Westminster Government Research Articles

Human Rights in Scottish Foreign Policy: Constructing Scotland as a Good Global Citizen

Abstract While foreign policy is a reserved matter for the British government in Westminster, it is clear that the Scottish government aspires to, and indeed has implemented, an expanding programme of independent external relations. It is not the first sub-state political actor to do so. Whether as a part of the UK, or as potentially an independent country, Scotland has put considerable effort into developing an identity as a good global citizen. One area in particular where this has occurred is in human rights, where it has demonstrated leadership on a number of issues and sought to connect its domestic commitments to human rights to its external persona. This article will examine the dynamics of this development, looking at both the constraints and the possibilities for Scotland as an international human rights actor.

Ill-gotten gains: Partisan alignment, politicised grant transfers and English local election outcomes

Are grant flows from the Westminster government to local authorities influenced by political dynamics, and if so do these politicised transfers influence local election outcomes? John and Ward suggested that, through the 1980s and 1990s, Conservative central governments favoured politically aligned local authorities. We demonstrate the continuation of this trend across the cohort of Labour, coalition, and Conservative governments from 2007 to 2019, and also establish evidence of inter-party variation in the type of grant manipulation in existence. We also more substantively extend John and Ward’s work by demonstrating that electoral ‘ill-gotten gains’ follow from these politicised flows, with higher resource transfers being associated with marginally stronger incumbent electoral performance. Given the importance of central grants to subnational government in the UK, these findings are of significant contemporary policy relevance.

Forcibly displaced refugee women entrepreneurs in Glasgow-Scotland

PurposeForcibly displaced refugee entrepreneurs face extra challenges that are beyond the barriers that face immigrants and hosts in their journey towards starting up, growing and developing their businesses. This study aims to critically examine the opportunity identification (OI) of forcibly displaced refugee minority women entrepreneurs in Glasgow.Design/methodology/approachQualitative semi-structured face-to-face interviews with 10 participants were conducted, including 6 forcibly displaced women entrepreneurs and 4 stakeholders. A six-step thematic framework for data analysis with NVivo 11 was used.FindingsFindings revealed that forcibly displaced refugee women’s entrepreneurial opportunities occur through a dynamic identification, discovery, recognition and exploitation of opportunities. Women-led businesses remain underdeveloped due to restrictions imposed by the Scottish Government, Westminster Government and local council authorities.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was only conducted in Glasgow areas, although this is where most of the forcibly displaced groups live. The research team suggests that further studies with a large sample cutting across more local authorities beyond Glasgow should be conducted.Practical implicationsThe empirical findings serve practitioners, local authorities business managers, researchers and policymakers. The study reveals a gap and lack of support and specific training and programmes that could positively benefit forcibly displaced refugee women entrepreneurs within the host communities.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study lies in the research topic which is still understudied. This is together with the new empirical findings of entrepreneurial OI and the provision of insights related to challenges facing forcibly displaced refugee women entrepreneurs in Glasgow.

Critical education for sustainability and Chantal Mouffe's green democratic revolution

AbstractHow should the curriculum for older school students address the transition to sustainable futures? This article seeks to answer this question by reference to the marginalisation of education for sustainability (EfS) in England after 2010; its re‐emergence around 2020, prompted largely by students' protests over climate change: and the continuing need for critical approaches that acknowledge the contested nature of sustainability. Gramsci's theory of hegemony as developed by Gilbert and Williams, is used to explain the marginalisation of EfS while Mouffe's advocacy of a green democratic revolution, shaped by a blend of eco‐socialist, post‐developmental and decolonial thought, suggests what a critical EfS should cover and why it should be linked to radical global citizenship education. Neoliberal, socially democratic and eco‐socialist discourses of sustainability and a green transition should feature in the curriculum and agonistic pedagogy should be employed to enable students to reflect and act on these and so develop their political literacy. The Curriculum for Wales can accommodate such pedagogy and an incoming Labour government in Westminster can learn from its example.

"No Wonder That on This Spot God Spoke to Us": Intersection of Anglican Tourist-Pilgrims and Archaeology in British Mandate Palestine

For British Anglican tourists, archaeological tourism in Palestine marked an expansion of a broader British cultural and religious relationship to Palestine as a land made familiar by a childhood of bible stories and nativity scenes, and one which played a role in the biblification of Palestine and the appropriation of its past to validate and strengthen a connection to Britain and the Mandate. Archaeology offered a direct link to the materiality of the biblical past, experienced via a “kairotic moment” in which the past meets the present. By examining reports of British travelers to Palestine, this article considers how materially embodied religious experiences not only drove tourist movement to Palestine but also functioned as a keystone in Britain’s relationship with Palestine during the Mandate period. Behind this growth in archeological tourism, however, is a story of tension, most notably between Mandate Palestine’s first director of antiquities, John Garstang, and the Mandate and Westminster governments. From his optimism in a report on the future of archaeology in Palestine in 1919 to his bitter resignation in 1926, Garstang’s story represents the Mandate’s failures with regard to archaeology. These tensions and Garstang’s unease foreshadowed the development of archaeology as a tool of settler colonialism in occupied Palestine today.

