What has the Scottish Parliament achieved, and what can it teach Westminster?
What has the Scottish Parliament achieved, and what can it teach Westminster?
This chapter argues that there was a determination that the 1997 devolution plan, unlike the earlier 1979 plan, would be ‘not like Westminster’ but would result from a ‘home-grown process’. It classifies the Holyrood parliament's successes and its failures, but its successes are there to be transferred and to be copied. In particular, it explains the four key principles of the Consultative Steering Group report: power-sharing, accountability, openness and accessibility, and equal opportunities. There is no generally accepted inclusive list of functions that a parliament is expected to carry out. It then investigates the four interlocking aspects of the parliament in operation over its first four-year session, as examples of how it has performed and how it may have lessons for Westminster. These include the arrangement of parliamentary business, legislation, committees, and accountability and representation. The committees are probably the Scottish Parliament's greatest single practical achievement. The other main feature of the parliament by comparison with Westminster is its greater institutional autonomy in relation to the Executive. The Scottish Parliament has also demonstrated a determination to be a learning parliament.
Keywords: Scottish Parliament, Westminster, Consultative Steering Group, power-sharing, accountability, openness, accessibility, equal opportunities
British Academy Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
