This 2009 publication was the first book about the new Scottish Parliament. It brought together a distinguished group of parliamentarians, commentators and academics to review the achievements, limits and challenges of the new Scottish Parliament after its first ten years.
The Scottish Parliament 1999-2009: The First Decade is a collection of essays by leading figures edited by Professors Charlie Jeffery and James Mitchell. In reviewing the first 10 years of the new Parliament's existence, across a wide range of topics, the book tackled key questions including:
To what extent have the founding principles for the Scottish Parliament set out by the Consultative Steering Group been delivered - access and participation, equal opportunities, accountability and power-sharing?
Has the Parliament changed how politics is done in Scotland?
Has the Parliament matured into an effective legislative body?
Have relationships between government, the Parliament and outside stakeholders in local government, interest groups and quangos been improved?
What’s the view from Westminster?
How does the Scottish Parliament fit into the UK’s changing constitutional architecture?
Foreword Alex Fergusson MSP, Presiding Officer, Scottish Parliament
Chapter 1 Introduction: The First Decade in Perspective Emma Megaughin and Charlie Jeffery
The Parliament in Practice
Chapter 2 A Dozen Differences of Devolution Lord Steel of Aikwood
Chapter 3 Committees in the Scottish Parliament Chris Carman and Mark Shephard
Chapter 4 The Legislative Process: The Parliament in Practice James Johnston
Chapter 5 The New Scottish Statute Book: The Scottish Parliament's Legislative Record since 1999 Michael Keating and Paul Cairney
The Founding Principles
Chapter 6 Access and Participation: Aiming High Bill Thomson
Chapter 7 Travelling the Distance? Equal Opportunities and the Scottish Parliament Fiona Mackay
Chapter 8 Parliamentary Accountability: Aspiration or Reality? Chris Himsworth
Chapter 9 The Principle of Power-Sharing, 10 Years On Joyce McMillan
Representative Process
Chapter 10 The Scottish Parliament Electoral System: Can Credibility be Restored? Nicola McEwen
Chapter 11 New Parliament, New Elections James Mitchell and Robert Johns
Chapter 12 Do Devolved Elections Work? John Curtice
Chapter 13 Conundrums and Contradictions: What Scotland Wants David McCrone
Stakeholders
Chapter 14 New Scottish Parliament, Same Old Interest Group Politics? Paul Cairney, Darren Halpin and Grant Jordan
Chapter 15 Civil Society and the Parliament Lindsay Paterson
Chapter 16 The Media and Parliament Brian McNair
Chapter 17 Centre and Locality in Scottish Politics: From Bi- to Tri-partite Relations Neil McGarvey
Chapter 18 Quangos, Agencies and the Scottish Parliament Richard Parry
The View from Elsewhere
Chapter 19 The Scottish Parliament as seen from London Peter Riddell
Chapter 20 Opening Doors: Devolution in Wales and the Scottish Parliament, 1999-2009 Alan Trench
Futures
Chapter 21 The Scottish Parliament, Constitutional Change and the UK's Haphazard Union Charlie Jeffery
Following the local election results, are we now in zombie Parliament territory? With no immediate general election in sight what can be achieved in Westminster before MPs finally make their rendezvous with the voters? We talk to Professor Tim Bale about defeat, defections and the internal dynamics of the Conservative Party.
To mark the Hansard Society’s 80th anniversary we are launching the Churchill-Attlee Democracy Lecture in honour of our first members, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee. The inaugural lecture will be given by former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Theresa May MP. All proceeds from ticket sales go to our 80th Anniversary Appeal. Date & location: Tuesday 14 May 2024, 7:00-8:15pm Westminster (venue to be announced the day before) Tickets: • in-person £25 • online-recording £10
Should Parliament simply overturn the convictions of postmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal? That’s what the Government proposes to do through the Post Office (Horizon system) Offences Bill. But quashing of convictions is normally a matter for the courts. Some MPs have misgivings about setting a constitutional precedent as well as practical concerns about how the Bill will be implemented. We talk to the Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Sir Bob Neill MP.
The emerging role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping political discourse is a potential game changer. It has the capacity to fabricate fake interviews and manipulate images, all of which could mislead voters and disrupt the democratic process. But could it affect the results of our elections? We talk to Chris Morris, the head of factchecking organisation, Full Fact, about the threats posed by these technologies, the potential scale of misinformation in politics, and the measures politicians and political parties need to take to counteract them.
With a general election on the horizon there has been a spate of new legislation and regulations to implement changes to the way the election will be run, with consequences for voters and electoral administrators. Parliament has not always had a role in approving these changes. This briefing sets out the core changes to the electoral process that have been implemented since the last general election in 2019, the role that Parliament has played in scrutinising and approving them, and the risks arising from these changes.
