Chapter 2 - The New Scottish Parliament, New Politics.

Britain started the year 2000 not only in a new century, but also under a new constitutional framework. Instead of one parliament there were four separate governments with very different powers and responsibilities. It is an asymmetrical system. According to Robert Hazell, the existing system of government had been replaced with a quasi-federal system. (Hazell, 2000, 1)
The new Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 members, of which 73 are from single member constituencies, with 56 additional members elected under a proportional voting system. It has four year terms. It has authority to initiate primary legislation and full executive powers through a Westminster-style cabinet, headed by a First Minister, nominated by the Parliament, who then appoints ministers. It has executive power over the following devolved functions: health, education and training, local government (including finance), social services, housing, economic development, agriculture, forestry, food, transport, tourism, the environment, sport, heritage and the arts. It also has control over the legal system, penal matters and policing. It is funded from a block grant from Westminster under the Barnett formula, (discussed in chapter 3) and is also able to raise revenue by increasing income tax by up to three pence. (Hazell, 2000, 3-5) During the general election the Tory campaign highlighted these tax raising powers as the "Tartan Tax" to be imposed upon the Scottish people.
At the start of the new century Scotland had a new parliament and executive with real clout, which over the next two and a half years began to use its power and pass legislation, which in some cases was distinctly different from that of Westminster, challenging Tony Blair's so-called centralising tendencies. His reputation in the media for "control freakery" was possibly evident in his promotion of his choice of First Minister for Wales, against the wishes of the Welsh Labour Party. Alun Michael was seen by many in Wales as "Tony's man", but was forced to resign in September 2000 to be replaced by Rhodri Morgan - the Welsh Labour Party's preferred original candidate.
A new political landscape was beginning to emerge which was very different from that of the one-party state south of the border. The age of coalition governments in the countries within the United Kingdom had begun. Labour parties in Scotland and Wales were finding that they were unable to win a majority and form majority governments, but had to cooperate and share power with other parties. Under the first-past-the-post electoral system for Westminster, Labour was the clear winner in Scotland and Wales. But the new political arithmetic of the Additional Member System meant that the Labour hegemony could no longer be sustained.
In the 1999 elections to the Scottish Parliament, under PR, Labour won 56 seats - the same number as in the General Election in 1997 which had given them a majority of Scottish MPs at Westminster. But in 1999 the SNP gained 35 seats, the Liberal Democrats 17, the Tories 18, (despite not winning one Westminster MP in 1997 and having campaigned against the Scottish Parliament in the referendum), and other parties three. The SNP became the Official Opposition, with Labour turning to the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition government. Deals in "smoke-filled rooms" would have to be done to form a cabinet. This meant that Labour and Liberal Democrats had to compromise and cooperate. One of the key demands from the Liberal Democrats was the dropping of the policy to introduce student loans and tuition fees to Scottish university students. From the very start, Scotland was challenging the power of the government in London by doing things differently.

'New politics'

