Scotland's new powers

Appropriately on St Andrew's Day, the government have published the new Scotland bill which will devolve further powers. The bill follows the Calman Commission of 2009 which put forward a series of recommendations about further devolution. These include the power to set new income tax rates from 2015, new borrowing powers and control over issues such as the speed limit and drink-driving. Agreed by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the SNP unsurprisingly do not think it goes far enough and view it as a 'missed opportunity'. With Scottish elections next year, the three national parties will be hoping that it will appease those in Scotland wanting more power without encouraging further such demands from the SNP. What do you think?

The Scottish dream fades

The controversy surrounding the case of the release of the Lockerbie bomber has hit Scotland's minority SNP government hard. Polls suggest it has also damaged their dream for independence from the UK. Here is a discussion of this issue in this week's Economist.

Will the Scots ever be happy?

There was a good overview on Panorama last night by Brian Taylor, the Scottish political correspondent for the BBC, on 10 years of Scottish devolution, which you can find on www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. In conjunction with this, the BBC also released a new poll which revealed that most Scots people want a referendum on independence next year but that the result is wholly reliant on the question that is asked. See the BBC’s headline here plus their special Scottish devolution website here…