Higher Modern Studies Political Issues in the United Kingdom Study Theme 1A: Devolved Decision Making in Scotland In 1707, Scotland ceased to have its own Parliament when it joined with the government of England. However, many of the political and cultural features which were enjoyed as an independent country have been retained, leading to the assertion that Scotland is a nation but not a state. There have been varying degrees of support for a separate decision- making institution for Scotland throughout the 20th century amid claims of a lack of specific Scottish laws to meet specific Scot tish problems. In 1997, the Labour Government swept to power in the UK Parliament with a manifesto pledge to offer Scottish voters a devolution settlement – a Parliament with the ability to legislate for Scotland. Since the opening of the Parliament in 1999, the political landscape of Scotland has changed dramatically. The results of the 2007 and 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, which saw the SNP with first a minority, and then a majority elected government, are likely to have far-reaching consequences for the overall constitutional settlement of the UK. Scotland’s first ever First Minister, Donald Dewar, remarked, “Devolution is a process, not an event”. The process is still ongoing. 1 Study Theme 1A: Devolved Decision Making In Scotland The first elected Scottish Parliament sat down for the first time in May 1999. The new Parliament building at Holyrood opened in October 2004. Both the Parliament and the building have been strongly criticised by the Scottish media and voters. Despite this, studies have shown that Scottish voters do not wish to return to rule from Westminster alone. The Road to Devolution – powerpoint Devolution Devolution is the transfer of powers from a central body to devolved administrations. In the UK, some powers have been transferred from the UK Parliament at Westminster to various nations and regions. - Scottish Parliament - National Assembly for Wales - Northern Ireland Assembly - levels of devolution in London and plans for further devolution to English regional assemblies. Because of devolution, the people of Scotland have their own parliament where, under the terms of the Scotland Act (1998), they are free to pass laws on a range of issues and have the power to raise or lower the basic rate of income tax by up to 3 pence in the pound. In Scotland, devolved matters include education and health (the NHS in Scotland). The Scotland Act also specifies other matters on which the Scottish Parliament cannot pass legislation. These are known as reserved matters and include defence and national security. Despite this degree of self-government for specific countries and regions, the UK Government still has overall or absolute power and can reverse the devolved settlements at any time. 2 Difference between Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are often mistakenly taken to mean the same thing. However, it is important to recognise they are different and separate organisations. They are interdependent: the government derives legitimacy from parliament, and parliament relies on the government to take care of the business of government and administration. The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 MSPs elected by people of Scotland. The Parliament elects a presiding officer, who chairs meetings of the parliament and represents parliament externally. The Scottish Parliament is the law-making body in Scotland for devolved matters. It scrutinises the work of the Scottish Government. It is located in Holyrood, at the foot of the Royal Mile. The Scottish government is separate from the Scottish Parliament, with a different role and function. It is led by the first minister and compromises cabinet secretaries and ministers chosen by the first minister. The government is responsible for developing and implementing policy on devolved matters. It is located in buildings across Scotland, with its main offices in central Edinburgh and Glasgow. TASK 1 1. Explain how Scotland became a devolved nation. 2. Explain the term ‘devolution’. 3. How are the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government different? 3 The Founding Principles of the Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament was set up with four founding principles at its core: • Accessibility • Accountability • Equal Opportunities • Sharing Power TASK 2 Read pages 6, 7 and 8 of the UK Politics textbook and answer the questions on page 8. WARNING! There has been another election since this textbook was published so use the information in the table below to help with questions on women and ethnic minority representation. Elections to the Scottish Parliament Elections to the Scottish Parliament take place every 4 years in May and usually 4 cannot be changed. However, due to conflict with Westminster, the next election will beTASK in May 3 2016. