The New Song : A Disunited Kingdom in the 21st Century

Tragedy (By Fletcher of Saulton)

The Guardian; 16th November 1996 said:
Donald Dewar, 21/8/1937-15/11/1996.

Donald Dewar was born into a middle-class household in Glasgow. He blamed his shyness and gauche manner on his upbringing, as the only child of elderly parents. He went to the fee-paying Glasgow Academy, which he disliked, making few friends.

His life changed when he went to Glasgow University, where he became part of a close circle that included John Smith, who was to become Labour leader and who shared Dewar's passion for devolution, and Menzies Campbell, the Liberal Democrat MP for Fife North-East. The Glasgow University Union debate on Friday nights was a bearpit, attended by drunken students howling from the balcony, and it was there that Dewar developed his debating skills: after those debates, Westminster was easy.

He met his wife, Alison, a doctor's daughter, at the university, and they married in 1964. Two years later, he left his beloved Glasgow to represent Aberdeen South at Westminster.

His life reached its lowest point in 1970. The back problem that was to cause him pain throughout the rest of his days began, he lost his seat in the general election and his marriage broke up - a setback from which he never recovered. Alison left him for another lawyer, Derry Irvine, taking the children, Ian and Marion, with her.

He never remarried and spent the rest of his life in what had been the matrimonial home, an elegant house in Glasgow's posh West End. Although he was sociable, fond of company and with a dry sense of humour, he was also a bit of a recluse. Invitations to his home were few.

Asked once about his perfect Christmas, he replied it would be spent alone, with an oven-ready meal and a stack of books. And that is how he did spend many Christmases, even though he had plenty of offers from friends to join them.

In 1978, he made his comeback to politics, beating off a challenge by the SNP in the Glasgow Garscadden by-election. It was an important victory, as the SNP, with the rallying cry of "It's Scotland's oil", had been surging ahead. He held the seat until his death. His constituency consisted mainly of Drumchapel, one of the four sprawling council estates that mark each corner of the city, areas of intense social deprivation.

The poverty that he saw each time he visited his constituency - and he did so frequently - was central to his politics. He never shifted from his brand of socialism, a commitment to more equal distribution, combined with large dollops of pragmatism. Although he was on the right of the party during the battles with the left in the 1980s and was loyal to Tony Blair most of the time, much of his politics would come to be regarded as old Labour.

He led the Labour party as shadow Scottish secretary during the 1980s, a difficult time given that the Tories under Thatcher had control at Westminster while Scotland was returning a majority of Labour MPs. He was under pressure from Scottish Labour MPs who wanted radical action; there was even a proposal that they refuse to remain at Westminster in the aftermath of the 1987 general election and instead decamp to Edinburgh.

To release some of the tension, Dewar, though privately disparaging stunts, did lead a walkout of Scottish Labour MPs from the Commons chamber soon after the election. Much more significant was his decision to participate in the Scottish constitutional convention, an unusual experiment in British politics. Labour sat down with rival political parties, the churches, trade unions and other representatives of Scottish life to work out a blueprint for a Scottish parliament.

Dewar totally opposed Scottish independence and argued consistently that the country benefited from remaining in the Union with England, but although Dewar was opposed to political nationalism, he was a strong cultural nationalist.

He saw little reason to leave Scotland, an inclination that his aides only fully became aware of in the late 1980s when, as shadow Scottish secretary, he was due to make a trip abroad and informed them he did not have a passport.

He had a huge collection of books about Scotland, concentrating on its history and reflecting his special interest in the Jacobite rebellion in the 18th century and the splits in the church in the 19th. But he had an unpredictable take on Scottish history, believing, for instance, that the Highland Clearances had been justified. He also collected Scottish paintings, especially those of the Colourists.

He further showed his passion for Scotland in his love of Scottish football, attending most of the national team's games, sometimes in the company of his friend, the Shadow Chancellor, Gordon Brown.

In 1992, when John Smith became Labour leader, he decided Dewar had been in Scotland too long and needed a change; Smith made him shadow social services secretary, a stint he followed as chief whip.
 
In September this year, he was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary after the discovery of heart irregularities, and had surgery the following month. He never fully recovered his health, and appeared to be permanently tired.

He looked gloomy most of the time, being one of life's pessimists. Even John Smith said: "The only time Donald is happy is when he is totally miserable". It was a jibe made in jest by a man who had much fondness for him. Smith made it because he knew that deep down it basically was not true.
 
A strong supporter of devolution, Dewar had made it known that were Labour to win in the next General Election, he was intending to stand for the Scottish Parliament. Should Labour win the upcoming General Election, and devolution be enacted, Scotland will have lost itself a strong parliamentarian for the new body. He will be missed.

He is survived by his son and daughter.

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The Nation Mourns a National Hero

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This Joint TL by Fletcher of Saulton and Myself will cover the events in the aftermath of Donal Dewars early death, a modern Scottish legend. ThisPoD which could have changed the face of British politics forever. man destined to be first minister of Scotland. We hope you guys enjoy it. :)
 
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To be fair the OP was mainly plagarism from the Guardian, but it seemed more fitting than something either myself or The Red could have managed. The rest will, however entirely be our own work.

Hope you enjoy. :D
 
Things can only get better

A new dawn has broken, has it not?
Tony Blair

The Guardian said:
Blair's landslide triumph

Tony Blair swept into Downing Street early today on the crest of an historic Labour wave which looked set to deliver him a record post-war majority and the Tories their most humiliating electoral defeat since 1906.

The Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, - plus cabinet colleagues Michael Forsyth and Ian Lang, all potential leadership contenders, were among the casualties of the most extraordinary political landslide of modern times. William Waldegrave also lost. Michael Portillo,who only narrowly survived, stated that it had been "a truly terrible night for the Tories". He will now likely go into any leadership contest in the aftermath of this historic night as front runer.
...

