“…suggestions of a return to ‘a government of all the talents’ with bells on and other ideas should form part of an honest Scottish/British conversation about the years ahead – and the best policies and institutions for achieving that rejuvenation and reinvention. One shorn of nostalgia and delusions….”
devolution
Treasury gives Holyrood more fiscal leeway
The Fiscal Framework behind the Scottish Budget has finally been updated, giving the Scottish Government greater leeway when it comes to tax and spend poli
Where are Orkney and Shetland?
Orkney’s leaders recently raised the prospect of secession from Scotland, prompting Prof James Mitchell to look back over half a century of constitutional musing and political leverage.
BoJo’s callow cuifs will decide on Scotland’s laws
“Westminster has decided that all sovereignty rests with itself and it only lends powers to Holyrood – powers that these London-based pipsqueaks will now get to sit in judgement over. So much for the promise that Scotland would have “the most powerful devolved legislature in the world”.”
A fresh start: time to make devo really work
“A government that operates on the basis of centralisation and control; micro- management and a misplaced lack of faith or worse still, a lack of trust in local government to deliver locally based solutions to both national and local issues will not succeed. It must exploit the full toolbox offered by devolution.”
UK-wide constitutional reform is an unavoidable must
“Intergovernmental relations across the UK should be redefined on a stronger, formal footing and codified in a new constitutional framework which enhances arrangements for self-government and secures mechanisms for effective isles-wide collaboration.”
Scotland’s centres of power need reform: Part 2 (Holyrood)
James Mitchell’s survey of Scotland and its centres of power ends with reflections on the glaring need for reforming Holyrood after two decades of devolution. “The Scottish Parliament is not a delicate flower that needs protection but a robust institution that required robust critiques, especially from those who support it.”
Scotland’s centres of power need reform: Part 1 (Westminster)
“No progress can be made so long as the governments – the centres – remained unreformed. No amount of new machinery of Intergovernmental Relations will work – indeed it could make matters worse – if centres are looking for a fight. Providing a gladiatorial arena for constitutional one-upmanship is counter-productive.”
An existential challenge
“Constitutional change is unfinished business in the UK and will remain so until a lasting settlement can be agreed. Any state where a significant portion of its territory votes in large numbers for parties that wish to leave it has to ask questions of itself and find ways of alleviating the concerns of those voters.”
Should Wales leave the UK?
“He explores the various sorts of visions to which independence supporters aspire—socialist, enterprise-driven, republican etc.—provocatively querying what happens if on arrival at the much-vaunted Shangri-La it does not meet individuals’ personal expectations.”