This month marks the twentieth anniversary of the Scottish Parliament.The Queen and the Duke of Rothesay (Prince Charles) addressed a special celebratory session of the Parliament to mark the occasion. The Queen recalled the optimism of 1999 and shared her view that the Parliament has become firmly established at the heart of Scottish public life; her sentiments were … [Read more...] about What now for Holyrood?
Towards a devolution backstop?
The Brexit process has undoubtedly brought about an upswing in engagement between the UK and devolved governments.Leaving aside the Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe), which since 1999 has met ahead of European Council meetings, there have been considerably more formal meetings between Scottish, Welsh and UK ministers in the 32 months since the 2016 referendum than in the … [Read more...] about Towards a devolution backstop?
Brexit and Scottish devolution
It’s well known that Scots voted by a clear majority for the UK to remain within the EU.That Scotland faced the prospect of “being taken out of the EU against our will” was, according to the First Minister the morning after the vote, both “democratically unacceptable” and a “significant and a material change of the circumstances in which Scotland voted against independence … [Read more...] about Brexit and Scottish devolution
The Withdrawal Agreement and devolution
It is statement of the obvious to say that the fate of the draft Withdrawal Agreement is in some doubt.In addition to opposition from pro-Brexit (and some pro-Remain) Conservatives, the opposition parties appear united in their resolve to vote against the agreement when it comes to Parliament.For a while, it looked like they may be joined by the 13-strong bloc of … [Read more...] about The Withdrawal Agreement and devolution
The borders of Brexit
The SNP gathered last weekend for its 2018 conference at Glasgow’s SECC. As with the other party conferences, Brexit was a dominant theme.Ahead of the conference, Nicola Sturgeon committed to lending her MPs’ unconditional support for a new Brexit referendum, should such a proposal come before the House of Commons. But it is an altogether different referendum that matters … [Read more...] about The borders of Brexit