BBC News said:
Labour dominant in Scotland

The Labour Party has once again won a clear victory in Scotland, as it has done every year since 1955. Although Scottish Labour leader Henry MacLeish has been accused of leading a weak campaign, the Labour share of the vote has been above the national average at 43. 2%, with the Labour party gaining the vast majority of Scotlands 71 seats. The SNP have also had a good night, extending their share of the vote and their number of seats to 8, notably including taking Dundee East from the Labour Party...The Scottish Conservatives on the other hand have been reduced to just one seat with prominent Tories such as Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind and Scottish Secretary, Michael Forsyth losing their seats.

...

Scottish Seats at Westminster after the 1997 General Election

Labour - 53
Liberal Democrat - 9
SNP - 8
Conservative - 1

...

In the aftermath of the Labour landslide, the work of the Scottish constitutional convention commenced with the support of Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP. Following a heated debate in cabinet, the Government put forward plans for a proposed Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. Soon a draft bill was produced outlining a referendum for the Scottish people over a devolved Scottish parliament.

The reaction of the Scottish Labour party was one tempered by the heavy burden of expectation following what was a crushing victory, Henry McLeish, the new Scottish Secretary made it clear that he intended to deliver the new Scottish Parliament. Over the first few months, Labour failed to deliver in the eyes of many Scots. Things were worsened when cabinet notes were leaked to the Scotsman showing internal opposition to devolution within Scottish Labour members of the cabinet. This feeling within Scotland was capitalised on by the SNP, who began to overtake Labour in the polls.

The SNP were elated by the result, their best since 1974 and their second best ever. The result was a welcome breakthrough after several elections of stagnation and decay. With a referendum on its way and polls showing that Scots would overwhelmingly support a Scottish parliament, combined with the polls showing the SNP begining to overtake Labour, the future seemed bright for Alex Salmond.
 
Extract, Rocky Road, the campaign for the first Scotttish Parliament. Brian Taylor, Populus. £9.99

The growth in support of the SNP between 1997 and 1998 was down to a variety of factors, but principle in them must be the way the party was managed over this period. Following the 1997 election, Mike Russell resigned his position as election co-ordinator, officially in a bid to fight the Cunnighame South seat in the first Scottish Parliament elections, but unofficially due to a suspected argument between him and Alex Salmond over policy leading into the election. As a result the Nationalists were made to draft in a young Andrew Wilson, who was seen as a major protégé of the party leader.
 
Wilson was of the opinion that nothing should divert from what should be a positive policy message from the party and that the order of the day should be to begin preparation immediately for the coming Scottish Parliament election. Wilson also pushed for a strong policy review, arguing that at the previous election the SNP had won less votes in Scotland than the Conservatives did in 1992.
 
The main hurdle as he saw it though, was not any direct area of policy, although policy helped greatly, but a residual feeling of Britishness that ran through the Scottish psyche. He countered this by a series of articles pointing out that Swedes, Danes and Norwegians had the ability to feel Nordic, whilst individually feeling proud of their own distinct nationalities.
 
As such, a calculated campaign was begun that upon independence, Scotland would lobby to create a Council of the Isles, where the British states, including the Irish Republic would be able to co-ordinate policy within the EU in a move which, it was hoped would ease the fears of isolation of the “Scot-Brits” as they became known in the party, whilst at the same time appearing to strengthen the overall British hand in Europe as she would be less isolated.
 
Attacks on Labour were also to be the order of the day. It was acknowledged by the SNP leadership however, that attacks on Labour did not necessarily lead to more votes for the SNP. As such, it was agreed that any attacks should be co-orientated and targeted on direct policy areas where Labour was seen to be struggling on, such as pensions. In addition to this, any controversial moves were to be agreed upon by committee.
 
This move was given its first full test on 9th March 1998, when Salmond made it clear he wanted to make a statement declaring his opposition to the NATO bombing campaign in Serbia. Wilson and John Swinney, in a meeting, which was said to be fraught, managed to convince their leader that opposing the air-strikes was not the order of the day and that the best course would to be to remain silent on the issue.

Salmond was said to be furious at this, but despite this, his acquiescence to the request that he not make a critical broadcast indicates he at least saw the logic in the position.
 
Overall, the SNP campaign managed to remain ahead in the polls, with MORI showing the SNP on 43%, Labour on 33%, the Tories on 12%, the Lib Dems on 9% and the others 3% on average going into the summer of 1998. A year before the election, and Labour were pointedly getting nervous.

It was at this point that Ed Miliband and Charlie Whelan moved north to begin Labours campaign for the first Scottish Parliament.
 
Extract from Keeping the Red Flag Flying: A History of the Scottish Labour Party by Hugh Henry

The 1999 Scottish election should by all respects have been an easy one for the Labour party. They had after all just enjoyed the biggest landslide in living memory in Westminster and Scotland was the area where they traditionally enjoyed the strongest support. However several factors made what should have been an easy election for Labour into the incredibly tight result on the night of May 6th.

There positives to be taken from the Labour campaign. Thye successfully continued the spin strategy which New Labour was so adept at and their financial superiority over the SNP allowed red billboards, leaflets and posters to overshadow the yellow SNP cross.

However, whilst the SNP ran a campaign based on positive rhetoric with the ideal of a progressive British community, the Labour party ran a much more negative campaign, focusing on the arguments against independence. Henry McLeish was not seen to be as media savvy or charismatic as Dewar or Blair and continued to be outdone by Alex Salmond.

Both the Herald and the Scotsman switched their allegiance to the SNP, an act which was seen as damaging Labours image with the Scottish middle class. A common tactic by both papers was to point to McLeish’s perceived lack of independence from Blair.

Many Scots were also left alienated by New Labour policies, which thy felt didn’t go far enough, this repeated time and time again by the energetic campaigns ran by the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Greens.

The Liberal Democrats fought a strong optimistic campaign similar to that of the SNP, advocating the abolishment of tuition fees, free personal care for the elderly and wider proportional representation with the Single Transferable Vote. Whilst these policies were also largely supported by Labour, they were not headlined due to the anti-SNP emphasis of the campaign and the Liberals gained great popularity from being seen to be the party representing these policies.


