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In the United Kingdom, the power and lawmaking have come from Westminster in London for a very long time. This has consistently left the countries outside of England that are part of the kingdom feeling left behind. Devolution is all about these countries’ desire to make their own laws again and not have them dictated by people who don't share their identity or interests. For almost half a century now, Scotland has been passionate in its quest to do this! Let's find out exactly what Scottish devolution is.
Devolution is a term that describes the diversion of central or singular power to local and regional governments. In the UK, there are devolved governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, which were established in 1998. This article will focus on Scottish devolution but first, it is vital to see why devolution was such a priority.
I look forward to the days when this Chamber will sound with debate, argument and passion. When men and women all over Scotland will meet to work together for a future built from the first principles of social justice.
-Donald Dewar, First Minister of Scotland, July 1999
In this quote, you can see the swelling pride from Donald Dewar after the devolved Scottish Parliament opened. The seeds for a devolved Scottish government, however, go centuries back. The Scottish drive for autonomy and independence is certainly not something new. To understand the history of devolution let's first look at some important terms.
| Term | Definition |
| Bill | Proposal or idea for a new law or changes to existing laws. |
| Act | A bill that has been approved and written into law by Parliament. |
| Parliament/Assembly | An elected committee that discusses public laws and affairs. |
| Parliamentary Committee | A commission whose role is to consider new policies and evaluate existing ones. |
| Referendum | A yes/no vote put to the electorate on a specific political question or issue. |
| Electorate | The eligible people in a region or country who vote. |
| Constitution | The rulebook by which a state is governed and the rights a citizen has. |
| First-past-the-post voting | An election system in which the single candidate with the most votes in a voting area gets a seat in Parliament, even if they have less than 50% of the vote. The losing party gets no representation. |
The post had first been created after the Acts of Union but was removed after the Scots had supported Charles Stuart in the Jacobite rising of 1745, in which he invaded England.
November 1998: the proposal became legislation. The Scotland Act allowed Scotland to form an independent Parliament.
May 1999: Scottish devolved Parliament elections started.
July 1999: the Queen opened Scottish Parliament at the Church of Scotland, Edinburgh.
2004: the new Scottish Parliament building was finished in Holyrood, Edinburgh.
Scottish Parliament building, Wikimedia Commons.
The Scottish devolution bill refers to the 1998 Scotland Act. Let's look at some of its key points below:
The Scottish Parliament would be in session by January 2000.
The Parliament would have the power to create laws on a variety of issues but not all of them.
The money to be spent on public services was higher than the UK average.
Finances would still come from the central government in Westminster but the Scottish Parliament had the power to change tax by up to 3p. This doesn't sound like a lot but equals an overall £450 million increase or decrease per year.
Scottish Members of Parliament (MSPs) would serve four-year terms. 129 MSPs would be selected: 73 constituency members by the first-past-the-post electoral method and 56 regional members via proportional representation.
Scotland's representation would withdraw from Westminster.
EU and Westminster lawmaking would be debated.
Over 60% of the Scottish electorate population voted in the second devolution referendum. As we've seen, the Scottish people had voted ‘yes’ for devolution in the 1970s too but the threshold of 40% of the voting electorate was not met, so the vote was invalid. This time around they were overwhelmingly in favour of a Scottish Parliament (74.3%) and 63.5% wanted the new Parliament to have tax-raising capabilities.
So, who controls what?
| Edinburgh (Devolved Matters) | Westminster (Reserved Matters) |
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Laws in the Scottish Parliament start with a bill. The public and the parliamentary committee consider the bill. Then, the parliamentary committee examines the bill in greater detail and suggests amendments or improvements.
Finally, more amendments are proposed in Parliament and the bill is accepted or rejected.
If a bill is accepted, a UK government officer evaluates how it fits with the Supreme Court and the European Convention of Human Rights. Finally, the Royal Assent of approval from the Queen transforms the bill into an Act of Parliament.
The media's role in Scottish devolution
BBC Scotland launched its own channel in 2019, but the broadcasting has been shown to cost more per viewer than any of the BBC's other channels, and it does not reach a large percentage of the Scottish audience. Viewing figures demonstrate that Scottish viewers still prefer their own STV channel,1 highlighting the continued disconnect between Scotland and England. The streaming service Netflix also enjoys far greater Scottish consumption than the BBC.
As well as BBC Scotland, Channel 4 has also recently opened a creative centre in Glasgow, but more than 20 years after devolution many Scots feel that independence is the only solution for their marginalisation in the UK.
This criticism is not unique to Scotland and Wales, Northern Ireland and even the North of England regularly bemoan the London-centric media.
Alex Salmond vs the BBC
The First Minister of the Scottish National Party (SNP) at the time of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum was Alex Salmond. During the lead up to the vote, he had several high profile arguments, notably with presenter Andrew Marr and political editor Nick Robinson.
The BBC was accused of bias in these interviews, and Salmond has since said that the bias of the BBC should have been foreseen and was a 'significant factor' in the failed referendum. He has also attacked Scottish and British media outlets, adamant that without the smear campaign against independence the result would have been very different.
Since the 1998 Scotland Act, there have been some other referendums that have seen Scotland gain even more autonomy. Some were more successful than others.
The SNP still want Scottish independence to be part of the UK-wide conversation but leader Nicola Sturgeon (below) is conscious of the implications of another failed attempt to break away and is biding her time before trying again.
Scotland's devolution has seen a resurgence in national pride and the Scottish Parliament has taken advantage of its autonomy to make its laws. The question of a yes/no referendum is perhaps too simple as Scots cannot predict what independence will mean. For now, Covid-19 has put the conversation on hold, but it isn't going away.
Nicola Sturgeon, Wikimedia Commons.
Scottish devolution refers to the delegation of certain powers to Scotland and the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999. This allowed them to make their own laws and adjust their own taxes independent of the UK.
Devolution in government is the diversifying of power from a central structure. It provides special autonomy for certain countries or regions within the sphere of a central government.
Almost 1.8 million people voted for Scottish devolution. This equalled 74.3% of the vote. Over 60% of the electorate voted.
Scottish devolution allows the Scottish Parliament to make its own decisions about some political issues such as housing and education. With the approval of the Queen and a UK government official, the bills they propose can become acts of law. Other issues and laws for Scotland are made by the UK government like immigration and security.
The media and its continued marginalisation of Scotland, in particular through the BBC, demonstrate that devolution still leaves Scotland with a secondary status in the UK. This was evident in their treatment of Alex Salmond in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
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