Devolution Will Inevitably Lead to an Independent Scotland - Literature review Example

192244 Politics - Assessment Two Devolution will inevitably lead to an independent Scotland - Discuss The following will examine the arguments forand against the idea that devolution will inevitably lead to an independent Scotland rather than a federal United Kingdom. Scotland had a long history as an independent country with its parliament prior to the Act of Union of 1707 with England. Ironically the Act of Union came towards the end of the Stuart dynasty’s rule over England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Stuarts had after all been the Scots royal family that had taken over England and Ireland, yet England would dominate the United Kingdom. For much of the subsequent three centuries the majority of the Scottish people seemed to be content with remaining within the United Kingdom. However the popular support for either devolution or full independence from the Westminster government grew from the 1960s (Fisher, Denver, & Benyon, 2003 p. 14). Increased support for devolution or independence was caused by resentment in the way the revenues from North Sea oil were spent by Westminster as well as the growing perception that the British government was concerned about looking after England and the English (Schama, 2002 p. 549). The Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997 further increased support for devolution as well as for independence due to their apparent neglect of Scotland and its social and economic problems. New Labour quickly devolved government in Scotland after it came to power in 1997 (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/home). There are certainly groups and individuals that argue or publicly state that devolution would lead inevitably to an independent Scotland within a relative short period of time (Jones B & Kavanagh, 2003 p. 10). Ironically it is the strongest supporters as well as the strongest opponents of Scottish independence that have made the most arguments about devolution inevitably leading to an independent Scotland (Young, 2003 p. 200). The most vocal opponents of devolution in Scotland (and Wales as well) were the Conservative party, although it was their unpopular policies such as the poll tax that had made devolution a certainty once they had lost control of power at Westminster (Coxall, Robins, & Leach, 2003 p.35). The Conservatives had successfully resisted calls for devolution between 1979 and 1997 because of their Westminster majority, yet they had not done a great deal to antagonise the Scottish electorate. Such as not reversing economic decline, spending North Sea oil revenues on keeping people throughout Britain unemployed, and introducing the poll tax a year earlier in Scotland than in the rest of the United Kingdom (Lynch, 2001 p. 1). The unpopularity of the Conservatives had meant that there were no Conservative MPs in Scotland after 1992, yet the Major government still made decisions that affected Scotland directly until it lost power. The Conservatives were the only mainstream political party to campaign against devolution in 1998 on the grounds that the Scottish National Party (SNP) could use it as a stepping stone to an independent Scotland (http; //www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/index.html). Devolution according to the Conservatives will eventually lead to the end of the United Kingdom, as the SNP will at some point in the future succeed in making Scotland independent. By arguing that devolution would inevitably lead Scotland to full independence was meant to deter people from supporting its adoption in 1998, that was an electoral tactic that failed (Moran, 2005 p. 50). The SNP were also very vocal in stating that devolution would inevitably lead to Scotland becoming independent, which is precisely the objective that the party wishes to achieve. The SNP’s leadership believed that it was sensible to campaign in favour of devolution in 1998 alongside New Labour and the Liberal Democrats as it would improve the prospects of them being able to lead Scotland towards full independence from the United Kingdom. It is obviously in the best interests of the SNP to talk up the prospects of full independence being inevitably achieved once a devolved Scottish government was established in Edinburgh. The SNP was hoping that New Labour would at some point lose its long-established position as the most popular single political party in Scotland (Young, 2003 p. 200). Whilst the SNP leadership also considered that there was a strong possibility that the proportional representation electoral system used in the Scottish Parliament elections would improve the party’s chances of gaining control of power in Scotland, and eventually holding a referendum on the issue of independence (Keating, 2005 p. 10). New Labour’s widespread unpopularity and the apathy of voters towards it meant that the SNP was able to become the single largest party within the Scottish Parliament in the elections of 2007. The SNP’s strong position means that its leadership is currently keen on holding a referendum on full independence as soon as possible. However it could not be taken for granted that any such referendum would automatically lead to independence, though that would be the best possible outcome for the SNP. Politics is as much an art of taking all available opportunity, as of attempting to predict what is inevitable and what is not. With hindsight some events seem to be inevitable, whilst it is harder to predict future events with foresight (Schama, 2002 p. 549). There are arguments that devolution in Scotland will not inevitably lead to full independence from the United Kingdom, even if it could make it more of a possibility than before it happened. New Labour and the Liberal Democrats supported the adoption of a devolved government in Scotland because they believed devolution would strengthen the United Kingdom rather than inevitably lead to Scotland becoming independent. Their belief was that refusing to grant Scotland devolution that was in fact more likely to lead to Scottish independence than introducing a devolved parliament based in Edinburgh. The gist of this argument is that devolved government gives the Scottish people greater benefits than the old unitary system did, and also more than full independence would give them as well (Coxall, Robins, & Leach, 2003 p. 10). Devolution gives the voters of Scotland a greater influence over their own future whilst at the same time allowing them access to the larger level of resources of the whole of the United Kingdom than the more modest revenues of Scotland on its own (http://www.fco.gov.uk/). It could be added to this point that the revenue derived from North Sea oil and gas will continue to decline as supplies near complete exhaustion making it more difficult for an independent Scotland to finance current levels of expenditure on public services and social security benefits (http; //www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/index.html). The English taxpayers would of course not be available to subsidise such expenditure as they do at present, whilst independence could prove to be unpopular in England (Schama, 2002 p. 549). Just because the SNP were the largest party after the 2007 Scottish elections does not automatically mean that Scotland will become independent, or that the Scottish voters will approve independence in any future referendum on that issue. Besides New Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservatives would vigorously campaign against independence. Lower voter turnout and the unpopularity of New Labour could adequately explain the SNP’s recent successes. Voting SNP as a protest vote against New Labour is not the same as wholehearted support for independence (http; //www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/index.html). To conclude it is not proven beyond doubt that the introduction of a devolved government will inevitably lead to Scotland becoming independent. The Conservatives have argued that devolution would inevitably make Scotland an independent country once again, as the SNP would at some point take advantage of it. The SNP certainly believe that devolution will increase their chances of being able to achieve Scottish independence sooner rather later. For their part New Labour and the Liberal Democrats have argued that devolution has made Scotland less likely to become independent instead of making it inevitable. Bibliography Coxall B, Robins L & Leach R (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave, London Fisher J, Denver D, & Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Longman, London Jones B & Kavanagh D (2003) British Politics Today Keating M (2005) The Government of Scotland, Edinburgh. Lynch P (2001) Scottish Government & Politics, an introduction. Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke Schama S, (2002) A History of Britain 3 – the End of Empire 1776-2000, BBC, London Young H, (2003) supping with the Devils – Political writing from Thatcher to Blair, Guardian Books, London http://www.scotland.gov.uk/home http; //www.scotlandoffice.gov.uk/index.html http; //www.scottish.parliament.uk/home.htm http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Read More