The Scottish Conservatives performance was lacklustre on the other hand, campaigning for election to a parliament that they had opposed for decades. Thus they appeared hypocritical and alien to Scottish interests due to both the overwhelming support for the body by the public and the eroision of Scotland under Thatcher.

Overall, Salmond and Taylor had changed the game in Scotland forever and Labour had failed to recognise this. They could no longer count on Labour being part of the Scottish identity as it had been during the years of Heath, Major and Thatcher. When election night came it would be the closest in decades and would change the British isles forever.

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Thoughts? :)
 
The 1999 Scottish Parliament Election.

The first ever Scottish Parliament election was met amidst scenes of confusion. Henry McLeish ran what was considered all round a poor campaign, arguing doggedly that the Nationalists would destroy the Scottish economy, allowing the Nationalists and Salmond to pick up the positive ground, campaigning on improving the National Health Service, making political capital out of PFI, stating it was a disaster for the Scottish economy and that it must be ceased in their opinion.
 
The issue was heightened as with a fortnight before the election, the Sun broke a story about the office expenses of McLeish. This on its own was enough to politically damage McLeish and the Labour campaign beyond repair. Having run what was a negative campaign, they now faced the awful scenario that the general public were discussing an issue of sleaze in the run-up to what would be the worst election result Labour had contrived to get since they finished second to the Conservatives in the 1979 European elections.
 
The campaign also saw a mildly satisfying result for the Conservatives, picking up four constituencies, mainly due to the collapse in the Labour vote, and a mildly depressing night for the Liberal Democrats who saw some of their gains from the 1997 UK General Election drawn back.
 
The only real surprise though was that the winning margin of the Nationalists was so narrow. Alex Salmond was returned as the leader of the largest party by a solitary seat over Labour, winning 45 seats to Labours 44. The Conservatives picked up 19 seats, the Liberal Democrats 18 and three others were also elected, including Tommy Sheridan of the SSP, Dennis Canavan, an independent and Robin Harper of the Greens.
 
The morning after the election, talks began in earnest between the SNP and the Liberal Democrats over a possible coalition deal between the parties. They fell down after four days though, after it was made clear that the Liberal Democrats were refusing to accede to the Nationalists demands to a referendum on independence.
 
This led to the uncomfortable position where there was possibly not going to be a stable government in Scotland over the next four years. Talks between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats were unviable as the Labour Party was going through a state of crisis, McLeish resigning the morning after the election and without a leadership, a deal was seen as far too unstable.
 
The Conservatives were of course the wildcard in all of this. David McLetchie, who had won Edinburgh Pentlands, defeating Iain Gray of the Labour Party declared that the Conservatives would rule out coalition with anyone, instead dealing with things on an issue by issue basis.
 
It was as such on 13th May, amidst the pomp of the first state opening of the Scottish Parliament and the parade to the General Assembly buildings on the Mound in Edinburgh that Alex Salmond was elected First Minister of Scotland.

In his acceptance speech as First Minister, Salmond declared that “The Parliament was created by the people of Scotland, it is bigger than the sum of its members. It is said that Scotland is a divided nation. In terms of the closeness of the election, that is true. We are not however divided. We all want to improve, to make Scotland a better nation. That is our task, that is our goal, as a Parliament, it is my goal as the head of this government. To make something better.”
 
And thus began the Nationalist regime.

Map 1999 Scottish Election.
Red:Labour
Yellow:SNP
Orange:Lib Dem
Blue:Conservative
White:Independent
Dark Red:SSP.

The Regional figures indicate the regional vote on a constituency basis, and the leading party in each constituency based on this.


attachment.php
 
The Scottish Cabinet 14/05/1999.
First Minister : Alex Salmond
Deputy First Minister & Finance Secretary : John Swinney
Health Secretary : Roseanna Cunningham
Education Secretary : Andrew Wilson
Justice Secretary : George Reid
Fisheries & Rural Affairs Secretary : Margaret Ewing
Minister without Portfolio : Mike Russell​

The opening gambit.

The first piece of business on the agenda for the new administration was the building scheme for the new Scottish Parliament building. Henry McLeish had delayed the decision of where the new building would be and how it would be built until after the first Scottish Parliament election, instead gaining temporary accommodation in the General Assembly buildings. This followed a report on the suitability on the Old Royal High School which concluded that the building was inadequate for use as Scotland’s new Parliament building.
 
As such, Salmond appointed Mike Russell, in a move which was seen by many as a sign of rapprochement between the pair to be the joint head of a new Parliament Building Committee which would look into, and decide both the design and location of the new Parliament. Several locations lent themselves to be the possible permanent location of the new Assembly. They were Leith, Cannongate, Holyrood, St.Andrews House, former home of the Scottish Office and the new home of the Scottish Government and indeed the Royal High School, but only after major refurbishment.
 
Russell threw himself into the task with a gusto. Within a fortnight, Leith had been unofficially ruled out for logistical reasons, and the Cannongate site as it was deemed too small. The Old Royal High School, whilst not being ruled out was an outside bet as the costs for refurbishment of it would be prohibitive. The costs of refurbishment of St.Andrews House, estimated at some £50 million, made the building a prime contender, but the attraction of a new Parliament at Holyrood was obvious.
 
As the reports from the three sites came in, Russell decided to bring the matter before the Cabinet. At the meeting in Bute House, he explained the costs for each project, and put down that whilst he would prefer to see a refurbishment of the old Royal High, on costs grounds, it would be a choice between Holyrood and St.Andrews House. Following discussion, the Holyrood site was ruled out on both political grounds and timescale, in that that the media may see it as a Nationalist folly and that any costs incurred would be blamed on them, and the project may last years.
 
After the meeting adjourned, a vote was taken in which a site was chosen. It was agreed that the Old Royal High School, New Parliament House to give it its official title would be given a large extension which would be used as committee rooms and office space, and that the debating chamber would be rebuilt inside. The estimated timescale of the work would be three years. As to the extension itself, this would go out to tender with the winning bid being chosen by a design team which would include both Mike Russell and the First Minister.

The Labour Leadership.

Following the resignation of Henry McLeish as the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, three candidates put their name forward for the position.