There is a tangible sense of a 'new politics' emerging post-1997 which talks of a 'new Renaissance' in the arts, media and literature in a more confident, diverse and pluralist country. This 'new politics' shows how a Scottish Parliament can break with the traditions and dogma of Westminster and the Scottish Labour-dominated local government. Parties will have to cooperate in a less adversarial environment brought about by the proportional electoral system; there has to be cooperation to get things done when there is no overall majority party. The same PR system has also led to the election of more women MSPs. (Hassan, 1998, 10) The Scottish Parliament contains 48 women MSPs out of a total of 129; this represents 37% women. This result was strengthened by the Labour Party using the mechanism of twinning of constituencies. Each pair of winnable Labour seats chose a man and a woman candidate: the result was that Labour now has 49% women MSPs. (Fawcett Society, 2000, 3) Recent research has shown that the increase in women members has led to a perceptible change in political practices - another aspect of this 'new politics'. The political culture and agenda has been feminised to some extent, reinforcing the less adversarial environment in Parliament. "Male MSPs who have served at Westminster see stark contrasts." (Mackay, 2001, 1)
Perhaps the most striking change in the new political landscape is the prominence of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP). Under the new electoral system they have become the second largest party in the Parliament and have become the official opposition. Hassan asks who will be best placed to advocate for Scotland's interests. (Hassan, 1998, 17) A System Three poll on Scottish Parliament voting intentions carried out in May 1998, gave the SNP a five per cent lead over Labour with 41 per cent and 36 per cent respectively, and was the highest opinion poll rating for the SNP since 1977. What the polls show is that with the collapse of the Conservative vote and medium-term decline of the Liberal Democrats, the SNP are gaining non-Labour votes. What the SNP want above all else is an independent Scotland. But in their wish to gain seats and maintain their lead, they have toned down their separatist agenda so as not to frighten off these non-Labour votes on which it now relies. Does this mean that the SNP will no longer press the case for independence so strongly? Bogdanor argues that it is better to accept the risks of devolution in preference to the alternative of fuelling support for separatism by denying devolution. (Bogdanor, 2001, 235) Devolution has brought the SNP into the centre-ground in much the same way as Labour moved to the centre in the 1990s. By accepting devolution and toning down its rhetoric on independence, the SNP have been able to win votes by appealing to a less radical electorate who don't want independence, but believe in devolution.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of devolution, after only two years of its existence, is how different the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland are from the Westminster model. Formal coalition governments are rare in Britain, occurring during the National Government in the 1930s, the Second World War, and the "Lib-Lab pact" during the 1970s, which kept Labour in power. From the very beginning in Scotland, and later in Wales, coalition government has been the norm, not the exception. Under the new electoral system of proportional representation, no political party usually enjoys an absolute majority. The Labour Party hegemony in Scotland has dominated local authority politics for many years. In Scotland, the Scottish Labour Party has not fully embraced the New Labour mantra of Tony Blair. Old Labour is very much alive and well. Tackling the ghosts of old Labour north of the border will be the most difficult challenge for the new First Minister Jack McConnell. Years of almost absolute power have lent the party, sometimes unfairly, a murky reputation which devolution is now beginning to uncover. According to Scottish political analyst Gerry Hassan, "The old Labour state is being slowly unravelled by devolution. McConnell understands that, but the question is how do you turn round a political monster, an oil tanker?" (Seenan & Scott, 2001,14)
The behaviour of politicians and political parties shapes the way the new parliament is perceived by the public. The political scandal (1) involving Henry McLeish, was seen as damaging the image of the parliament. Because the Scottish Labour Party has this hegemonic reputation the press in Scotland have been fiercely critical of the new institutions. According to Magnus Linklater, "The tragedy of the Jack McConnell affair (2) is not just the tarnishing of the parliament, or the damage it has done to the image of the country. It is not even the overweening arrogance of the tabloid press which presumes to set the moral standards of our time while at the same time insulting them through its own inimitable prurience." He went on to say, "Irrespective of the fate of the new First Minister, there is an issue before us that has to be confronted, for it raises doubts about whether we are serious about devolution. It questions whether, despite all the talk of a new political era, Scotland wants to change direction. And it challenges assumptions about our national ambition." (Linklater, 18/11/01) But do the papers represent the views of the Scottish people who voted in favour of devolution?
It is not only Labour which governs in Scotland. The Liberal Democrats, for the first time since the old Liberal Party was in government, are exercising power. They are only the third party in Scotland, and yet can demand significant concessions and alterations to the Labour programme, as part of the coalition agreement. Recently they have positioned themselves to the left of Labour on many issues to attract the support of disgruntled former Labour voters who would not vote SNP or Conservative. To form a government Labour had to compromise on issues such as student loans and tuition fees. Although the electoral system, which brought about this situation, is proportional and fairer than the first-past-the-post system, there is an argument that the Liberal Democrats are exercising more power than they deserve. Manifesto commitments can no longer be guaranteed. Voters are finding out that the issues they voted on are changed to suit the demands of coalition partners. Liberal Democrats, in voting for Mr McConnell as First Minister, are demanding reform of the voting system for local authority elections, in return for supporting him. But is it really in the interests of the Liberal Democrats to withdraw support if they don't get their way on electoral reform, one of their key policies? If the Scottish government were to collapse it would not be in any party's interests. (Seenan, 2001, 16)
As New Labour turns to the right, in England at least, the Liberal Democrats have turned to the left to accommodate disaffected Labour voters. What happens when those Labour voters return to their natural home and vote Labour again? The Liberal Democrats will lose support, unless they change policies to attract another set of disaffected voters - Nationalists or Tories for example.
The new First Minister Jack McConnell is not a product of Westminster and is seen as a moderniser. He does not owe his job to Gordon Brown or Tony Blair. According to John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, "He will have the ability to be his own man. He is not an ex-Westminster MP. He will be devolution's true son. And he will do things differently." (Scott, 2001, 14) Hassan argues that this is a significant political moment, perhaps more significant than Donald Dewar's death. McConnell must restore faith in the Scottish Parliament, which has been damaged by "sleaze", and modernise the Scottish Labour Party, seen by many as the root cause of the problem.

Footnotes:
1. The scandal involving Henry McLeish in 2001 involved office expenses. resume
2. Jack McConnell was involved in an affair which was an "open secret", but decided to make the issue public before his election to the position of First Minister. resume