Devolution

Scottish devolution at 20: some hits, some misses and that eternal maybe

Stephen Richard — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 18:07:49 +0000

Scottish devolution at 20: some hits, some misses and that eternal maybe

Primary Author or Creator

Christopher A Whatley

Stephen Richard Tue, 10/12/2021 - 19:07

Additional Author(s) / Creators

The Conversation

Date Published

Sun, 09/08/2019 - 12:00

Category

Devolution

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

Many hoped devolution would kill nationalism stone dead, to paraphrase George Robertson 1997 referendum. His Labour colleagues in particular failed to grasp Scots’ powerful sense of nationhood. It was another Labour man, the late Tam Dalyell, who argued that devolution could lead to independence. Alex Salmond asserted that independence was “rendered inevitable when the Scottish parliament was established”.

Resource Address (URL)

https://theconversation.com/scottish-devolution-at-20-some-hits-some-misses-and…

Keywords

Scottish Parliament

Devolution

Language English

A Sign on the Road

Stephen Richard — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 10:16:24 +0000

A Sign on the Road

Primary Author or Creator

John S Warren

Stephen Richard Tue, 10/12/2021 - 11:16

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Bella Caledonia

Date Published

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 12:00

Category

Devolution

Type of Resource

News Media

Fast Facts

A critique of "Strength in Union: The Case for the United Kingdom", and especially Alister Jack's view of Scotland in the Union.

Resource Address (URL)

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2021/10/12/a-sign-on-the-road/

Keywords

Language English

Strength in Union: The Case for the United Kingdom

Olanna — Sun, 10 Oct 2021 22:22:26 +0000

Strength in Union: The Case for the United Kingdom

Primary Author or Creator

Alister Jack

Olanna Sun, 10/10/2021 - 23:22

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Andrew Bowie Editor; Centre for Policy Studies

Date Published

Tue, 10/12/2021 - 12:00

Alternative Published Date

September 2021

Category

National Borders

Devolution

Independence

Type of Resource

Collection of essays by Conservative Think Tank

Length (Pages, words, minutes etc...)

111 pages

Fast Facts

Is Scotland a Nation or a Region. MP David Cameron called Scotland a Nation in September 2014 in the run up to the Referendum. In 2021, Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland, refers to Scotland as a region.

More details

Collection of essays by 14 Conservative MPs with forward by Michael Gove and introduction by Theresa May on the Union with Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Union is Strength, the motto of Glasgow’s Trades Hall since 1605, is is the Secretary of State for Scotland’s essay on Scotland as a region.

Resource Address (URL)

https://www.cps.org.uk/files/reports/original/211001211002-CPSUNIONESSAYCOLLECT…

Keywords

Language English

An Unequal Kingdom: The Barriers to Federalism in the UK

Stephen Richard — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 08:01:20 +0000

An Unequal Kingdom: The Barriers to Federalism in the UK

Primary Author or Creator

Craig Dalzell

Stephen Richard Sun, 09/12/2021 - 09:01

Additional Author(s) / Creators

Isobel Lindsay, Common Weal

Alternative Published Date

April 2018

Category

Devolution

Type of Resource

Policy Paper

Fast Facts

The constitutional question over Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom was not resolved by the results of the 2014 independence referendum. In addition to the ongoing debate around independence at least two political parties – the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Labour – currently support constitutional reform for the whole of the UK along some kind of Federal structure.

This paper examines the case for federalism and outlines the challenges and barriers to reform of the UK in this manner.

More details

― As the debates about Scottish independence, several parties – notably Labour and the Liberal Democrats – have sought to distinguish themselves by offering a “third option” in the form of converting the UK from a Unitary State to a Federation of states.

― So far, the details of these proposals have been lacking and barriers to the transition have not been adequately addressed.

― Federalism itself does little to solve the issues around the centralisation or decentralisation of power in the UK. A Federal UK can be highly centralised or highly decentralised just as a Unitary State with devolution can be.

― It is not clear whether a Federal UK will involve England as a distinct state (which would mean a Federation in which one state held an absolute majority of the population of the UK compared to the other states) or whether England would be dissolved and broken into multiple states (which would mean the dissolution of a country simply to solve a demand for constitutional change emanating from outwith that country)

― The state of devolution in the UK is highly asymmetric with some devolved nations having control over different powers and different overall degrees of autonomy. It is not clear if this asymmetry would be replicated in a Federal UK.

― If these asymmetries are to be flattened out then this would require either that Scotland loses powers that it has held since the Union in 1707 (such as its autonomous legal code) or potentially that regions of England are granted those powers.

― There has so far been little to no demand in England for these constitutional changes and without England’s support they will not happen. Thus, presenting Federalism first and foremost as a “solution” to the Scottish independence debate is doomed to failure. Federalism must be able to work regardless of whether or not Scotland leaves the UK either before or after the latter becomes a Federation.

― Any attempt to use a Federal constitution to somehow block, impede or render illegal any campaign for Scottish independence (as is the case in the Spanish constitution) would be profoundly undemocratic and dangerous.

Resource Address (URL)

https://commonweal.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/An-Unequal-Kingdom.pdf

Keywords

Language English