Wendy Alexander, a former special advisor to Henry McLeish and deeply involved in the drafting of the Scotland Act which created the Scottish Parliament was seen as the front-runner, but she was met with opposition from Jack McConnell, seen as the Blairite candidate and Sam Galbraith who had the advantage of experience.

Following a bruising, but short campaign, Galbraith stood aside, amidst rumours that he had done a deal with Alexander, leaving Wendy Alexander to by the narrowest of margins become the new leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament. She had done so, however only due to the support of the Trade Unions, the members voting for McConnell, who was given the shadow Education brief by his rival.
 
Oil….

Following the return of Westminster in September, an announcement was made by the UK Government that changes were to be made to the fishing boundaries between Scotland and England. Alex Salmond immediately demanded a meeting with Tony Blair over the issue, whilst at the same time calling a meeting of the Parliament to declare his contempt at the move. He pointed out that should Scotland opt to move towards independence, the fishing boundaries would likely be used as demarcation of the borders between Scotland and England. As such, he called it “a land-grab worthy of Robert Mugabe”. At the same time , he urged the matter to be reconsidered.
 
As a result of the move, the fisheries minister in Westminster, Jack Cunningham, it was rumoured under pressure from Gordon Brown, declared that due to the opposition of the Scottish Executive, the move would be put through a review, which conveniently pushed the idea into the long grass.

This was later to be used by Salmond when asked what his first achievement was when he gained office.
 
The Budget.
John Swinney stood up before the assembled Parliament on the 6th October to deliver the first Scottish budget delivered since the inception of the Scottish Parliament. In it there were several options available for him. In his budget he put through for the abolition of the current council tax system, an increase on Health spending, by some £50 million.
 
In his budget speech he attacked the UK Government for not allocating to Scotland what he perceived to be Scotlands fair share. He also brought to the fore how he could not put through the investment he wanted to due to the inaction and obstruction of the past.
 
As a minority government, it was necessary to co-operate with the other parties, and a deal was made with the Liberal Democrats over the introduction of local income tax. This, however was not enough to sway the Conservatives, whose Finance spokesman, Brian Monteith, declared the budget to be a farce. He made clear that Conservative support rested on increasing police numbers. The Labour Party, for its part was scathing. The Labour Finance Spokesman, Sam Galbraith, announced that the budget was cutting Scottish children short and nothing short of a total rethink on the education budget, including a rise of at least twice the planned £40 million would be acceptable.
 
It was under such a Parliament that Swinney put forward his case. Due to the nature of the Parliament, every vote counted. Neither Robin Harper, nor Tommy Sheridan were swayed by Swinneys argument, Harper stating there was not enough in the budget on Green issues, and Sheridan stating the budget did as much for the Scots as an ice cube in the Arctic. Dennis Canavan, in agreement with Sheridan announced it did nothing for Scotlands working classes.
 
 
With the vote looking like it could go either way, Salmond, aware of the situation before he entered the chamber made the decision to openly announce that he would resign as First Minister after arranging a vote of confidence should it not be able to pass the budget, a vote in which it would vote no, which if the Labour Party voted no would trigger an extraordinary General Election. The stakes were high, following the budget debate, the vote was called. The Chamber voted 65-64 against the budget. In the Black and White corridor in the Assembly buildings, Salmond made the call. He announced he would resign after a vote of confidence.
 
Scotland was possibly going to the polls again..

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Finance Secretary and Deputy First Minister, John Swinney.

john-swinney.jpg
 
]A Roll of the Dice

The vote of No Confidence was carried unanimously bar one (The speaker went by tradition and voted for the status quo). The first Scottish executive (or Government as Salmond had taken to calling it) had been aborted. The mood in Scotland was grim. This wasn't especailly for the collapse of the Nationalist administration but for the fact that the Scottish Parliament, that great symbol of Scottish self determination, was being seriously undermined.

The new election, scheduled for January, promised to be a decidedly bitter one.

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RESULTS OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADERSHIP ELECTION (Final Round)


Kenneth Harry Clarke - 90 MPs
Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo - 87 MPs

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"...and that's the second election the Scottish Parliaments had in less than a year, the whole thing's becoming a farce"

"I suppose that's the PR issue shoved into the long grass for a while."

"And hopefully Scottish devolution as well..."

"If we're to have any hope of regaining ground in Scotland we need to accept the overwhelming support for devolution"

"True but if the SNP and Labour continue to fail to form Governments then support for the whole idea might end of being seen as an ineffectual waste of money, at which point we can begin to remove powers"

"Happy days George, happy days."

Overheard conversation between Ken Clarke, Leader of the opposiiton and George Young, Shadow Chancellor

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"The campaigning for the immenent election at the beginning of the new millenium was even more energetic, to the point that it became spiteful. Local issues of corruption and even criminal offenses were thrown about. Neither party seemed to have any faith in either of the parties policies. Thins reached their most absurd when Alex Salmond declared that Tony Balir, not Wendy Alexander was leader of the Scottish Labour party and thus sais that he would refuse to call her by that name. All of this may have been understandable if it were the polarised Conservative-Labour clashes of the Eighties but the fact that both parties were broadly centre left made it ridiculous to everyone except Scotlands two dominant parties. Perhaps the most important issue was the one not really mentioned, who was to blame for the blow against Scottish self determination?

Scotland was about to give her answer.

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The Walin

The Herald

Labour nosedive days before election

The Labour Party in Scotland was under intense pressure last night, after opinion polls showed their vote at the lowest in 90 years since it emerged leader Wendy Alexander wrote a personal letter of thanks to the multi-millionaire tax exile who helped fund her campaign.

The note was sent to Paul Green at his Jersey home in October, three weeks after Ms Alexander was elected unopposed to succeed Jack McConnell as Scottish Labour leader.

Until Thursday, Ms Alexander's campaign team had been claiming the £950 donation was channelled through a Glasgow-based firm but in her letter, which was dated October 5, Ms Alexander says: "I would like to thank you for your generous support for my leadership campaign.

I am very grateful to you.

