Editing Scotland (section)

=== Devolution and independence ===
{{Main|Scottish devolution|Scottish independence}}
[[File:Donald Dewar in Strasbourg 01.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Donald Dewar]], the inaugural [[First Minister of Scotland|first minister]] and was referred to as the "[[Father of the Nation]]"<ref>{{cite web |title=Donald Dewar, Father of a Nation? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3727308.stm |website=BBC |access-date=20 January 2025 |date=8 October 2004}}</ref>]] 

[[Devolution]]—the granting of central government powers to a regional government<ref>{{Cite OED|term=Devolution|id=4958732321|access-date=4 November 2023}}</ref>– gained increasing popularity as a policy in the United Kingdom the late twentieth century; it was described by [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]], then [[Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Leader of the Labour Party]], as the "settled will of the Scottish people".<ref>Cavanagh, Michael (2001) ''[http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/aspect/docs/aspectcampaigns.htm The Campaigns for a Scottish Parliament] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202030909/http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/aspect/docs/aspectcampaigns.htm |date=2 February 2016 }}''. [[University of Strathclyde]]. Retrieved 12 April 2008.</ref> The Scottish Parliament and [[Scottish Government]] were subsequently established under the [[Scotland Act 1998]]; the Act followed a successful [[Scottish devolution referendum, 1997|referendum in 1997]] which found majority support for both creating the Parliament and granting it limited powers to [[Scottish variable rate|vary income tax]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kerr |first=Andrew |date=8 September 2017 |title=Scottish devolution referendum: The birth of a parliament |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41189455 |access-date=3 January 2019 |archive-date=29 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129022824/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41189455 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Act enabled the new institutions to legislate in all areas not explicitly reserved by the UK Parliament.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Devolved and Reserved Powers |url=https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers |access-date=27 October 2023 |website=www.parliament.scot |language=en |archive-date=20 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920053732/https://www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/devolved-and-reserved-powers |url-status=live }}</ref>