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition decided to fix Westminster election terms to every 5 years, causing a clash with the 2015 Holyrood elections. The SNP government took the decision to postpone the Scottish elections byRead one yearpages to avoid9 and voters 10 of having the UK to votePolitics in 2 textbookmajor elections. and answer the questions on page 10. (CSG = Consultative Steering Group, a group of people set up to decide on way forward for devolution.) Elections to the Scottish Parliament use the Additional Member System (AMS). Labour, it is fair to say, would have preferred the FPTP system used at Westminster. Remember again the 2011 election! SNP won 45.4% of the vote and the Labour’s votes tend to be concentrated in urban areas. The FPTP system rewards partiesmajority which of have seats, a strong the geographicalfirst time for base. the The Scottish Liberal Democrats Parliament would elections have . liked the STV system, which is a more ‘pure’ proportional system. Seats are distributed more in line with the proportion of votes a party receives. However, the Scottish Constitutional Convention agreed on AMS as a compromise. This has had far-reaching consequences for the Parliament. There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs); 73 of these are elected by the traditional FPTP. The remaining 56 are ‘additional’ members, elected by the voters from ‘lists’ put forward by the political parties. Two ‘types’ of MSP The AMS system creates two ‘types’ of MSP. The constituency MSP wins a straightforward FPTP contest against their political opponents. They are elected, on the first FPTP election, to represent the voters of a specific constituency (e.g. Motherwell and Wishaw). The List MSP represents a wider geographical area (e.g. Central Region). They are elected as a result of the percentage of the vote their party receives in the second ‘List’ vote. 5 In 2011, in the Scottish Parliament constituency of Motherwell and Wishaw, John Pentland was elected as the constituency MSP (see table below). There were also seven additional ‘list’ MSPs elected, as part of the wider Central Scotland region which includes Motherwell and Wishaw. So, for example, if a constituent in Motherwell and Wishaw has an issue in the area that requires the MSP’s attention, he/she could go to John Pentland as the constituency MSP to do something about it. But he/she could, in theory, approach a list MSP instead. The voter could, for example, consult Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell, who is one of Central Scotland region’s seven list MSPs. Representation in Motherwell and Wishaw Motherwell and Wishaw 2011 Constituency Result Party Percentage of votes Labour 43.81% Scottish National Party 41.4% Conservative 7.17% Name Party Votes % John Pentland Labour 10,713 43.81 John Pentland Clare Adamson SNP 10,126 41.41 MSP, Motherwell Robert Burgess Conservative 1,753 7.17 and Wishaw, John Swinburne ASPP 945 3.86 Labour Tom Selfridge SCP 547 2.24 Beverley Hope Liberal Democrat 367 1.5 Majority 587 votes Electorate 53,610 Turnout (24,451) 45% There are factors that cause tensions between constituency and list MSPs. One consequence of the electoral system is that the traditional link between constituents and their representatives is now more complex. The constituency MSP represents a specific area and, having defeated other party candidates in a straightforward first past the post contest, he or she can claim to be the ‘people’s choice’. However, voters also have regional representatives. Both constituency and list MSPs complain about each other’s actions. Constituency MSPs are convinced that list MSPs complain about each other’s actions. Constituency MSPs are convinced that list MSPs ‘cherry pick’ local issues and conduct electioneering with the purpose of winning the seat at a future election. 6 In contrast, list MSPs argue that constituency MSPs regard them as second- class politicians. It is significant that much of the criticism of list MSPs comes from Labour MSPs. Labour tends to do better in FPTP constituency elections and resents list MSPs who failed to win under FPTP. In 2003 the then Labour MP Brian Wilson controversially stated that “list MSPs were underemployed wastes of space”. In the 2011 election, Labour’s failure to place its heavyweight constituency candidates onto the list system had disastrous consequences. They lost 22 of their constituency MSPs from the previous election. The growth of the SNP, Alex Salmond’s popularity, the collapse of the Liberal Democrats and poor election tactics, all contributed to Labour’s loss of seats. TASK 4 1. What is the difference between a “constituency” MSP and a “list” MSP? 2. What factors may cause tension between constituency and list MSPs? 3. Why is it difficult to generalise over the effectiveness of constituency or list MSPs? What do MSPs do? • Join committees in parliament • Take part in debates • Question the Scottish Government • Can be appointed to a Cabinet position within the Scottish Government • Represent their constituents in parliament • Hold surgeries in their constituency/region • Attend meetings/events about local issues • Can submit a member’s bill Link - The Work of an MSP Legislation There are two different types of bill that can be introduced: a public bill and a private bill.