Yours sincerely, Wendy."...

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Fae Wikipedia - Yon Free Encyclopaedia

Scots pairlamentary walin, 2000

The Scots pairlamentary walin, 2000, wis the saicont general election tae the devolved Scots Pairlament syne it wis creatit in 1999. The Scottis Naitional Pairtie bore the gree in the election, winnin the maist seats o onie pairty (64 seats, tae 36 for Labour), but no eneuch tae form a majority govrenment leadin tae the formation o an SNP coalition govrenment wae the Greens.

The ootcome wis charactereised bi the heeze in support for the Scots Green Pairty an the Scots Socialist Pairty — baith pairties ootwi the "big fower" — an a dwyne in support for the Scots Labour Pairty an the Scottis Naitional Pairtie (SNP). Mauger predeictions o a foonder in thair support wir troo, the Conservatives' an Liberal Democrats' vote haudit fell an thay lost six constituencies.

Results of the 2000 Scottish General Election

Scottish National Party -61
Labour - 35
Conservative and Unionist - 14
Liberal Democrat - 15
Green - 1
Scottish Socialist - 2
Independent - 1

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"In the end, the 2000 election was about as good as the Labour could have hoped for. The indications were dire, both in Salmond's savage campaign and fallout from the undeclared foreign donation to the party 3 days before polling day. The result was a disaster, large numbers of Labour voters turned to the far left Greens and Socialists and even more turned to the SNP. Labour has suffered it's worst performance in Scotland for more than 70 years, Alexander announced her resignation soon after.

As Parliament reconvened and with the mathematics of the pro-Independence parties making up a tiny majority, the nation held it's breath for the inevitable Independence Referendum.

From "Keeping the Red Flag Flying: A History of the Scottish Labour Party" by Hugh Henry

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Hmmmmmmm....
What will the cultural implications be of an independent Scotland? Would "Scottish Literature/Drama/Art" be encouraged? If so, what would it be? Would Scotland spend money to promote Scots culture around the world? Would BBC Scotland become the SBC? How about the ITV networks? Which Scots celebrities would stay in Scotland and which would move to England? Would the Kirk stay a State or National church?
 
Hmmmmmmm....
What will the cultural implications be of an independent Scotland? Would "Scottish Literature/Drama/Art" be encouraged? If so, what would it be? Would Scotland spend money to promote Scots culture around the world?

I would think so, as tourism is such an important part of the economy.

Would BBC Scotland become the SBC? How about the ITV networks? Which Scots celebrities would stay in Scotland and which would move to England?

It's probable that BBC Scotland would become an SBC, with the Scottish sections of the independent networks similarly breaking off. I'm sure most celebrities would stay in Scotland, at least initially. ;)

Would the Kirk stay a State or National church?

I believe it's SNP policy, to remove the Church of Scotland, there might need to be a referendum on it.
 
The aftermath of the Nationalist victory in 2000 had led to unprecedented media coverage in Scotland. Within days, the Nationalists had announced plans to put a referendum bill before the Parliament on Calton Hill, with a timetable of independence within the next year. Alex Salmond, at this stage at his height announced separately that should the referendum bill pass, a further bill would be put before Parliament with a constitution of an independent Scotland, only to be enacted upon the result of a yes vote.
 
The evening after the re-election of the First Minister, he held a private dinner party in Bute House. Invited were Sir Tom Farmer, Brian Souter and various other business leaders with Nationalist sympathies. He made it clear that the yes campaign could not afford to be left behind financially and as such requested if they could, that the businessmen could donate what they could to the campaign. Within weeks, between them they had ensured a war-chest of some £5 million, which was more than twice the amount the Nationalists had spent in their last election campaign.

At the same time it was announced that Andrew Wilson and Alan Neil would co-ordinate the yes campaign, and it was their duties to co-ordinate with the several PR companies the Government were hiring for the vote.

As to the wording of the question, it was to raise eyebrows in the London media. It was to be “Do you believe the Scottish Government should have the power to negotiate so that Scotland can become an independent nation separate to the United Kingdom.” It was announced that there would only be one referendum and that furthermore, a majority of one would suffice in it becoming law.
 
When the Assembly on Calton Hill met to debate the bill, the First Minister opened the debate arguing that Scotland should become an independent nation, to be attacked for not only the bill itself but the question asked by the opposition parties. At the end of the debate, the vote went through by a margin 65-63. The date of the vote was set as Thursday 18th May 2000.
 
Wendy Alexander was devastated. Her position was now clearly untenable, but all the while she could not resign as the last thing the Labour Party needed amidst the ensuing whirlwind of change was a change of leadership. As such, she announced that she would go in six months time, giving the party enough time to recover and elect a new leader. In the meantime, she contacted several people in a bid to create a campaign for the no vote, in a bitter realisation that it was now too late to avoid the vote.
 
The no campaign was from the start disjointed. The Conservatives, blaming the Government for the rising tide of Nationalism in Scotland refused to work with the Labour Party in the referendum campaign, whilst the Labour campaign itself was torn by the struggles internally as the party in Westminster attempted to push the party in Scotland into a more negative campaign than the one they wanted to run. All the while, they were hindered as on April 5th, the Sun came out in favour of ending the union. All the while, opinion polls showed a majority of yes of 60-40%.
 
Things got progressively worse for the no campaign as during march, directly due to the referendum, the price of oil rose steadily. This led to fuel protests throughout Britain, and Alex Salmond claiming that he would solve the issue in Scotland were he to have the power, and that it was in his opinion ridiculous that Scotland, with more oil than most nations should have such high prices.
 
This run of luck for the yes vote seemed to be never-ending. Scotland was moving at juggernaut speed towards the end of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
 
 
The referendum, as expected passed with ease by a margin of 60-40. More importantly for the SNP, it passed in every part of Scotland, albeit in Shetland only by two-hundred votes. In a speech celebrating the move on the News at Ten, Salmond declared it the day Scotland for the first time in just under three centuries stood up on its own two feet. He announced that straight away, he would send a negotiating team to Whitehall to begin the process of ending the British Union. On May 18th 2000, the United Kingdom of Great Britain effectively died.
The Negotiations.
It was decided that a selection of twelve English and Welsh MPs should negotiate on behalf of the United Kingdom, whilst the SNP Cabinet would negotiate on behalf of Calton Hill.


