Politics and Devolution in Scotland and Wales, 1999–2007

2021 ◽  
pp. 173-208
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bradbury
Keyword(s):  
Political Class ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
Minority Government ◽  
Political Management ◽  
Election Results ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Plaid Cymru ◽  
Scottish Politics

This chapter analyses Scotland and Wales, addressing developments in Scottish politics, the move to further reform of the devolution settlement in Wales in 2006 and the significance of the 2007 elections in both countries. It reconsiders the nature of the territorial strains in Scotland and Wales, the power politics of seeking to gain power and guide devolution in each country. It addresses the approaches of the devolved governments and the UK Labour government in each case to ensure they achieved what they wanted. The chapter explores the extent to which the neo-Bulpittian propositions hold in the practice of devolution. In Wales, there was an opportunity to ensure the constitutional process behind the 2006 Act was more successful in achieving support across the political class than had been the case with the Government of Wales Act 1998. In the second set of elections in 2007, the Scottish National Party (SNP) emerged to form a minority government in Scotland; in Wales, Labour's hold slipped and Plaid Cymru became a coalition partner. The chapter readdresses the sources of the 2007 emergence to power of those who Bulpitt would have called the genuine peripheral dissidents more in terms of an analysis of the effectiveness or not of political management after 1999. It also reassesses the significance of the 2007 election results in practice to local elite assimilation.

The Scottish National Party

2020 ◽  
pp. 277-300
Author(s):  
Lynn Bennie ◽  
Craig McAngus
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Policy Problems ◽  
Scottish Politics

The SNP has moved from the fringes of Scottish politics to being a strikingly successful electoral force, keeping the constitutional status of Scotland at the top of the political agenda. In the twenty-first century, the SNP has been a long-term party of government but one of opposition in the UK, balancing the different facets of its identity as a political party seeking governmental office and as an important actor in a wider movement for Scottish independence. The SNP’s ability to adapt to devolution has been key to its success, and has involved transformation of the party on a scale few political organizations experience. Yet success brings new challenges and dilemmas, related to the straddling of governance and campaigning for Scottish independence. Enhanced powers for the Scottish Parliament increase the stakes for SNP governments—public policy problems cannot easily be blamed on state-wide governments—and being situated within a movement for change creates opportunities to build support for independence but the SNP’s vision of an independent Scotland is contested by others.

scholarly journals Finding a niche? Challenger parties and issue emphasis in the 2015 televised leaders’ debates

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Allen ◽  
Judith Bara ◽  
John Bartle
Keyword(s):  
Text Analysis ◽  
National Party ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Plaid Cymru ◽  
Niche Strategy ◽  
Issue Emphasis

Do leaders of ‘challenger’ parties adopt a ‘niche’ strategy in national televised debates? This article answers this question by analysing the content of the two multiparty televised leaders’ debates that took place ahead of the 2015 British general election. Using computer-aided text analysis (CATA), it provides reliable and valid measures of what the leaders said in both debates and develops our theoretical understanding of how challenger-party leaders make their pitches. It finds that the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Green Party, Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru leaders all demonstrated a degree of ‘nicheness’ in their contributions in comparison with the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour leaders. It also finds that the challenger-party leaders placed a greater emphasis on their core concerns. Nevertheless, the debates covered much policy ground. Their structure obliged all party leaders to talk about a broad range of issues.

UK fiscal policy must tighten from election promises

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
Growth Prospects ◽  
The Government ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Party Policy Positions

Subject Parties' economic policy promises in the May 7 election. Significance The tightest UK election in years is taking place at a time when growth prospects are uncertain. The closeness of the race is encouraging all main parties to make unrealistic tax and spending promises. The likelihood of political uncertainty, the nature of some party policy positions and the possibility of some form of Labour/Scottish National Party (SNP) government are prompting investor and market concerns. Some party proposals, especially on tax, would damage UK residents or companies; some large companies are threatening to leave the country. Impacts Especially if Labour forms the next government, some large companies could relocate their headquarters from the United Kingdom. If the Conservatives form the government, the risk of a UK exit from the EU will rise, heightening international business concerns. Labour and the SNP have the closest economic policy positions among the main parties. If the SNP holds the balance of power, it will extract -- often fiscal -- policy concessions from the UK government. Greater Scottish fiscal powers will strain the UK fiscal transfer formula. Adjusting this could increase the risk of Scottish independence.