Providing ethics advice in a pandemic, in theory and in practice: A taxonomy of ethics advice.

The pandemic significantly raised the stakes for the translation of bioethics insights into policy. The novelty, range and sheer quantity of the ethical problems that needed to be addressed urgently within public policy were unprecedented and required high-bandwidth two-way transfer of insights between academic bioethics and policy. Countries such as the United Kingdom, which do not have a National Ethics Committee, faced particular challenges in how to facilitate this. This paper takes as a case study the brief career of the Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) for the NHS Covid-19 App, which shows both the difficulty and the political complexity of policy-relevant bioethics in a pandemic and how this was exacerbated by the transience and informality of the structures through which ethics advice was delivered. It analyses how and why, after EAB's demise, the Westminster government increasingly sought to either take its ethics advice in private or to evade ethical scrutiny of its policies altogether. In reflecting on EAB, and these later ethics advice contexts, the article provides a novel framework for analysing ethics advice within democracies, defining four idealised stances: the pure ethicist, the advocate, the ethics arbiter and the critical friend.

A Second Scottish Independence Referendum: Should the Diaspora get a Vote?

AbstractThe 2014 Scottish independence referendum settled little in terms of Scotland's constitutional future. The after‐effects of what was the largest exercise in democracy in Scottish history certainly increased Scotland's devolved authority but, following withdrawal from the EU and with continuing differences and disagreements between the Westminster and Scottish governments, there have been increasing demands for a second referendum. One aspect of these conversations has been about the voting rights of Scots living outside Scotland, whose relationship with the nation would certainly be impacted by any successful vote for Scottish independence. And yet, they have had no voice in that decision and despite calls for their inclusion in any future vote, such inclusion remains unlikely. This article examines the reasons why such inclusion would be challenging and then considers what the Scottish diaspora think about Scottish independence and voting rights, by considering qualitative responses to a survey of members of the Scottish diaspora.

Mask communication: The development of the face covering as a semiotic resource through government public health posters in England and Wales

This paper will explore the multi-modal semiotic properties of a selection of key public health information posters issued by the UK Westminster government on the use of masks and face coverings during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using multi-modal critical discourse analysis, we show how the posters featuring masks sustained consistent government-led branding, while drawing upon what we describe as “synthetic personalisation” to manage the orientation of the crisis as the pandemic progressed. Through this analysis, the article will highlight the possible contribution of these posters to an environment characterised by political confusion and enabling of a relatively widespread rejection of mask-wearing as a public health responsibility. Examining this within a broader decline in trust in government, we suggest the various attempts to produce a positive message about mask-wearing contributed instead to the appropriation of masks as symbols of individual alignment within a contested political field.

Tensions and opportunities in the roles of senior public health officials in Canada: A qualitative study

Although public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic thrust senior public health officials into the spotlight, their day-to-day roles remain misunderstood and under-examined. In jurisdictions that follow the Westminster system of government such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, Chief Medical Officers of Health (CMOHs) are typically senior public servants who are simultaneously positioned as public health professionals with independent expertise, senior advisors to an elected government, and designated protectors of the public health interest. Using Canada's federal and provincial CMOHs as case studies of this role in Westminster governments, we analyzed in-depth key informant interview data to examine how CMOHs navigate the tensions among their duties to the government, profession, and public in order to maximize their public health impact. We demonstrate that CMOHs are variously called upon to be government advisors, public health managers, and public communicators, and that the different emphasis that jurisdictions place on these roles shapes the tools and pathways through which CMOHs can influence government action and public health. We also elucidate the tensions associated with having CMOHs positioned within the senior levels of the public service and the strategies these officials use to balance their internal- and external-facing roles. Finally, we highlight the trade-offs among different institutional design options to inform decisions about the structure of the CMOH position in different contexts.

‘Opportunities have pretty much disappeared’: The Movement for Scottish Independence in Abeyance during Covid-19

This paper draws on 10 months of empirical research observing how the Scottish independence movement mobilized during 2020, the unique period of time when the UK was beset with overlapping crises: Brexit and the Covid-19 Pandemic. When the pandemic forced a cessation of physical demonstrations in March, we employed a mixed-methods research design combining manual and automatic classification of tweets with qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews, in order to illuminate both how the independence movement responded to the pandemic in organizational and strategic terms, as well as providing a reflection of how activists reflected on the purposes and context of their activities. We conceptualise the cessation of activities as a period of ‘abeyance’ and ask how Scottish independence activists worked to stay mobilized during lockdowns. We found that the movement utilized a variety of strategies, including online events, and by framing independence as a response to these crises. In pointing to the mishandling of the pandemic by the Conservative government in Westminster, and the oncoming end of the Brexit transition period, for example, activists were able to emphasise the importance and urgency of the movement’s cause.

The prime minister's constitution: Cabinet rulebooks in Westminster democracies

The transformation of governance in Westminster democracies is well documented. However, one aspect of their change that has not received much attention is the creation and publication of cabinet rulebooks. The few studies of cabinet rulebooks have focused on their potential constitutional implications, leaving unclear how their emergence fits within the broader development of Westminster governance. We address this gap in the literature by examining cabinet rulebooks in five Westminster democracies: Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. We analyze their features and emergence, and then set out a framework to analyze their potential effects on cabinet dynamics. We find that the appearance of cabinet rulebooks can be tied to several forces of change in Westminster systems, but most especially the growth of government. Furthermore, we find that these rulebooks project an account of prime ministerial power that is favorable to the prime minister.

