Since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999, successive Labour leaders have promised Scotland more devolved power – and to honour its right to self determination. But none have yet delivered. Will Labour honour its promises to Scotland? The unionist parties have a history of changing their minds.

Scotland Act 1998

The Scotland Act 1998 was the UK Parliament law that allowed the Scottish Parliament to be re-started. At Holyrood a copy of the Act is displayed, showing a note from Labour PM Tony Blair. It reads ‘It was a struggle, it may always be hard; but it was worth it. Scotland and England together on equal terms’.

Of course throughout the history of the UK, this hasn’t been the case – since Queen Anne allowed the English Parliament to become the Parliament of Great Britain, Scotland has only had token representation and Scottish parties have never been part of the UK Government.

Today most spending for Scotland is not even controlled by the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Parties – it is controlled by the unionist parties (Labour and Tory).

Brown Commission

The Labour party under Keir Starmer called on former Labour PM and token Scot Gordon Brown to set up a Commission on “The UK’s Future”. Entitled “A new Britain: renewing our democracy and rebuilding our economy” it was published in 2022. It stated “Our proposals form the basis of a new way forward for Scotland and the UK – greater power to enact economic and social change through the Scottish Parliament“.

Labour has not mentioned the Brown Commission report for some time. Has it been shelved, like so many other Gordon Brown proposals in the past?

More recent pronouncements

Most recently Starmer has claimed that Scotland is not “stuck” in the union, but that an independence vote is not a priority [for Labour] and has promised to shift power from London. Of course it’s not clear which powers, to where, or when.

Sources

Scotland Act 1998: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/contents

Brown Commission report: https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Commission-on-the-UKs-Future.pdf

Newspaper reports: The Independent and The Guardian