Expectations, Assumptions and Realities: Scottish Local Government Post-Devolution

Abstract

This article reviews developments in Scottish local government post-devolution. In doing so it outlines some expectations, assumptions and realities about local government in Scotland. Three assumptions are examined and rejected: 1999 was ‘Year Zero’ for Scottish local government; central–local relations are characterised by a cohesive centre versus a cohesive locality; central–local relations in Scotland are nothing more than a fuzzy microcosm of central–local relations in England. The article argues that Scotland increasingly offers a different ‘story’ of central–local government relations with pre-existing differences accentuating in the context of minority government, different processes of governance and attitudes to the welfare state.