Scottish Elections Research Articles

First or second‐order? Will the Scottish and Welsh elections deliver devolution?

First or second‐order? Will the Scottish and Welsh elections deliver devolution?

Review: Scotland and Wales: Nations Again?

One of the main problems in studying and writing about Scottish politics in the last three decades has been the dearth of the kind of survey data available for the UK as a whole. After a flurry of activity in the 1970s, there was no Scottish election survey in the dark days of the 1980s while Welsh data have been even scanter, given the irregularity of opinion polls there. The referendum survey reported here, together with the election surveys of the 1990s, is a major contribution and will provide valuable material to scholars and general readers. The book combines the style of the regular Nuffield election reports with their discursive accounts of events and issues, with that of the quantitative election study. The style is generally clear and accessible. Technical matters are explained well and clearly, with only occasional lapses.

Baldwin and Scotland: More than Englishness

This article explores the role of the Conservative and Unionist party leader of Great Britain - Stanley Baldwin - in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Unionist party and the Scottish electorate. During the inter-war period, Unionism was aggressively challenged by both socialism and Scottish nationalism. Baldwin was aware that his party needed to present itself as both the natural party of England and as the natural party of Scotland if it was to survive. Although generally considered to be the archetypal Englishman, Baldwin cleverly re-created himself for the Scottish political constituency, a self-portrayal which allowed him to be accepted by Scottish audiences as one of their own. He successfully followed a line of appeal that contended that Unionist values were inherently part of the historical and cultural inheritance of Scotland; if Scots wanted to retain and develop their distinct national identity, Baldwin argued that Unionism was their only possible form of political expression.

Squaring the Circles: Demonstrating and Explaining the Political ‘Non-Alignment’ of Scottish National Identity

While discussion and introspection about national identity has arguably been a consistent feature of life in Scotland for quite some time, it has been given added impetus by the recent restoration of the Scottish Parliament. Consequently, it seems that barely a week goes by without academics, journalists, commentators, or authors adding to the debate about Scottish national identity. Given the large part that Scotland's political structure, and the political values and behaviour of its electorate, have had to play in Scottish distinctiveness, especially though not exclusively in recent years, it is perhaps unsurprising that this primarily political development should have had such a substantial effect. However, while we can certainly see the political as a major influence upon national identity in Scotland, this is not to say that for individual Scots conceptions of national identity are largely determined by political beliefs. The relationship between national identity and political attributes among the Scottish electorate is characterised by a complexity that has been insufficiently explored or ignored completely. This article therefore seeks to unravel this complexity to an extent at least by examining this relationship in some detail.

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:Brown, Alice, McCrone, David and Paterson, Lindsay, Politics and Society in ScotlandBrown, Alice, McCrone, David, Paterson, Lindsay and Surridge, Paul, The Scottish Electorate: The 1997 General Election and BeyondClark, Ian and Berridge, John, Scotland Votes: The General Election 1997 in ScotlandElcock, Howard and Keating, Michael (ed.), Remaking the Union: Devolution and British Politics in the 1990sHarvie, Christopher, Scotland and Nationalism: Scottish Society and Politics 1707 to the PresentPaterson, Lindsay (ed.), A Diverse Assembly: The Debate on a Scottish ParliamentMacDonald, Catriona M. M. (ed.), Unionist Scotland 1800–1997Cesarani, David, Arthur Koestler: The Homeless MindO’Brien, Conor Cruise, Memoir: My Life and ThemesHeffer, Simon, Like the Roman: The Life of Enoch PowellBentley, Tom, Learning Beyond the ClassroomHahn, Carole, Becoming Political: Comparative Perspectives on Citizenship EducationBarnett, Anthony and Scruton, Roger (eds), Town and CountryTindall, Frank, Memoirs and Confessions of a County Planning OfficerCampbell, Alan, Fishman, Nina and Howell, David (eds), Miners, Unions and Politics, 1910–47

The Scottish Electorate and the Scottish Parliament

The general election of the 1 May 1997 saw a Labour government returned to office for the first time in 18 years and placed firmly on the agenda the prospect of a parliament for Scotland. In the run-up to the election the Labour party had promised Scotland a referendum on the establishment of a parliament and, shortly after taking the reins of government, passed legislation allowing the referendum to take place. Held on the 11 September 1997, the referendum asked the Scottish people to vote on two issues: whether or not a parliament should be established and whether a parliament should have tax varying powers. Scotland awoke on the 12 September to the news that the people had supported both propositions by impressive majorities.