After much dispute over where the negotiations would even take place, it was decided that they would occur in the town hall of Berwick upon Tweed. This was at the suggestion of the Prime Minister himself.


Blair was in a difficult position. To be too hard in the negotiations may backfire, resulting in bad relations between the two states, whereas if he was too light-handed he risked a backlash from English voters and encouraging nationalism in Wales.


Having agreed upon the negotiating teams, the next questions arose. what were the main issues to be resolved and what were the likely points of difficulty? It was agreed that the UK was a highly integrated social and economic union and every aspect of Government would have to be divided and shared up. The initial questions put forward were that of defence, borders, the national debt, currency and monetary policy, and commercial and economic relations. It was agreed that issues such as citizenship would be discussed at a later stage.


The issue of borders was first to be raised. The borders of southern Scotland were uncontroversial, with the exception of Berwick, which after intensive negotiations it was agreed would remain part of the UK.


The main issues over the borders were twofold.


1.The status of Orkney and Shetland Islands.
2.The Continental Shelf Delimination lines.


The status of the Orkney and Shetland Islands was important in that it was a marker for the offshore territory. The fact that the Orkneys had just elected a nationalist MSP, and both Islands voted yes during the referendum swayed the argument. The First Minister pointedly remarked that they were seen as been Scottish under devolution, there would be no reason for that to change under independence. His argument carried the day. The Islands were to be part of Scotland.


The more pressing matter was the location of the continental shelf delimination lines because the tax revenues of North Sea Oil depends upon them. A discussion of the maritime boundary issues began with Article 6 of the 1958 Convention of the Continental Shelf, which states that;
Where the same continental shelf is adjacent to the territories of two adjacent states, the boundary of the continental shelf shall be determined by agreement between them. In absence of an agreement, and unless another boundary line is justified by special circumstances, the boundary shall be determined by application of equidistance from the nearest point of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of each state is measured.

In other words, in absence of agreement or special circumstances a boundary line shall be drawn in accordance with the equidistance principle. The Scots argued that the UK Government, in 1969 agreed the fishing boundaries off the Scottish coastline and they should count as Scottish waters.

The negotiations raged on.

The split of defence assets was always likely to be one of the more controversial subjects in the negotiations. How the UK armed forces were to be disentangled was to be not only a political question, but a question of nuclear law. For the Scots, the main question would be whether there should be an independent Scottish Defence Force. For the United Kingdom as a whole the question would be over how to reconstitute the UK Armed forces under two sovereign authorities.


The starting point of this stage of the negotiations was to be Scottish contribution to the UK armed forces, including questions such as ; What is located in Scotland? What do the individual regiments do(the Signals, REME etc.)? What would it take to disentangle Scottish contributions?


The MOD released data suggesting there were 6,000 direct defence jobs located within Scotland. In the Army, there were 12,000 Scots as opposed to 96,000 non-Scots, in the RAF, 5,600 as opposed to 49,000 non-Scots. There was a similar ratio in the RN. How they would be disentangled was a major question.


Following two days of intensive negotiations, it was agreed that the Royal Regiment of Scotland should be transferred to any Scottish Defence Force. Three RAF Squadrons, to serve RAF Leuchars, Lossiemouth and Kinloss. It was agreed that Scottish personel in non-regional specific regiments should be given the choice of Scottish or UK service.


With regards to the Royal Navy, it was agreed that Scotland should get two of the Type 23 Frigates, one hunter class mine counter measure vessel and two Archer fast patrol boats.


This led onto the issue of the RN base at Faslane on the Clyde. It was a major commitment of the SNP to get nuclear weapons out of the Clyde. For them this was non-negotiable. Following intensive discussions, it was agreed that the UK nuclear submarines would be removed, but in a phased withdrawal over seven years, during which time the UK Government would pay an Independent Scotland for use of the base on Scottish territory.
The negotiations continued into the next week, and threatened to get bogged down in the minutia of the details. All of the assets and liabilities of the United Kingdom were discussed, from ones which were clearly going to be on one side such as the road and rail networks, to the national debt.

Assets were divided into three subcategories, Tangible fixed assets, Intangible fixed assets and Fixed asset investments. As a general rule, fixed assets are divided by location and as such, the discussion over them was relatively cordial, Scotland would gain the rights to all property on its territory. Following discussions it was agreed that liquid assets would be divided upon the same basis and proportion as the national debt would be divided.

The first problems came during discussions over the Bank of England. Despite its name, the Bank of England is actually the Bank of the United Kingdom. This led to the Scots demanding a share of the Bank of England upon independence.

This was disputed by the ROTUK on the grounds that it was a fixed asset on English territory. Following a week of heated discussion over the matter it was agreed that Scotland would waive any rights to a portion of the Bank of England, but the ROTUK would shoulder a larger share of the national debt than would be the case otherwise.

The Scots never disputed the claim by the ROTUK that all British dependencies would be solely accountable to London upon Scottish Independence.

As a result of the negotiations, an agreement was made following the lines the Czechoslovaks made upon their separation, whereby liquid assets would be divided. Scotland would gain 8% of UK liquid assets, and 7.9% of the national debt. This was in accordance with the agreement over the Bank of England, and other assets which were liquid but to be retained by the ROTUK. It was also agreed that a Scottish Pound be established over a period of two years, which would be pegged to Sterling.

This agreement was pivotal. Investors had feared the impact of Scottish independence upon the currency, and businesses throughout Britain had wavered during this period. The fact that any future Scottish currency would be pegged to Sterling helped ease concerns.

It was agreed according to International law that both Scotland and ROTUK would remain members of all international organizations of which the United Kingdom had been a member. It was agreed that, should the rest of the Security Council agree, then the rest of the United Kingdom would retain the UK permanent membership.

