Introduction and history In spite of high-profile meetings with world leaders, Nicola Sturgeon has largely been excluded from the formal decision-making processes at COP26. This contradiction is reflected elsewhere: the Scottish government … [Read more...] about The politics of Scotland’s autonomous foreign policy
Introduction Much like Brexit itself, the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement’s Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland remains an on-going point of contention. It has left an indelible mark on politics both within Northern Ireland and in Westminster, and … [Read more...] about The politics of the Northern Ireland Protocol
It has often been assumed that sub-state nationalisms, whether in Scotland, Wales, Quebec, Catalonia or the Basque Country, must be motivated by distinct values or attitudes about the great issues of public policy. Indeed, there is a whole school of … [Read more...] about Will ‘British values’ keep us together?
From nineteenth-century Irish home rule debates onwards there has been one consensus: the Union could not survive if England were allowed its own political identity or institutions of government. Winston Churchill said in 1912 that it would ‘tear the … [Read more...] about England and the Union: time to think again
Since Scotland’s votes were counted a month ago, there has been much debate about whether the results constituted a ‘mandate’ for an independence referendum. Some debated the significance, or lack of it, of the absence of a single party majority for … [Read more...] about The UK government and a second Scottish independence referendum: an unsustainable paradox?
In the run up to the Scottish Parliamentary election on 6 May, the possibility of another Scottish independence referendum has been at the centre of the political and constitutional debate. The SNP published an 11-point plan that states that, if it … [Read more...] about Are we heading towards an illegal wildcat Scottish independence referendum?
What is Scotland’s electoral system? Elections to Scotland’s devolved Parliament are held under the Additional Member System (AMS). Under AMS, 73 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are elected in single-member constituencies, and 56 are … [Read more...] about A gameable electoral system? The Additional Member System in Scotland
The future of the UK Union is of increasing salience for British policy-makers. Against the backdrop of the twin crises of Brexit and coronavirus, speculation about its break-up has become widespread. With support for Scottish independence … [Read more...] about Union at the Crossroads: Why the British state must overhaul its approach to devolution
Philip Rycroft is former Permanent Secretary (2017-2019) at DExEU. From June 2015 to March 2019 he was head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for advising ministers on all aspects of the constitution and … [Read more...] about The Dunlop Review: implications for the Union?
The Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is increasingly unstable. The last several years of UK politics have seen growing support for Scottish independence and relations between the four governments of the UK are increasingly … [Read more...] about Starmer’s Labour and devolution: what have we learned so far?
In the first Constitution Society interview of 2021, Dr Andrew Blick talks to Professor Vernon Bogdanor about constitutional prospects for the forthcoming year. In a wide-ranging discussion, they cover the possibility of Scottish independence; the … [Read more...] about The constitution in 2021: in conversation with Vernon Bogdanor