Extended dates for Scottish RCN election

Extended dates for Scottish RCN election

New Labour triumphs: Britain at the polls

In this comprehensive guide to the 1997 British elections, Anthony King and his colleagues provide insightful accounts of the era of government in the United Kingdom. King sets the stage for the 1997 British election, David Denver tallies the results, Patrick Seyd reflects on New Labour, Philip Norton comments on the Conservatives' changed role, Pippa Norris reports on the media, Iain McLean analyzes the Scottish elections, Anthony King reviews the Labour triumph, and David Sanders sums up the new electoral battleground.

Taxes and turnouts: the poll tax and the Scottish regional elections

ABSTRACT The poll tax was introduced by the Thatcher Government to Scotland in 1989, one year ahead of the rest of Britain. Rooted in neo-liberal ideas of rational individualism, an economic theory of electoral behaviour was implicit in the political justification for the tax. The Scottish Regional elections in 1990 provided a unique opportunity to test the public's reaction to a significant redistribution of local tax costs. Drawing upon aggregate data from urban Scotland and a postal survey of electors in four District authorities, this paper argues that the poll tax failed to support the central expectations of the economic voting thesis — that the redistribution of local taxation would prompt a marked increase in electoral turnout as electors focused more clearly on the costs and benefits of different policies, or that voters facing the largest tax increases would turn out to vote in larger numbers. The most striking pattern in 1990, compared to the previous election in 1986, was one of turnout stabil...

Traces of Party Politics in Early Eighteenth‐Century Scottish Elections*

Traces of Party Politics in Early Eighteenth‐Century Scottish Elections*

Scotland's sovereignty asserted: the debate over the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707

Scotland's sovereignty asserted: the debate over the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707* With the parliamentary union between Scotland and England in 1707, two independent realms, the separate crowns of which had forjust over a century been worn by the same monarchs, became one United Kingdom of Great Britain. A new political entity, which was to form the basis of the British Empire, was born. The successful completion of the negotiations and the passage of the Acts of Union in both parliaments united the two crowns and theoretically entailed the dissolution of two national parliaments and the creation of a supra-national parliament—the parliament of Great Britain. But the new 'British' parliament was in fact simply an enlarged English parliament,towhich a limited number of Scots members were admitted. As the Scottish historian William Ferguson has noted, 'Scotland lost her sovereignty in both theory and practice, in theory so did England, but not in practice'.1 The union was simply one possible solution to the perennial problem of Anglo-Scottish relations which had remained strained after the Union of Crowns of 1603. This Regal union had disadvantaged the northern kingdom; when the Stuarts inherited the English throne the political centre of gravity moved down to London. For most of the seventeenth century British kings had put the interests of their wealthier English kingdom before those of Scotland. By the end of the century, Scotland, embroiled in England's continental wars and suffering from the effects of the English navigation acts and the Darien fiasco, was on the brink of financial disaster. As the wealth and power of the court increased under William of Orange and then Anne, so did Scottish resentment of the impact of English policy on Scottish affairs. By 1703 the relationship between the kingdoms had reached breaking point. The death of Anne's last surviving heir in 1700 had opened up the vexed question of the succession. The English Act of Settlement of 1701, which accepted the Hanoverian claim, had angered the Scots by its arrogant assumption that Scotland would automatically follow England's lead in the matter, and the resumption of war with France—a war into which Anne had entered Scotland without consulting her Scottish parliament—further fuelled resentment. Union * I am grateful to Dr John Robertson for pointing out several errors of interpretation and directing m y attention towards important aspects of the Scottish intellectual context which I had neglected in my original analysis. The errors and omissions that remain are m y own. Thanks are also due to Glen Burgess, for asking the right questions, to Andrew Sharp for his valuable criticism and advice, and to the anonymous referees for their very useful comments. 1 Ferguson, cited in P. H. Scott, The Union of Scotland and England in Contemporary Documents with a Commentary, Edinburgh, 1979, p. 53. P A R E R G O N ns 11.2, December 1993 28 B. McPhail negotiations, encouraged by William and focussing on the possibility of free trade, had begun in 1702, but had rapidly ground to a halt, mainly because of England's lack of enthusiasm. Anti-court and, by extension, anti-English feeling scaled such heights in Scotland that it briefly united the country's warring factions and manifested itself in political action which threatened the stability of both nations. The Scottish election of 1703, called reluctantly because of a tax boycott and the need to raise supply, had returned a House in which the court party was seriously weakened. The succession question gave a briefly united opposition a golden opportunity to redefine the constitutional relationship with England in Scotland's favour. Its parliamentary majority resulted in the successful passage of the Act of Security and Succession, reluctantly given the Royal Assent in 1704. The Act declared that the Union of Crowns would cease on the death of Anne unless Parliament had by that time placed limitations on the monarchy sufficient to protect Scotland from future English interference through the court.2 In addition, the Act provided for the regular mustering of the militia. Scotland had thrown down the gauntlet, and England lost no time in picking it up. She would countenance neither...

