However, it is not possible to solely define a political system by its political institutions and organisations, there are other criteria involved, such as the concept of Britain being a nation-state; which then casts doubt on the ability of Scotland to contain strong political systems. It is argued that there are two broad criteria involved to establish nationhood: Firstly the ideology of the members must reflect that they are a nation, they need to consider themselves as such, and not as part of another nation. secondly, a nation should retain some of its own particular characteristics, such as language, communication and culture.
In general, research has shown that Scots do not feel British, they feel Scottish, which meets with one of the criteria mentioned. However, if this feeling was reflected in their political thinking, they would be predominantly Scottish Nationalists, rejecting co-operation with English political parties. As this is not the case, it can be seen that nationality does not adequately reflect voting behaviour.
Until 1974 Scottish voters overwhelmingly supported British political parties, rather than purely Scottish ones. It is apparent that Scottish political opinion is divided in the same manner as it is in England and Wales and not in the way that divides Scotland from the rest of the country. This is said to be due to the careful harmony of Scottish politics with that of British politics. Scottish MP’s accepted that the members of British Parties speak for them too. (The SNP members do not hold to this acceptance at all though).
There are however certain issues that pertain solely to Scotland, for example, legal, education and religious matters as well as those concerning the Highlands. It can be seen though that the system of British Party unity conceals the differences in the Party’s policies in the nation of the UK. This would suggest that Scottish voters may in fact not be expressing the same attitudes as the English voters, even when they are voting for the same Party.
The British electoral behaviour altered after 1918 with the development of the class based Parties. The working class people were likely to vote for the Labour Party, while the middle class voters tended to vote Conservative. It was not only class that divided political opinion, but that too of religion. Also, mass media development meant that political issues were no longer confined to regions, but focused on London, the capital of Politics, this reinforced uniformity. Research evidence though indicates that Scotland is a strong political region and has its own voting patterns that veer from the British national average of Politics.
Labour usually wins more seats in Scotland and this is largely due to the social composition of the Scottish constituencies. There are proportionately more working class seats in Scotland than in England. This is due to the fact that in general, Scotland is more working class, but this is not the only reason; the constituencies have been drawn up in such a manner that gives a significant advantage to the Labour Party,
With regard to social class, research shows that within each class, the voting behaviour of the Scottish and the English differs. Basically, less people vote Conservative in Scotland. A survey conducted in 1979 showed that 50% of the English working class voted Conservative, in comparison to 24% of the Scottish working class people. (Kellas, J. 1992; p109). In 1983 the Scottish Conservative vote declined even further. The vote for Nationalists was on the increase at this time, due to the general feeling of discontent with the differentiation between England and Scotland. In 1983 and 1987 the Conservatives won a 100 seat majority nationally, only 24% of these votes came from Scottish voters., taking only 10 of the 72 Scottish seats.
The Scottish Nationalist Party has been primarily motivated by the desire for Scottish independence, this has posed a dilemma for Britain’s major political parties. Voters have increasingly swayed towards SNP policies and support for them has increased significantly in recent years. The Conservative Party is totally opposed to Scotland gaining independence, which will entail leaving the union and having taxation powers etc. The Conservative Party think this would be damaging for both Scotland and England.
The issue of devolution is not a new one in Scotland, it can be traced back to at least the middle of the 19th century and was adopted as a policy by the Liberal Party in Scotland in 1888. The SNP campaigned for devolution in the 1970’s but shifts of opinion among the electorate over the years has hampered progression.
Plans for a Scottish Parliament however promise the most substantial devolution of central Government power than modern Britain has ever seen. Certain things will remain at Westminster, such as: control of the constitution, defence, foreign affairs, social security, taxation, company regulation and management of the economy. The remaining areas, such as: education, local Government, health, law and order etc. will be run by the 129 elected Scottish politicians.
There are drawbacks to the devolution project, one is the failure to put a clear price on what Scots would pay for gaining home rule, this would have to be established, as English tax payers currently subsidise Scottish public expenditure.
Tony Blair, in his election manifesto (3rd April, 1997) proposed to create a Scottish Parliament with law making powers including defined and limited financial powers to vary revenue. However, there would need to be a separate legislature, to make laws for Scotland and too, control Scottish administration in order to establish a complete political system. There are lots of benefits to be seen that would result from Scottish devolution, one being that the Scottish Parliament Ministers will be able to sit with British ministers at the negotiating meetings in Brussels where Scottish interest are affected. Also, Scottish legislatures will be elected by proportional representation, which is suggested, may lead to the end of the first-past-the-post elections, initially in local Government, but may be even in elections to Westminster.
Scottish devolution though, would not signal complete severing of ties with England, social unions would still be apparent, via an open border. It is argued however that devolution would create more jobs in Scotland, as investment would be put into areas such as apprenticeships, agriculture, industry and technology. Tourism too would be given attention, with the aim of doubling it. The economy is thought to greatly improve, and would have the lowest rate of income tax (which is proposed at 15p). VAT on fuel would also be cut to 5% There would also be new initiatives to deal with social problems such as drug abuse and alternatives to prison would be focused on.
However, it has to be considered that if Scotland have total independence, this may be detrimental in terms of European Union. Scotland wishes union with Europe for the reasons of trading opportunities, but if Europe did not allow Scotland to join immediately this could seriously damage the Scottish economy.
It can be concluded that Scotland has always had a strong constitutional identity with certain distinctive features such as executive, legislative and judicial branches of Government. However, whether or not Scotland can be regarded as a political system has been under debate, it has been claimed that Scotland can only be regarded as such when devolution is attained. Scottish voting behaviour shows that the majority of votes, between the two major parties, goes to Labour, however, there always has been a pull towards Nationalist Parties which has increased substantially recently. Scottish devolution holds many advantages for the people of Scotland the plans for a Scottish Parliament allows them to have control in the planning and running of their own country. It is believed that devolution will provide more jobs for the people and economic gain for Scotland as a nation. There are however certain problems that need to be addressed, for example, the area of European Union needs to be clarified to avoid difficulties (such as trading difficulties) which could leave Scotland in a position of isolation.
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July 26th 1997.
POLITICS B - LO5
Unit No: 7470844
Explain the main distinctive features of the Scottish Political System.