Two more pieces of legislation, the Scotland Acts of [[Scotland Act 2012|2012]] and [[Scotland Act 2016|2016]], gave the Scottish Parliament further powers to legislate on taxation and social security;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fraser |first=Douglas |date=2 February 2016 |title=Scotland's tax powers: What it has and what's coming? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35470086 |access-date=27 April 2017 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |archive-date=3 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203203616/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35470086 |url-status=live }}</ref> the 2016 Act also gave the Scottish Government powers to manage the affairs of the [[Crown Estate Scotland|Crown Estate in Scotland]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 March 2016 |title=Holyrood gives approval to devolved powers Scotland Bill |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35815426 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125214530/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35815426 |url-status=live }}</ref> Conversely, the [[United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020]] constrains the Scottish Parliament's autonomy to regulate goods and services,<ref name=MaMu22>{{cite book |last1=Masterman |first1=Roger |last2=Murray |first2=Colin |title=Constitutional and Administrative Law |date=2022 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge |isbn=9781009158503 |pages=471–473 |edition=Third |chapter=The{{nbsp}}United Kingdom's Devolution Arrangements |quote=UK Internal Market Act 2020 imposed new restrictions on the ability of the devolved institutions to enact measures...mutual recognition and non-discrimination requirements mean that standards set by the legislatures in Wales and Scotland cannot restrict the sale of goods which are acceptable in other parts of the UK. In other words, imposing such measures would simply create competitive disadvantages for businesses in Wales and Scotland; they would not change the product standards or environmental protections applicable to all goods which can be purchased in Wales and Scotland. |doi=10.1017/9781009158497 |s2cid=248929397 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/constitutional-and-administrative-law/E1EB9FEDC43459C991E42BD945231DB5 |access-date=27 October 2023 |archive-date=4 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504011056/https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/constitutional-and-administrative-law/E1EB9FEDC43459C991E42BD945231DB5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=DouHu22>{{cite journal|last1=Dougan|first1=Michael|last2=Hunt|first2=Jo|last3=McEwen|first3=Nicola|last4=McHarg|first4=Aileen|author-link1=Michael Dougan|author-link3=Nicola McEwen|title=Sleeping with an Elephant: Devolution and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020|journal=[[Law Quarterly Review]]|date=2022|volume=138|issue=Oct|pages=650–676|url=https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35167/|location=London|publisher=[[Sweet & Maxwell]]|ssrn=4018581|via=[[Durham University|Durham Research Online]]|access-date=4 March 2022|quote=The Act has restrictive – and potentially damaging – consequences for the regulatory capacity of the devolved legislatures...the primary purpose of the legislation was to constrain the capacity of the devolved institutions to use their regulatory autonomy...in practice, it constrains the ability of the devolved institutions to make effective regulatory choices for their territories in ways that do not apply to the choices made by the UK government and parliament for the English market.|issn=0023-933X|archive-date=2 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802185022/https://dro.dur.ac.uk/35167/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the academic view is that this undermines devolution.{{refn|<ref name=Gu23>{{cite book |last1=Guderjan |first1=Marius |title=Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Cooperation and Conflict in a Devolved Unitary State |date=2023 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=London/New York|doi=10.4324/9781003349952|isbn=978-1-032-39485-5 |pages=166–176|s2cid=257877108 |quote=Since the act became law on 17 December 2020, the devolved administrations can continue to set standards for goods and services produced within their territory, but their rules do not apply to goods and services coming from other jurisdictions. They also must accept products imported into one part of the UK. This undermines their legislative autonomy and renders certain policies ineffective|url=https://www.routledge.com/Intergovernmental-Relations-in-the-UK-Cooperation-and-Conflict-in-a-Devolved/Guderjan/p/book/9781032394855}}</ref><ref name=Keating21>{{cite journal |last=Keating |first=Michael |title=Taking back control? Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom|author-link=Michael Keating (political scientist)|journal=[[Journal of European Public Policy]]|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|location=Abingdon|date=2 February 2021 |volume=29|issue=4|pages=491–509|doi=10.1080/13501763.2021.1876156|hdl=1814/70296|doi-access=free|hdl-access=free|quote=The UK Internal Market Act gives ministers sweeping powers to enforce mutual recognition and non-discrimination across the four jurisdictions. Existing differences and some social and health matters are exempted but these are much less extensive than the exemptions permitted under the EU Internal Market provisions. Only after an amendment in the House of Lords, the Bill was amended to provide a weak and non-binding consent mechanism for amendments (equivalent to the Sewel Convention) to the list of exemptions. The result is that, while the devolved governments retain regulatory competences, these are undermined by the fact that goods and services originating in, or imported into, England can be marketed anywhere.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lydgate |first1=Emily |last2=Anthony |first2=Chloe |title=Brexit, food law and the UK's search for a post-EU identity |journal=[[Modern Law Review]] |date=September 2022 |volume=85 |issue=5|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]|location=London|doi-access=free|quote=While the mutual recognition principle preserves devolved powers, rather than requiring that devolved nations conform with a wide range of harmonised standards (as they did in the EU), the Act undermines devolution simply because devolved legislation will no longer apply to all relevant activity in the devolved territory...Devolution is also undermined by the asymmetry of legislative authority...the UK Internal Market Act is a protected enactment, which devolved administrations are unable to appeal or modify, but which the UK parliament will be able to modify when legislating for England.|pages=1168–1190 |doi=10.1111/1468-2230.12735}}</ref><ref name=DouganMcEwen20>{{cite report |last1=Dougan |first1=Michael |last2=Hayward |first2=Katy |last3=Hunt |first3=Jo |last4=McEwen |first4=Nicola |last5=McHarg |first5=Aileen |last6=Wincott |first6=Daniel |date=2020 |title=UK and the Internal Market, Devolution and the Union |url=https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/publications/uk-and-internal-market-devolution-and-union |quote=The market access principles undermine devolved competences in two ways...[they] significantly undermine the purpose of devolution, which was to enable the devolved nations and regions to legislate according to their own local needs and political preferences. |department=Centre on Constitutional Change |author-link1=Michael Dougan |author-link2=Katy Hayward |author-link4=Nicola McEwen |author-link6=Daniel Wincott |publisher=[[University of Edinburgh]]; [[University of Aberdeen]] |pages=2–3 |access-date=16 October 2020 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018185830/https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/publications/uk-and-internal-market-devolution-and-union |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Arm22>{{cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=Kenneth A. |title=The Governance of Economic Unionism after the United Kingdom Internal Market Act |journal=[[Modern Law Review]] |date=May 2022 |volume=85 |issue=3 |pages=635–660 |doi=10.1111/1468-2230.12706|doi-access=free|location=Oxford|publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|Wiley]]|quote=So when used to disapply relevant requirements in a destination devolved jurisdiction the effect is different from that generated by the devolution statutes when they treat rules that are outside of competence as being 'not law'. In this way, the legislative competence of each jurisdiction is formally maintained, but its exercise constrained by the extraterritorial reach of regulatory norms applicable elsewhere in the UK and by the potential for regulatory competition where local producers are subject to local rules but competing goods can enter that market in compliance with the regulatory standards from where they originate...the UKIM Act 2020 allows extraterritorial application of rules that reflect different preferences or even undermines local preferences through regulatory competition, its effects are not insignificant for devolved legislatures.}}</ref>}}

