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AbstractThe UK general election in December 2019 produced a resounding victory for Boris Johnson's Conservatives, returning a majority government and the mandate for Brexit that he had campaigned for. The picture was less rosy for the Conservatives in Scotland, where his party lost half its seats to the SNP. This article reviews the election outcome in Scotland, considering the fortunes of each of the main parties, and projects forward to the devolved election in 2021, when the parties will once again debate the key constitutional question in Scotland.

Resumen: Consultar e involucrar a la población se ha vuelto habitual en los últimos años. El Reino Unido, que no cuenta con una constitución codificada, ha utilizado el referéndum para decidir sobre diversas cuestiones constitucionales, siendo la más reciente la consulta sobre la permanencia del Reino Unido en la Unión Europea en junio de 2016. Este artículo explora la experiencia escocesa de referenda, examinando el fallido referéndum de devolución de 1979, su repetición exitosa en 1997, y el referéndum de independencia de 2014, en el que los escoceses, de forma aparentemente decisiva, decidieron quedarse en el Reino Unido. Este artículo argumenta que, aunque en cada ocasión fueron las consideraciones políticas, más que los principios, los que llevaron al uso del referéndum, defensores de la democracia directa y activistas y defensores de casos similares pueden aprender algunas lecciones de todas ellas. Palabras clave: Escocia, Referenda, Devolución, Independencia. Abstract: Consulting and engaging with the public has become vogue in recent years. The United Kingdom, without a codified constitution, has utilised the referendum to decide upon constitutional issues, with the vote to leave the European Union in June 2016 the most recent of these. This article explores the Scottish experience of referendums, examining the failed devolution referendum of 1979, the reversal of this decision in 1997, and the independence referendum of 2014, in which Scots, apparently decisively, voted to remain in the UK. This article argues that, though on each occasion political considerations rather than principle led to the use of referendums, there are lessons to be learned from each, both for proponents of direct democracy and for campaigners and activists in similar cases.Keywords: Scotland, Referendums, Devolution, Independence

AbstractThe Nordic model has long been admired in Scotland, and has featured prominently in aspects of the Scottish independence referendum debate. This article explores the difficulties in instituting a similar system here, identifying two significant barriers: the institutional setting (the powers available to Scottish politicians) and the partisan nature of competition between the two parties that might be able to deliver upon such a commitment. It concludes that the prospects of moving towards a Nordic‐style social investment model are slight, given the political, institutional and attitudinal barriers in place.

Small northern European states have been a major point of reference in the Scottish independence debate. For nationalists, they have been an 'arc of prosperity' while in the aftermath of the financial crash, unionists lampooned the 'arc of insolvency'.Both characterisations are equally misleading. Small states can do well in the global market place, but they face the world in very different ways. Some accept market logic and take the 'low road' of low wages, low taxes and light regulation, with a correspondingly low level of public services. Others take the 'high road' of social investment, wh

AbstractThis article examines why the UK Government accepted the 2014 Scottish independence referendum while the Spanish Government opposes a similar referendum in Catalonia. Adopting a most similar research design, we argue that the variation is best explained by perceived political opportunities by the two ruling parties. These are embedded in different conceptions of the state and constitutional designs, mostly mononational in Spain and mostly plurinational in the UK but multiple and contested in both cases. In Spain, vote‐seeking calculations incentivise the Popular Party to oppose a referendum, while its mononational conception of the state and the Spanish constitutional design provide a further constraint and a discursive justification for their position. In the UK, David Cameron's accommodating position was based on the view that the Scottish referendum was low risk – as support for independence was minimal – with a high reward: the annihilation of the independence demand. The Conservatives have recently adopted a more restrictive position because seeming political advantage has changed. The findings suggest that independence referendums will continue to be rare events.

Scotland and Catalonia have long been seen as comparative cases: distinctive minority national identities with autonomist movements that have seen a measure of electoral or constitutional success. In 2014, both cases reached a critical juncture, with an official referendum in Scotland and a non-binding 'participation process' in Catalonia. Those events have been studied in detail elsewhere, but the focus of this article is on the aftermath – specifically, the political and constitutional developments in each case in the 12 months following their respective votes. In particular, we look at the plethora of actors involved in each case, the evolution of their attitudes and strategies and conclude that, irrespective of recent developments, the constitutional question will remain on the agenda in both Scotland and Catalonia for the foreseeable future.

An independent Scotland would be a small European state. Small states may be at a disadvantage in world markets but can also adapt successfully. There are different modes of adaptation, notably the market-liberal mode and the social investment state. Either mode is dependent on internal institutions, social relationships and modes of policymaking. It is not possible to pick and choose items of different models since they have an internal coherence. The Scottish White Paper on independence supports the social investment state. Scotland has some, but not all, of the prerequisites for this so that independence would require internal adaptation.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Contributors -- Preface -- 1. The Political Economy of Devolution -- 2. Taxes and Spending -- 3. Inequality in Scotland: Dimensions and Policy Responses -- 4. Towards a Fairer Scotland? Assessing the Prospects and Implications of Social Security Devolution -- 5. A More Gender-Equal Scotland? Childcare Policy in Scotland after the Independence Referendum -- 6. Constitutional Change, Social Investment and Prevention Policy in Scotland -- 7. Getting to a Wealthier and Fairer Scotland -- References -- Index