As a minor note, it was agreed that the United Kingdom would officially be titled, the United Kingdom of Southern Britain and Northern Ireland. Scotland would become the Kingdom of Scotland.

It was also agreed that any transition would take place over a timescale of six months following the second referendum.

The only real issue now outstanding was over oil. It was agreed by both parties that the former New Zealand Prime Minister, Mike Moore would act as mediator over the boundaries.

Two weeks later the oil was agreed upon. A line, giving 50% of what they wanted in terms of the boundaries was agreed upon. Scotland would gain 84% of the Oil, but would pay England 3% of their total income over the next ten years.

The negotiations were complete.
Only July 1st 2000, Scotland was to become an independent nation.
The Constitution.

Following much debate amongst the nationalists, two constitution were settled on, one which would retain the monarchy, and which would create a Republic known as the Commonwealth of Scotland. Which one to be chosen was to be decided by a further referendum.
Constitution of the Kingdom of Scotland
 
Article One. The Constitution and people of Scotland.
(1) That the Scottish people have the right to self-determination and national sovereignty.
(2) That the borders of Scotland consist of the Regions and Islands therein.
(3a) That anyone born inside Scotland shall automatically be entitled to Scottish Citizenship, anyone born outside the borders of Scotland to one or more Scottish parents is entitled to gain automatic citizenship, should they or their parents choose so.
(3b) That anyone who holds permanent residence in Scotland at the time of independence shall automatically become a Scottish citizen, unless they choose to opt out of citizenship.
(3c) That any foreign national wishing to gain Scottish citizenship would go through the naturalisation process as defined in law set by the Estates of Parliament.
 
 
Article Two. The Head of State and the Executive.
(1a) That Her Majesty, Elizabeth, Queen of Scots would remain sovereign monarch of the Kingdom of Scotland, until which time she dies or abdicates the throne.
(1b) That upon the death or abdication of Her Majesty, all future Kings or Queens of the Kingdom of Scotland must be born within the borders of Scotland, as defined by article One(2) of the Constitution.
(1c) That the heirs and successors of the next King or Queen of Scots shall be the future Monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland.
(2) When the Monarch is not present in Scotland, the Presiding Officer of the Estates of Parliament will assume the office of Head of State.
(3) That Her Majesty is commander of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Scotland.
(3) Executive Power is vested in the hands of Her Majesty, under the advice of the Prime Minister.
(4) For an Act of Parliament to become law, it must receive Royal Assent through the signature of the Monarch, or when the Monarch is not in Scotland, the Presiding Officer of the Parliament through authority of the crown.
(5) The Prime Minister is to be elected by the Estates of Parliament, and is to act as Head of Government. Through advice from the Prime Minister to the Monarch, Ministers of State are to be appointed.
(6) The Ministers of State are answerable to Parliament.
(7) The Government as a whole is answerable to Parliament, and should Parliament lose faith in the government, a confidence motion may be put before it. Should the government lose, an Extraordinary General Election must be called within a 28 days of the vote.
 
 
Article Three. The Estates of Parliament.
(1) Parliament shall sit in one, unicameral chamber.
(2) Parliament shall be composed of 129 elected members, elected by Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies, the boundaries of whom will be decided upon by the electoral commission, which shall be independent of the executive.
(3) Elections to the Parliament must be held once every four years, in a fixed-term cycle.
(4a) In the event of an election being held within the four year term, if the date of the Extraordinary General Election falls within the period of six months ending with the day on which the poll at the next ordinary general election would be held, that ordinary general election shall not be held.
(4b) If the Extraordinary General Election is held more than six months before the Ordinary General Election, the Ordinary General Election shall continue as normal.
(5a) If more than 51 Members of Parliament object to a bill, they can delay the legislation through a minority veto, after which time it must be put before Parliament again.
(5b) The minority veto can only be used twice for each bill, after which the power of the veto is removed.
(6) Parliament shall have power over ratification of international treaties, and over matters anent declaring war. Treaties which amend the Constitution of the Kingdom of Scotland must be passed before both Parliament and a national referendum.
(7) Any Scottish citizen over the age of 18 can stand for Parliament but to be eligible to stand they must gain the support of at least 100 people from the constituency they wish to stand in.
(8) All Scottish citizens over the age of 18 shall have the right to register to and vote in a General Election.
 
Article Four. Local Government.

 
(1) The independence of local councils from the executive will be guaranteed by the constitution. Their powers cannot be amended, but by the will of the people.
(2)
(4) Any Scottish Citizen or a permanent residing foreign national over the age of 18 can stand for election in a local council, but to be eligible to stand, they must gain the support of at least 20 people from the constituency they wish to stand in.
(5) All Scottish citizens over the age of 18, and permanent residing foreign nationals over the age of 18 shall have the right to register to and vote in a Local government election.
 
Article Five. The Judiciary.
(1) The Judiciary will be independent of the Executive.
(2)An independent Judiciary Appointment Committee shall be created, with four nominations from the Monarch, two upon advice from the Prime Minister, two upon advice from the leader of the leading opposition party in Parliament. The four nominees shall sit alongside the Lord Advocate. The Committee shall have the power to appoint Judges to their position.
(3)Judges may only be removed from their position following a vote of Parliament, where at least 81 members vote for the Judge to lose his or her position.
 
Article Six. Rights and Liberties.

(1) Freedom of Worship is guaranteed for all Scottish citizens.
(2) All Scottish citizens shall have the right to free speech, within the limits of the law preventing incitement of racial and religious hatred.
(3) All Scottish Citizens shall have the right of free Assembly within the Kingdom of Scotland.
(4) All Scottish Citizens shall have the right to privacy, as provided under the Data Protection Act.
(5) All Scottish Citizens shall have the right to a fair trial and due process in legal matters.
(6) Other additional rights may be conferred through the European Convention on Human Rights which is implemented into Scots law.
(7) In the event of a State of Emergency being declared by the government, all rights and liberties may be suspended for the duration of the Emergency.
 
Article Seven. Amendments.
 
Any amendment to the Constitution must first pass a majority vote, with at least 81 members voting for in the Estates of Parliament, and then by a referendum of the people.
 
