DEVOLUTION IN SCOTLAND

Devolution in Scotland



Devolution in Scotland

Key Developments towards Devolution

After 1979, during the years of government of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, the protest movement for a Scottish Assembly led to the birth of a consensus between parties on the principle of delegation of powers. The Scottish referendum was held in 1979 to decide whether the implementation of the Scottish Act is favourable or not (Keating, 2004). This Act got its success in winning the favour of people. This event played a vital role to make the devolution process steady in Scotland.

In 1997, the Labour Party won general elections. Donald Dewar, Secretary of State for Scotland, implemented the project stopped by Scottish parliament as the Labour Party pledged to support it. A referendum was held in September of that year with 75% of the votes in favour of devolution. The British Parliament then passed a law that established an elected Scottish Parliament to control most of the affairs of Scotland. In 1999, the first elections were held in the Scottish parliament, and a new parliamentary session was declared open for the first time since the previous one was adjourned in 1707. 

Although the Scottish people have got the devolution of powers and regained its sovereignty over most internal affairs, Scottish Nationalists continue to demand full independence. Scottish politics has come a long way in the last forty years. Since the 1970s, they have issued distinct Scottish manifestos, and their policy stance has evolved from defending Scottish interests to promoting distinct policy ideas for Scotland. The presence of the SNP has kept the constitutional issue to the forefront and pushed the other parties towards devolution and adopting stronger Scottish campaigning themes than before. Since the late 1990s, the presence of a far-left party, albeit a small one, has exposed the left flank of Labour and the SNP, while the Greens have brought the environmental issue to the fore. Party politics has gone from being the least competitive to the most competitive in Britain so that, with the possible exception of Labour seats in industrial Clyde side, no scat in Scotland can be considered the natural possession of any party. All this has broadened the political agenda in Scotland compared with England where the parties since the late 1990s have tended to seek the same centre ground, and has moved political competition somewhat to the left (Bulmer, 2002).

In 2006, a survey was conducted by the Sunday Telegraph of London, which revealed that 51% of Scots wanted independence for Scotland. Even more surprisingly, 59% of English thought that Scotland should become independent.  There are myriad Englishmen who believe that Scotland is already independent. 

There have been recent plans to continue the process of devolution. In this regard, the Scottish Government has planned a draft to hold a referendum this year. The first question will highlight that whether the Scottish Parliament should have more devolved responsibility (Watts, 2008). The second question will portray the view that whether the Scottish Parliament should also have its powers extended to enable independence to be ...