L01
Increasingly in recent times there have been questions raised as to whether the interests of the Scottish people would be better served closer to home. Some have argued for greater legislative powers to be transferred to Holyrood, whilst others instead see separation from the Union as being the key to meeting the needs of the people. This essay will examine these issues and more surrounding the governance of Scotland.
When looking at what events were pivotal on the road to Scottish devolution, we should begin by looking at 1979. The labour government of the time offered a referendum on Scottish devolution, proposing to implement the measures put forward in the 1978 Scotland Act (Kellas, 1989). Votes were cast on the first of March with …show more content…
One view on this is that of unionism, a concept which states that Scotland is best served by being part of the United Kingdom. Unionists may argue that Scotland has done well as part of the union, the country has a relatively healthy and stable economy at present for instance (Leach, Coxall and Robins, 2011). In the build up to the independence referendum in 2014, the better together campaign arguing in favour of Scotland staying in the union were stating that Scotland was stronger, and could be a bigger player on the global stage as part of the United Kingdom. This campaign had cross party support from three of the major UK political parties, in this case being the conservatives, liberal democrats and Labour. During the campaign they also made the point that financially Scotland could be seen to have a spending gap, meaning that they spend more than they collect which would therefore make the union beneficial to Scotland also (Lynch and Fairclough, 20130. Devolution differs from this view in that whilst wanting remaining to stay in the UK we would be seeking to gain more powers for Scotland. Devolution would be where further powers would be devolved to the Scottish parliament. Essentially this puts forward the view that Scotland is best placed to make decisions for Scotland, therefore decisions should be taken closer to home (Leach, Coxall and Robins, 2011). During the referendum …show more content…
(2016) Scottish Parliament election 2016: What do the results mean for Holyrood? Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/04/scottish-parliament-election-2016/ (Accessed 20 December 2016).
Lambie, D. (2014) ‘Cheaper to tear down Scottish parliament by 2020’. [Online] Available at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/cheaper-to-tear-down-scottish-parliament-by-2020-1-3265721 (Accessed 20 December 2016).
Leach, Coxall and Robins, L. (2011) british politics. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Leith, M, McPhee, I and Laxton, T. (2012) Scottish Devolution And Social Policy: Evidence From The First Decade. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Lynch, P and Fairclough, P. (2013) AS UK Government and Politics. 4th ed. Deddington: Hodder Education.
Naysmith, S. (2013) Scottish drive to build a case against the bedroom tax. [Online] Available at: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13118378.Scottish_drive_to_build_a_case_against_the_bedroom_tax/ (Accessed 20 December 2016).
Oliver, L. (2012) Smoking ban five years on-what has it done for you? [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/poll/2012/jun/29/smoking-ban-england-five-years (Accessed 20 December
Increasingly in recent times there have been questions raised as to whether the interests of the Scottish people would be better served closer to home. Some have argued for greater legislative powers to be transferred to Holyrood, whilst others instead see separation from the Union as being the key to meeting the needs of the people. This essay will examine these issues and more surrounding the governance of Scotland.
When looking at what events were pivotal on the road to Scottish devolution, we should begin by looking at 1979. The labour government of the time offered a referendum on Scottish devolution, proposing to implement the measures put forward in the 1978 Scotland Act (Kellas, 1989). Votes were cast on the first of March with …show more content…
One view on this is that of unionism, a concept which states that Scotland is best served by being part of the United Kingdom. Unionists may argue that Scotland has done well as part of the union, the country has a relatively healthy and stable economy at present for instance (Leach, Coxall and Robins, 2011). In the build up to the independence referendum in 2014, the better together campaign arguing in favour of Scotland staying in the union were stating that Scotland was stronger, and could be a bigger player on the global stage as part of the United Kingdom. This campaign had cross party support from three of the major UK political parties, in this case being the conservatives, liberal democrats and Labour. During the campaign they also made the point that financially Scotland could be seen to have a spending gap, meaning that they spend more than they collect which would therefore make the union beneficial to Scotland also (Lynch and Fairclough, 20130. Devolution differs from this view in that whilst wanting remaining to stay in the UK we would be seeking to gain more powers for Scotland. Devolution would be where further powers would be devolved to the Scottish parliament. Essentially this puts forward the view that Scotland is best placed to make decisions for Scotland, therefore decisions should be taken closer to home (Leach, Coxall and Robins, 2011). During the referendum …show more content…
(2016) Scottish Parliament election 2016: What do the results mean for Holyrood? Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/04/scottish-parliament-election-2016/ (Accessed 20 December 2016).
Lambie, D. (2014) ‘Cheaper to tear down Scottish parliament by 2020’. [Online] Available at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/cheaper-to-tear-down-scottish-parliament-by-2020-1-3265721 (Accessed 20 December 2016).
Leach, Coxall and Robins, L. (2011) british politics. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Leith, M, McPhee, I and Laxton, T. (2012) Scottish Devolution And Social Policy: Evidence From The First Decade. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Lynch, P and Fairclough, P. (2013) AS UK Government and Politics. 4th ed. Deddington: Hodder Education.
Naysmith, S. (2013) Scottish drive to build a case against the bedroom tax. [Online] Available at: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13118378.Scottish_drive_to_build_a_case_against_the_bedroom_tax/ (Accessed 20 December 2016).
Oliver, L. (2012) Smoking ban five years on-what has it done for you? [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/poll/2012/jun/29/smoking-ban-england-five-years (Accessed 20 December