Brexit and Britain’s Changing Constitution

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 400-417
Author(s):  
Rainer Grote
Keyword(s):  
Conservative Party ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
The Government ◽  
Run Up ◽  
The Uk

The Brexit saga which culminated in the sweeping victory of the Conservative Party in the parliamentary elections of December 2019 and the British withdrawal from the European Union the following months caused a major upheaval in the relationship between Britain’s main constitutional actors, especially between the government and the judiciary. In the course of the long-winded and acrimonious Brexit debate, the courts were repeatedly asked to intervene at critical junctures of the withdrawal process, first to secure a central role for Parliament in discussing and approving the terms of withdrawal and then to protect Parliament against attempts by the government to curtail and render ineffective this role through the questionable use of its prerogative powers. This development reached its climax with the UK Supreme Court’s judgment of 24 September 2019 on the unlawfulness of the prorogation of Parliament decided by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister in the run-up to Brexit, an unprecedented interference by the courts with the exercise of prerogative powers in the name of a functioning parliamentary democracy. While the reasoning of the Court does not appear entirely convincing, there can be no doubt that the ruling was crucial in upholding the central role of Parliament in the Brexit negotiations and, by implication, of the authority of the courts which had defined that role at the beginning of the negotiations. That the Supreme Court felt it necessary to take the unprecedented step of confronting the executive over the use of its prerogative powers in a highly polarized political debate also demonstrates the extent to which the political consensus which in former times had underpinned the functioning of Britain’s flexible constitutional democracy has broken down as a result of the Brexit debate, and the divisions it has engendered within Britain’s political class and in the public at large. This gives rise to the concern that the reforms announced by the Conservative government following its sweeping victory in the parliamentary elections of December 2019 will destroy any progress which had been made in the UK prior to the Brexit referendum towards a modern practice of parliamentary majority government based on incomplete but genuine checks and balances.

scholarly journals CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION: How Nationalist Parties in Regional Government are bringing Change to the UK Constitution

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcom Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Critical Mass ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Plaid Cymru ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

This paper will examine the dynamics of devolution in the United Kingdom since the 2007 elections to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales which resulted in the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru entering government for the first time in their history. It will analyse the impact that their participation in governance at this level has had upon their stated goals of constitutional change. In particular it will examine the methods employed by these parties in order to advance these constitutional goals – specifically the role of consultation and referendum in creating the pressure for change. It will argue that both have been key drivers for constitutional change and have created what has become a critical mass regarding the constitutional debate in the UK.

scholarly journals Public governance, agility and pandemics: a case study of the UK response to COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232098340
Author(s):  
Paul Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Role ◽  
Public Confidence ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Local Initiative ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
The Government ◽  
The One ◽  
The Uk

The UK government’s leaders initially believed that it was among the best-prepared governments for a pandemic. By June 2020, the outcome of the collision between the government’s initial confidence, on the one hand, and the aggressiveness and virulence of COVID-19, on the other, was evident. The UK had one of the worst COVID-19 mortality rates in the world. This article explores the UK government’s response to COVID-19 from a public administration and governance perspective. Using factual information and statistical data, it considers the government’s preparedness and strategic decisions, the delivery of the government response, and public confidence in the government. Points for practitioners Possible lessons for testing through application include: Use the precautionary principle to set planning assumptions in government strategies to create the possibility of government agility during a pandemic. Use central government’s leadership role to facilitate and enable local initiative and operational responses, as well as to take advantage of local resources and assets. Choose smart government responses that address tensions between the goal of saving lives and other government goals, and beware choices that are unsatisfactory compromises.

scholarly journals Rhetorical uses of precise numbers and semi-magical round numbers in political discourse about COVID-19: Examples from the government of the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 095792652110131
Author(s):  
Michael Billig
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
British Government ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Round Numbers ◽  
Magical Power ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The 19Th Century

This paper examines how the British government has used statistics about COVID-19 for political ends. A distinction is made between precise and round numbers. Historically, using round numbers to estimate the spread of disease gave way in the 19th century to the sort precise, but not necessarily accurate, statistics that are now being used to record COVID-19. However, round numbers have continued to exert rhetorical, ‘semi-magical’ power by simultaneously conveying both quantity and quality. This is demonstrated in examples from the British government’s claims about COVID-19. The paper illustrates how senior members of the UK government use ‘good’ round numbers to frame their COVID-19 goals and to announce apparent achievements. These round numbers can provide political incentives to manipulate the production of precise number; again examples from the UK government are given.

