Review: The Story of Scottish Devolution

Abstract

First, the positives. As one of Scotland's principal political journalists throughout the period, latterly at the Scotsman, Macdonell has had a ringside seat since devolution happened. Into his 260 pages or so, he crams a vast amount of material whether it is how Henry McLeish fell from office, the problems of the new Parliament building, or the 2007 election campaign and arrival in power of the SNP, it is pretty much all here. For those who have followed Scottish politics closely since 1999, there will be little new (Macdonell draws on no material that is not already in the public domain), but it is all brought together in an accessible if slightly breathless way, making for an energetic and jolly read. Although it is generally stronger on Labour and Liberal Democrat politics than the SNP or the Conservatives, it is largely an impartial book too worth noting, given the sceptical stance about devolution in practice that the Scotsman has generally taken, and its often outright hostility toward the SNP. Indeed, Macdonell tells well the tale of how the SNP organised its pre-election charm offensive and election campaign in 2007, though the author's views are perhaps betrayed when he talks of the Scottish executive as 'an arm of the UK government' (p. 215), as well as recurrent