Politics of Scotland

Politics Of Scotland

Scotland is a country which is part of the United Kingdom (UK). As the UK is de jure a unitary state, the Parliament of the United Kingdom, located at Westminster, London is sovereign over the whole state. However since the late 1990s, a system of devolution has emerged in the UK, whereby Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have each been granted some measure of self-government whilst remaining within the UK.

Scotland entered into a political union with England in 1707, and since then has had representation in the British parliament. Currently, 59 Members of Parliament (MPs) represent Scottish constituencies at Westminster, and issues such as the constitution, foreign affairs, defence, social security, pensions, issues of medical ethics, and fiscal, economic and monetary policy are decided on at Westminster. In 1999, an 129-member Scottish Parliament was established in Edinburgh, which has power to make laws over agriculture, education, environment, health, local government and justice. In the UK government, Scottish affairs are represented by the Secretary of State for Scotland, currently Michael Moore MP, and the Scottish Government is headed by a First Minister, who is the leader of the political party with the most support in the Scottish Parliament, currently Alex Salmond MSP. The head of state in Scotland is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952). As the UK is part of the European Union, Scotland also elects 6 Members to sit in the European Parliament.

Scotland can best be described as having a multi-party system. In the Scottish Parliament, the centre-left pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) is the party which forms government, currently holding a clear majority of seats in the parliament (68 out of 129). Opposition parties include the Scottish Labour Party (centre-left, social democratic), the Scottish Conservative Party (centre-right, conservative), the Scottish Liberal Democrats (centrist, social liberal), and the Scottish Green Party (centre-left, environmentalist). Elections are held once every four years, with 73 Members being elected to represent constituencies, and the remaining 56 elected via a system of proportional representation. At Westminster, Scotland is represented by 12 MPs in the current coalition government (11 Liberal Democrats and 1 Conservative), 41 MPs in the Opposition Labour Party, and 6 MPs for the Scottish National Party.

A prominent issue in Scotland in current times is the issue of Scottish independence, that is the creation of an independent Scotland outside the United Kingdom. The pro-independence Scottish government have stated their wish to hold a referendum on Scottish independence at somepoint in the latter half of the current parliament (2011–16). The SNP and the Scottish Greens will campaign in favour of independence, whereas the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat parties will campaign to maintain Scotland's role within the United Kingdom.