On this day (1stJuly) in 1999, Westminster transferred powers to the new Scottish Parliament in the most significant act of devolution the UK has ever seen. 20 years on it is worth considering if the Scottish Parliament has achieved the hopes and aspirations that drove the devolution campaign and what more needs to be done.
Articles on the 20thAnniversary tend to fall into a rose-tinted or overly cynical commentary on the past 20 years. For those of us used to dealing with Westminster pre-devolution, it is hard to imagine how little attention was given to Scottish issues compared with today. I, therefore, have no regrets about campaigning for devolution and I generally think it has been positive for politics and society.
However, yes you knew there would be a 'but', that doesn't put me in the rose-tinted school. A lot of attention has been given to the powers a Scottish Parliament should have, and too little on what we could do with the powers we have. Many of Scotland’s enduring challenges have been analysed, commissioned and consulted to near death, but most remain because successive governments have been too timid.
Nearly a decade of austerity has contributed to a bunker mentality in our public services, which has thankfully been spared the marketisation and fragmentation that has caused such chaos south of the border. The notable exception has been social care, where a marketised race to the bottom has created a crisis, which the Scottish Government is only applying sticking tape solutions.
This bunker means that there is a reluctance to look at radical solutions and meaningful change. An excellent example of this is the failure to implement key recommendations of the Christie Commission. In particular a shift to preventative spending and more localised public services. Instead, we have more centralisation coupled with a command and control model of public sector management.
The endless constitutional debate has not helped. A discussion that rarely considers where power rests in our society. Of course, London sucks in power and resources since Thatcher destroyed the UK’s manufacturing and primary industries, replacing them with trading financial instruments. However, even if Scotland were an independent country, London would continue to exert a massive influence on our economy. Ask the Danes about Germany.
There has been little effort to rebalance the Scottish economy. No industrial strategy worthy of the name and little concern about ownership. Even iconic and vital industries like whisky are controlled by boardrooms far from Scotland. Replacing the London establishment with the Edinburgh establishment isn’t going to achieve a fundamental shift in power and wealth. The Scottish Government’s progressive policies come to a grinding halt when the Scottish establishment feels threatened. Look at the response to proposed changes in Freedom of Information or lobbying legislation.
While political debate focuses on Brexit or Independence referenda, the real world problems mount up. Most of these relate to poverty and inequality. Over 6,000 children will need food parcels during the school holidays, many more are homeless living in temporary accommodation at best. More than 36,000 Scots are looking for somewhere to live.
In these circumstances, it is hardly surprising that the suicide rate rose 15% last year - a rate that is three times higher in disadvantaged areas. I had the odd disagreement with Kenny MacAskill when he was a minister, but he hit the nail on the head when he recently said the SNP was too focused on “identity inequality rather than wealth and land disparity”.
So, 20 years on we should celebrate the genuine achievements of the Scottish Parliament. However, we should also recognise that it has only tinkered around the edges of Scotland's enduring problems. We need to focus the powers we have to address these issues while looking at long term reform that shifts power and wealth from the few to the many.
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