Trends in District Elections

The Scottish district elections held in May 1992 took place in an unusual political atmosphere. Just a month before, in April, the general election had produced a major upset in Scotland. In the light of the apparent decline in Conservative support in Scotland since the previous general election, and on the basis of opinion polls during the general election campaign, many commentators had confidently predicted that the Conservatives would lose further ground and that Labour and the SNP would make gains. In the event, as Table 1 shows, Scotland did not become a Tory-free' zone, as some had predicted. On thecontrary, the Conservatives increased their share of the vote as compared with 1987 (+1.7%) while Labour's declined by 3.4 points; the Liberal Democrats' share fell sharply and, although the SNP advanced to 21.5%, this was not as good a performance as had been predicted and was not enough to give the SNP any more seats. The only seat to change hands compared with the general election of 1987 (Aberdeen South) was taken by the Conservatives from Labour.

The rise and decline of the Scottish National Party: Ethnic politics in a post‐industrial environment

Abstract The Scottish National Party [SNP] was one of several ethnoregional political parties that experienced a rapid electoral rise and decline between the late 1960s and late 1980s. The rise of the SNP was dependent on a combination of economic, political, and organizational factors. Prior to the rise of the SNP the Scottish electorate experienced a dealignment as a result of improved communications and education as well as extensive social mobility. Dealigned voters turned to the SNP because an increase in emphasis among the major parties on Scottish regional concerns highlighted the independence plank of the SNP. These factors resulted in nearly uniform support for the SNP across classes. The decline of the SNP was the result of three factors. First, the defeat of the devolution referendum removed the issue of independence from the arena of political debate. Second, the increasing disunity within the SNP after 1974 led to splits over social and economic issues. Third, the party moved to the left, ali...

Tomorrow's Lawyers in Scotland

In the three general elections of 1979, 1983 and 1987, which gave authority to the government of Margaret Thatcher, the Scottish electorate voted for the Conservative party in diminishing numbers. In 1987 only 24 per cent of those voting supported it, giving the Conservatives only ten Scottish seats out of seventy-two in the House of Commons.1 Yet the impact of the social revolution which she engineereed has been felt no less in Scotland than in the rest of Great Britain. Among many Scots this has led to a widespread disenchantment with Westminster rule; it would not be going too far to call it a crisis of legitimacy. Thus, resistance to some at least of the changes which the Thatcher government introduced has been prolonged and conducted with a sense of aggrieved justification, and, on the part of some, even with outrage. I look briefly at the familiar characteristics of these changes, and then at the distinctive Scottish circumstances to which they were applied. Then, I consider how they are affecting the legal profession and the delivery of legal services. Finally, I project these trends and, applying some value judgements, examine what shape legal services might acquire before the end of this century.

Scottish elections

Scottish elections

RESEARCH ON SCOTTISH ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HISTORY IN AUSTRALIA

Australia seems to contribute to the study and writing of Scottish history in three ways. One is the work done by Australians in the mainstream of Scottish history, for instance on Scottish elections or Scottish business histories. The problem of the distance from the primary sources in Scotland is severe for sustained research of this sort. More feasible and manageable is the considerable research that occurs on the history of Scottish phenomena in Australia notably on the influence of the Scottish churches in the Antipodes, the careers of Scots in the colonies, the making of Scottish communities in Australia, the contribution of Scottish capital and enterprise to the development of the nation. This type of work is probably least well known in Scotland and may offer a rich vein of material for the comparative study of Scottish history. The third category of research is that which attempts to link the two histories, to study the flows between Australia and Scotland. The processes of longdistance migration, of trade, of capital outflows and inflows, the transmission of culture, and so on, provide an obvious and important field for study. It may be symptomatic of the condition of Australian historiography that there exists no full-scale history of emigration to Australia; there is no Australian equivalent of Oscar Handlin'sThe Uprooted , or M. L. Hansen's Atlantic Migration 1607-1860. So far as the specific Scottish component in the process is concerned David S. Macmillan's Scotland and Australia covers some of the ground but there is a considerable room for work in the style of I. C. C. Graham's Colonists from Scotland (1956) and D. Meyer's The Highland Scots of North Carolina 1732-1776 (1957) . Yet one need not be unduly apologetic about Australian historiography: there is, for instance, no British or American equivalent of Geoffrey Blainey's The Tyranny of