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The General Assembly of the Church met in a ‘blended’ form, based at the Assembly Hall, from 22 May to 27 May. The Moderator on this occasion was an elder, rather than a minister, but with the distinction of being Lord Wallace of Tankerness PC QC FRSE, a Liberal Democrat life peer since 2007, who served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland from 1983 to 2001 and a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney from 1999 to 2007. He was Advocate General for Scotland in the Westminster Government from 2010 to 2015.

PERROT, PIRATES AND PARISIAN GROCERS: SIR JOHN PERROT, COURT FACTION, JURISDICTIONAL CONFLICT AND THE AFFAIR OF THE PETER AND PAUL

The Marseilles ship, the Peter and Paul, became the object of a bitter dispute that internationalized an incident involving the royal courts of England, France, Portugal and Spain. At the time it was something of a cause célèbre that preoccupied the court, Privy Council and High Court of Admiralty. The significance of the ship's detention lies not so much in the incident itself but in the events surrounding it and the light it sheds on competing and conflicting jurisdictions involving the Westminster and Dublin governments. It reveals much about the bitter factionalism at the royal court which involved the Pembrokeshire magnate Sir John Perrot and Walter Devereux, earl of Essex.

Government ministers not wearing masks was bad enough, but their defence of this position is even worse

At a press conference on 20 October 2021, the secretary of state for health and social care Sajid Javid repeatedly urged the public to comply with voluntary covid measures in...

Lobbying in the UK: Towards Robust Regulation

Abstract This article argues that the transparency regime regulating the activities of lobbyists in the UK and the devolved administrations fails to address the core problems of political lobbying and should be replaced. This is particularly important following Brexit because the regulatory landscape will change significantly in the years to come. The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 establishes a registry-based system of regulating lobbyists seeking to communicate with the government in Westminster. The Scotland (Lobbying) Act 2016 establishes a similar system, with calls for a lobbying register in Wales also growing. Analyses of existing laws reveal several flaws with those registry-based systems resulting in inadequate levels of transparency. To remedy the shortfall and to get transparency right, this article argues for two changes. First, a more robust register for professional lobbyists premised on greater transparency that is harmonised for Westminster and the devolved administrations. Secondly, the creation of a centralised public website acting as the official forum for advocacy tied to specific legislative proposals.

Inhibiting integration and strengthening inequality? The effects of UK policy making on refugees and asylum seekers in Wales

In 2001, following the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, four towns and cities in Wales became asylum dispersal locations. Whilst immigration and asylum remain matters reserved to the Westminster government, the Welsh Government has devolved responsibility in social policy areas that may impact upon refugee integration. This article highlights how successive Westminster governments have introduced immigration and asylum legislation creating a ‘hostile environment’ for asylum seekers. Such policies have restricted the civil and social rights of asylum seekers whilst simultaneously the Westminster government has focused upon policies for the integration of those granted refugee status only. This article reports on the findings from interviews conducted with 19 refugees and asylum seekers living in Wales, where in contrast to Westminster, the Welsh Government see integration as a process beginning on day one of arrival in Wales. It demonstrates how policies introduced by the Westminster government have led to restrictions on the day-to-day lives of forced migrants in Wales and their ability to integrate. It argues that in a system of multi-level governance, the Welsh Government’s vision of being a ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ and for integration from day one remains difficult to achieve when immigration and asylum remain matters reserved to Westminster.

Lord Sumption and the values of life, liberty and security: before and since the COVID-19 outbreak

Lord Sumption, a former Justice of the Supreme Court, has been a prominent critic of coronavirus restrictions regulations in the UK. Since the start of the pandemic, he has consistently...

The Right to Freedom of Thought in the United Kingdom

Abstract The United Kingdom is bound by international obligations to uphold “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and domestic legislation reflects those obligations. The courts have held that to be protected, a belief must genuine, must not be a mere opinion, must attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness and importance and must be “worthy of respect in a democratic society”. How this plays out, however, in areas such as education, children’s rights and employment is highly sensitive to the specific facts of each case – which are often inconsistent, as the article explains. Much of the article examines the decisions of the courts in individual cases. It concludes with a discussion of the possible trajectory of domestic political debate at a time when there have been repeated calls for a “British Bill of Rights” and the Westminster Government is questioning more generally the constitutional role of the judiciary.

Terms of engagement

Terms of engagement

October 2020–January 2021

The period under review continued to be dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Westminster Government and the devolved administrations issued a joint statement on 16 December 2020 outlining a series of relaxations on social contacts between 23 and 27 December but even so it seemed that there were mixed feelings about any relaxation. The Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, continued to stress that the Scottish Government's recommendation was to celebrate Christmas at home and to keep interactions with other households to a minimum. The Welsh Government decided that social interactions should be limited to two households only, to be followed by a further lockdown from 28 December.