we would support this. We would look to work closely with the UK party on this.'

Under the current legislation, the UK Parliament remains sovereign in relation to UK law and retains the right to legislate in all areas, including in relation to devolved powers.

The Westminster Parliament does 'not normally' pass laws in devolved areas without first obtaining the consent of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd, or the Northern Ireland Assembly as part of the 'Sewel Convention'.

New income tax powers were devolved to the Scottish Parliament in 2012 and these were strengthened further in 2016 following the recommendations of the cross-party Smith Commission.

Holyrood was also granted powers over large sections of the welfare state including disability benefits, personal independence payments and universal credit.

Since then, a large gap has opened up between Scotland and the rest of the UK on income tax rates, with everyone earning more than £33,493 now paying more if they live north of the Border.

Spending on benefits has been rising faster in Scotland than across the UK and the total cost is projected to soar from £6.8billion last year to £8.9billion by the end of the decade.

The country is expected to feature heavily when Mrs Badenoch gives her keynote address to the Conservative conference in Birmingham today (Wed).

She will be introduced by Douglas Lumsden, who was elected as an MP in June after winning the Aberdeen South by-election in what he billed as a local referendum on oil and gas.

In her opening address on Sunday, Mrs Badenoch said: 'Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been run by people who want to rip the United Kingdom apart and my team will not let them.'

She also declared at a Scottish reception at the conference that the Tories are the only 'common sense' party at Holyrood, and added: 'I cannot tell you just how much I love Scotland.

'Scotland deserves better and we are going to give them better.'

Scottish First Minister Donald Dewar and the Queen at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1997   

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Recent concerns about Scotland trailing behind England include long NHS waits, schools, and drug deaths.

Earlier this week, Shadow Energy Security Secretary Andrew Bowie told the Conservative conference that Scotland will not be 'off limits' to new nuclear energy reactors under a Tory government despite the SNP using devolved planning laws to ban nuclear energy developments.

He said: 'We will legislate to get it done. No more Mr Nice Guy – no more devolve and forget. Energy is a reserved power of the sovereign parliament of our United Kingdom, and I'm fed up of the SNP playing games with devolved planning policy to block our nuclear revival.

'So, we will legislate to ensure new nuclear can and will be built in Scotland, and if the Nationalists want to stop us from delivering thousands of jobs, economic growth and energy security to Britain I've one thing to say: bring it on.

'The age of kowtowing to those who seek to hamper our growth, stymie our success, block our future and break up our country is over. Under Kemi Badenoch, we will govern for the whole United Kingdom.'

SNP MP Pete Wishart said: 'The Scottish Tories want to strip powers from the Scottish Parliament and make no mistake, these are the Better Together bedfellows of the Labour Party.

'With independence firmly back on the table, that band is being mustered.

'People in Scotland want to see our parliament protected and only the SNP will ensure that - they certainly don't want a nuclear power plant in their back garden like the Scottish Tories desire.'