The [[Scottish Parliament general election, 2007|2007 Scottish Parliament elections]] led to the [[Scottish National Party]] (SNP), which supports [[Scottish independence]], forming a [[minority government]]. The new government established a "[[National Conversation]]" on constitutional issues, proposing a number of options such as increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament, [[federation|federalism]], or a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. The three main unionist opposition parties–[[Scottish Labour]], the [[Scottish Conservatives]], and the [[Scottish Liberal Democrats]]–created a separate [[Calman Commission|commission]] to investigate the distribution of powers between devolved Scottish and UK-wide bodies while not considering independence.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Party people confront new realities |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7195800.stm |access-date=18 January 2008 |first=David |last=Porter |date=18 January 2008 |archive-date=23 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080123085719/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7195800.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2009 the SNP proposed a bill to hold a referendum on independence in November 2010, but was defeated by opposition from all other major parties.<ref name="ReferendumBill2010">{{Cite web |date=2 September 2009 |title=Referendum Bill |url=http://www.gov.scot/About/programme-for-government/2009-10/summary-of-bills/referendum-bill |archive-url=http://www.gov.scot/About/Factfile/18060/11552 |archive-date=10 September 2009 |access-date=10 September 2009 |website= |publisher=[[Scottish Government]]}}</ref><ref name="Times3Sep09">{{Cite news |last=MacLeod |first=Angus |date=3 September 2009 |title=Salmond to push ahead with referendum Bill |work=The Times |location=London |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6820542.ece |url-status=dead |access-date=10 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531170941/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6820542.ece |archive-date=31 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 September 2010 |title=Scottish independence plan 'an election issue' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11196967 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=7 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007113657/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11196967 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:The Edinburgh Agreement signing (8090772713).jpg|thumb|right|Signing of the [[Edinburgh Agreement (2012)|Edinburgh Agreement]] in 2012 to hold a referendum on independence]]

The [[2011 Scottish Parliament election]] resulted in an SNP overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, and on 18 September 2014 a [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on Scottish independence]] was held.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Black |first=Andrew |date=21 March 2013 |title=Scottish independence: Referendum to be held on 18 September, 2014 |work=BBC News |location=London |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21828424 |access-date=21 March 2013 |archive-date=21 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321165209/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-21828424 |url-status=live }}</ref> The referendum resulted in a rejection of independence, by 55.3% to 44.7%.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 September 2014 |title=Scotland votes no: the union has survived, but the questions for the left are profound |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/19/scottish-independence-union-survived-put-away-flags}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Scotland decides |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/live |access-date=19 September 2014 |website=BBC |archive-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609121516/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/live |url-status=live }}</ref> During the campaign, the three main parties in the British Parliament–the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]], [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], and the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]–pledged to extend the powers of the Scottish Parliament.<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scottish-independence-referendum-statement-by-the-prime-minister Scottish Independence Referendum: statement by the Prime Minister] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929043500/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/scottish-independence-referendum-statement-by-the-prime-minister |date=29 September 2014 }}, UK Government</ref><ref name="kelvin" /> An all-party [[Smith Commission|commission]] chaired by [[Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin]] was formed,<ref name="kelvin">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29273177 Scottish referendum: Who is Lord Smith of Kelvin?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112235245/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29273177 |date=12 November 2018 }}, BBC News</ref> which led to the Scotland Act 2016.<ref>{{Cite act | url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/11/contents/enacted | title = Scotland Act 2016 | legislature = Parliament of the United Kingdom | date = 23 March 2016 | language = English}}</ref>

Following the [[European Union Referendum Act 2015]], the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum]] was held on 23 June 2016 on Britain's membership of the [[European Union]]. A majority in the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU, while a majority within Scotland voted to remain a member.<ref name=":2"/> The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced the following day that as a result a [[Proposed second Scottish independence referendum|new independence referendum]] was "highly likely".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=24 June 2016 |title=Scottish Leader Nicola Sturgeon Announces Plans for Second Independence Referendum |url=https://time.com/4381327/brexit-nicole-sturgeon-scotland-referendum/ |magazine=Time |access-date=24 June 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624121953/http://time.com/4381327/brexit-nicole-sturgeon-scotland-referendum/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=24 June 2016 |title=Brexit: Nicola Sturgeon says second Scottish independence vote 'highly likely' |agency=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36621030 |access-date=24 June 2016 |archive-date=3 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803120628/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36621030 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union. Because constitutional affairs are reserved matters under the Scotland Act, the Scottish Parliament would again have to be granted temporary additional powers under Section 30 to hold a legally binding vote.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Campbell |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Campbell (broadcaster) |date=6 November 2020 |title=Indyref2: Scottish Secretary rejects new vote 'for a generation' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-54827100 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116114519/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-54827100 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sim |first=Philip |date=19 December 2019 |title=Scottish independence: What is a section 30 order? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50744526 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=18 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201118154406/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50744526 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 December 2019 |title=General election 2019: Sturgeon says legal indyref2 is a 'hard truth' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50687876 |access-date=16 November 2020 |archive-date=7 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907155822/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50687876 |url-status=live }}</ref>