The RUMA Alliance targets: an overview

Livestock ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 176-179
Author(s):  
Chris Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Task Force ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Codes Of Practice ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Ongoing Support ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Roll Out

The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) was established to promote the highest standards of food safety, animal health and animal welfare in the British livestock industry. It has a current focus to deliver on the Government objective of identifying sector-specific targets for the reduction, refinement or replacement of antibiotics in animal agriculture. The creation and roll out of sector specific targets in 2017 through the RUMA Targets Task Force, has helped focus activity across the UK livestock sectors to achieve a 50% reduction in antibiotic use since 2014. This has been realised principally through voluntary multi-sector collaboration, cross sector initiatives, codes of practice, industry body support and farm assurance schemes. This article provides an overview of RUMA's work to date providing insight into the methods used to create the targets, why they are so important, the impact they are having and how ongoing support and robust data are vital components in achieving the latest set of targets.

scholarly journals The future of social care funding: who pays?

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Kenny ◽  
J. Barnfield ◽  
L. Daly ◽  
A. Dunn ◽  
D. Passey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase 1 ◽  
List Type ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Means Testing ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
Funding System ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Care Costs

AbstractWith the UK population ageing, deciding upon a satisfactory and sustainable system for the funding of people’s long-term care (LTC) needs has long been a topic of political debate. Phase 1 of the Care Act 2014 (“the Act”) brought in some of the reforms recommended by the Dilnot Commission in 2011. However, the Government announced during 2015 that Phase 2 of “the Act” such as the introduction of a £72,000 cap on Local Authority care costs and a change in the means testing thresholds1 would be deferred until 2020. In addition to this delay, the “freedom and choice” agenda for pensions has come into force. It is therefore timely that the potential market responses to help people pay for their care within the new pensions environment should be considered. In this paper, we analyse whether the proposed reforms meet the policy intention of protecting people from catastrophic care costs, whilst facilitating individual understanding of their potential care funding requirements. In particular, we review a number of financial products and ascertain the extent to which such products might help individuals to fund the LTC costs for which they would be responsible for meeting. We also produce case studies to demonstrate the complexities of the care funding system. Finally, we review the potential impact on incentives for individuals to save for care costs under the proposed new means testing thresholds and compare these with the current thresholds. We conclude that:∙Although it is still too early to understand exactly how individuals will respond to the pensions freedom and choice agenda, there are a number of financial products that might complement the new flexibilities and help people make provision for care costs.∙The new care funding system is complex making it difficult for people to understand their potential care costs.∙The current means testing system causes a disincentive to save. The new means testing thresholds provide a greater level of reward for savers than the existing thresholds and therefore may increase the level of saving for care; however, the new thresholds could still act as a barrier since disincentives still exist.

scholarly journals Changing the rules of the game: some necessary legal reforms to United Kingdom intelligence

2009 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 943-955 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN LEIGH
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
Legal Reforms ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
The Us ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Rules Of The Game

AbstractThis article argues that there is a need to modernise the law governing accountability of the UK security and intelligence agencies following changes in their work in the last decade. Since 9/11 the agencies have come increasingly into the spotlight, especially because of the adoption of controversial counter-terrorism policies by the government (in particular forms of executive detention) and by its international partners, notably the US. The article discusses the options for reform in three specific areas: the use in legal proceedings of evidence obtained by interception of communications; with regard to the increased importance and scle of collaboration with overseas agencies; and to safeguard the political independence of the agencies in the light of their substantially higher public profile. In each it is argued that protection of human rights and the need for public accountability requires a new balance to be struck with the imperatives of national security.

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