Constitution of the Commonwealth of Scotland
 
Article One. The Constitution and people of Scotland.
(1) That the Scottish people have the right to self-determination and national sovereignty.
(2) That the borders of Scotland consist of the Regions and Islands therein.
(3a) That anyone born inside Scotland shall automatically be entitled to Scottish Citizenship, anyone born outside the borders of Scotland to one or more Scottish parents is entitled to gain automatic citizenship, should they or their parents choose so.
(3b) That anyone who holds permanent residence in Scotland at the time of independence shall automatically become a Scottish citizen, unless they choose to opt out of citizenship.
(3c) That any foreign national wishing to gain Scottish citizenship would go through the naturalisation process as defined in law set by the Estates of Parliament.
Article Two. The Head of State and the Executive.
(1a) That the head of state of the Commonwealth of Scotland shall be the President.
(1b) That upon the death or resignation of a President, the Presiding officer of the Parliament shall take his position until the next Presidential Election.
(1c) That the President shall be born within the borders as defined within the constitution of Scotland.
(1d) That the President shall serve a term of five years, on the first Thursday of June and shall not serve more than two terms of office.
(2) When the President is not present in Scotland, the Presiding Officer of the Estates of Parliament will assume the office of Head of State.
(3) That President is commander of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Scotland.
(3) Executive Power is vested in the hands of the President, under the advice of the Prime Minister.
(4) For an Act of Parliament to become law, it must receive Assent through the signature of the President, or when the President is not in Scotland, the Presiding Officer of the Parliament through authority of the crown.
(5) The Prime Minister is to be elected by the Estates of Parliament, and is to act as Head of Government. Through advice from the Prime Minister to the President, Ministers of State are to be appointed.
(6) The Ministers of State are answerable to Parliament.
(7) The Government as a whole is answerable to Parliament, and should Parliament lose faith in the government, a confidence motion may be put before it. Should the government lose, an Extraordinary General Election must be called within a 28 days of the vote.
 
Article Three. The Estates of Parliament.
(1) Parliament shall sit in one, unicameral chamber.
(2) Parliament shall be composed of 129 elected members, elected by Single Transferable Vote in multi-member constituencies, the boundaries of whom will be decided upon by the electoral commission, which shall be independent of the executive.
(3) Elections to the Parliament must be held once every four years, in a fixed-term cycle.
(4a) In the event of an election being held within the four year term, if the date of the Extraordinary General Election falls within the period of six months ending with the day on which the poll at the next ordinary general election would be held, that ordinary general election shall not be held.
(4b) If the Extraordinary General Election is held more than six months before the Ordinary General Election, the Ordinary General Election shall continue as normal.
(5a) If more than 51 Members of Parliament object to a bill, they can delay the legislation through a minority veto, after which time it must be put before Parliament again.
(5b) The minority veto can only be used twice for each bill, after which the power of the veto is removed.
(6) Parliament shall have power over ratification of international treaties, and over matters anent declaring war. Treaties which amend the Constitution of the Kingdom of Scotland must be passed before both Parliament and a national referendum.
(7) Any Scottish citizen over the age of 18 can stand for Parliament but to be eligible to stand they must gain the support of at least 100 people from the constituency they wish to stand in.
(8) All Scottish citizens over the age of 18 shall have the right to register to and vote in a General Election.
Article Four. Local Government.

 
(1) The independence of local councils from the executive will be guaranteed by the constitution. Their powers cannot be amended, but by the will of the people.
(2)
(4) Any Scottish Citizen or a permanent residing foreign national over the age of 18 can stand for election in a local council, but to be eligible to stand, they must gain the support of at least 20 people from the constituency they wish to stand in.
(5) All Scottish citizens over the age of 18, and permanent residing foreign nationals over the age of 18 shall have the right to register to and vote in a Local government election.
Article Five. The Judiciary.
(1) The Judiciary will be independent of the Executive.
(2)An independent Judiciary Appointment Committee shall be created, with four nominations from the President, two upon advice from the Prime Minister, two upon advice from the leader of the leading opposition party in Parliament. The four nominees shall sit alongside the Lord Advocate. The Committee shall have the power to appoint Judges to their position.
(3)Judges may only be removed from their position following a vote of Parliament, where at least 81 members vote for the Judge to lose his or her position.
Article Six. Rights and Liberties.

(1) Freedom of Worship is guaranteed for all Scottish citizens.
(2) All Scottish citizens shall have the right to free speech, within the limits of the law preventing incitement of racial and religious hatred.
(3) All Scottish Citizens shall have the right of free Assembly within the Commonwealth of Scotland.
(4) All Scottish Citizens shall have the right to privacy, as provided under the Data Protection Act.
(5) All Scottish Citizens shall have the right to a fair trial and due process in legal matters.
(6) Other additional rights may be conferred through the European Convention on Human Rights which is implemented into Scots law.
(7) In the event of a State of Emergency being declared by the government, all rights and liberties may be suspended for the duration of the Emergency. This can only be enacted by Presidential Order, countersigned by the Prime Minister.
 
Article Seven. Amendments.
 
Any amendment to the Constitution must first pass a majority vote, with at least 81 members voting for in the Estates of Parliament, and then by a referendum of the people.
 
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Due to my complete ignorance about British politics, I find British political WI's quite uninteresting, but somehow I got very interested on this one :)

By the way, I think you made a mistake on the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Scotland, on Article Two. The first point says the head of state is the President, but then the next points talk about the Monarch :confused: That, or I didn't understand well :p

As I said before, very nice thread. KUTGW :)
 
By the way, I think you made a mistake on the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Scotland, on Article Two. The first point says the head of state is the President, but then the next points talk about the Monarch :confused: That, or I didn't understand well :p

Although in that scenario would be republic, we would remain in the Commonwealth and thus I believe her Majesty would still have some influence in formal affairs. Also it's still to be discussed how close a role the British Army will play in the defence of Scotland.
 
Considering the current political climate, I wonder if there's any interest in maybe bringing this back to life?
 
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