Editing History of Scotland (section)

==Postwar==
{{Further|History of the United Kingdom (1945–present)|Political history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)}}

=== Overview ===
Following World War II, Scotland's economic situation became progressively worse due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes. This only began to change in the 1970s, partly due to the discovery and development of [[North Sea]] oil and gas and partly as Scotland moved towards a more service-based economy, with the services sector contributing 75% to the overall Scottish economy in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Institute |first1=Fraser of Allander |title=Economic statisticians, irony and Scotland’s latest trade statistics |url=https://fraserofallander.org/economic-statisticians-irony-and-scotlands-latest-trade-statistics/ |website=FAI |access-date=26 October 2024 |date=5 February 2020}}</ref>

This period saw the emergence of the [[Scottish National Party]] and movements for both [[Scottish independence]] and more popularly [[devolution]]. A referendum on devolution in 1979 was unsuccessful as it did not achieve the support of 40 per cent of the electorate.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Scottish Parliament: The path to devolution|url=https://www.parliament.scot/about/history-of-the-scottish-parliament/the-path-to-devolution|publisher=Scottish Parliament|quote=The Act required that 40% of the Scottish electorate [..] had to support the Act for it to come into force.}}</ref> However, in 1997 Scottish voters voted in favour of establishing a [[Scottish Parliament]] which was established in 1998 and thus [[Scottish devolution]] was reformed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=MUNRO |first=COLIN R. |date=1998 |title=Scottish Devolution: Accommodating a Restless Nation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24674608 |journal=International Journal on Minority and Group Rights |volume=6 |issue=1/2 |pages=97–119 |doi=10.1163/15718119920907659 |jstor=24674608 |issn=1385-4879|url-access=subscription }}</ref>  In 2014, the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|independence referendum]] saw vote against independence by 55% to 45% choosing to remain in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-09-19 |title=Scottish referendum: Scotland votes 'No' to independence |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29270441 |access-date=2023-01-13}}</ref>

===Politics and devolution===
{{See also|Politics of Scotland}}
[[File:Scottish Parliament building, Holyrood.jpg|thumb|left|[[Scottish Parliament Building]], Holyrood, opened in 2004 and intended to evoke the crags of the [[Scottish landscape]] and, in places, upturned [[Fishing industry in Scotland|fishing boats]]]]
In the second half of the 20th century the Labour Party usually won most Scottish seats in the Westminster parliament, losing this dominance briefly to the [[Unionist Party (Scotland)|Unionists]] in the 1950s. Support in Scotland was critical to Labour's overall electoral fortunes as without Scottish MPs it would have gained only two UK electoral victories in the 20th century (1945 and 1966).<ref>L. Bennie, J. Brand and J. Mitchell, ''How Scotland Votes'' (Manchester University Press, 1997), p. 46.</ref> The number of Scottish seats represented by Unionists (known as [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservatives]] from 1965 onwards) went into steady decline from 1959 onwards, until it fell to zero in 1997.<ref>S. Ball and I. Holliday, ''Mass Conservatism: the Conservatives and the Public Since the 1880s'' (Routledge, 2002), p. 33.</ref> Politicians with Scottish connections continued to play a prominent part in UK political life, with Prime Ministers including the Conservatives [[Harold Macmillan]] (whose father was Scottish) from 1957 to 1963 and [[Alec Douglas-Home]] from 1963 to 1964.<ref name=Quinault2007/>

The [[Scottish National Party]] gained its first seat at Westminster in 1945 and became a party of national prominence during the 1970s, achieving 11 MPs in 1974.<ref name=Cooke&Stenevson2000p93/> However, a referendum on devolution in 1979 was unsuccessful as it did not achieve the necessary support of 40 per cent of the electorate (despite a small majority of those who voted supporting the proposal) and the SNP went into electoral decline during the 1980s.<ref name=Cooke&Stenevson2000p93/> The introduction in 1989 by the [[Margaret Thatcher|Thatcher]]-led [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government of the [[Community Charge]] (widely known as the Poll Tax), one year before the rest of the United Kingdom, contributed to a growing movement for a return to direct Scottish control over domestic affairs.<ref>{{Citation |title=The poll tax in Scotland 20 years on |date=1 April 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7976782.stm |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728035915/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7976782.stm |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 11 September 1997, the 700th anniversary of [[Battle of Stirling Bridge]], the [[Tony Blair|Blair]] led [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government again held a referendum on the issue of devolution which led to the establishment of a devolved [[Scottish Parliament]] in 1999. A [[coalition]] government, which would last until 2007, was formed between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, with [[Donald Dewar]] as [[First Minister of Scotland|First Minister]] until his death in 2000.<ref>{{Citation |title=Devolution to Scotland |date=14 October 2002 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2321531.stm |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623063430/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2321531.stm |archive-date=23 June 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

The new [[Scottish Parliament Building]], adjacent to [[Holyrood House]] in Edinburgh, opened in 2004.<ref name="Audit">{{Cite web |title=The New Scottish Parliament at Holyrood |url=http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/publications/pdf/2000/00g01ag.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206171310/http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/publications/pdf/2000/00g01ag.pdf |archive-date=6 December 2006 |access-date=10 December 2006 |publisher=Audit Scotland, Sep 2000}}</ref> Although not initially reaching its 1970s peak in Westminster elections, the SNP had more success in the Scottish Parliamentary elections with their system of [[mixed member proportional representation]]. It became the official opposition in 1999, a minority government in 2007 and a majority government in 2011.<ref>{{Citation |last=A. Black |title=Scottish election: SNP profile |date=18 May 2011 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13315752 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520031327/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13315752 |archive-date=20 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|national referendum]] to decide on [[Scottish independence]] was held on 18 September 2014. Voters were asked to answer either "Yes" or "No" to the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scotland's Referendum 2014 – Background |url=http://www.scotreferendum.com/information/ |access-date=8 September 2014}}</ref> 55.3% of voters answered "No" and 44.7% answered "Yes", with a [[voter turnout]] of 84.5%.<ref name="Now">{{Cite news |date=19 September 2014 |title=Referendum results: Turnout a record high as Scots vote No to independence |work=Scotland Now |url=http://www.scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/referendum-results-turnout-record-high-4286461 |access-date=20 September 2014 |archive-date=11 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411043734/http://www.scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/referendum-results-turnout-record-high-4286461 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 2015 Westminster election, the SNP won 56 out of 59 Scottish seats, making them the third largest party in Westminster.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Election 2015 Results |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2015/results |access-date=28 March 2017 |website=BBC News}}</ref>

===Economic reorientation===
{{Main|Economy of Scotland}}
[[File:Oil platform in the North SeaPros.jpg|thumb|right|A [[drilling rig]] located in the [[North Sea]]]]
Following World War II, Scotland's economic situation became progressively worse due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Knox |first=William |title=Industrial Nation: Work, Culture and Society in Scotland, 1800-present |date=1999 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=0-748-61084-7 |page=255 |ol=121302M}}</ref> This only began to change in the 1970s, partly due to the discovery and development of [[North Sea]] oil and gas and partly as Scotland moved towards a more service-based economy. The discovery of the giant [[Forties oilfield]] in October 1970 signalled that Scotland was about to become a major oil producing nation, a view confirmed when Shell Expro discovered the giant [[Brent oilfield]] in the northern North Sea east of Shetland in 1971. Oil production started from the Argyll field (now Ardmore) in June 1975, followed by Forties in November of that year.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Vickers |first1=John |title=Privatization: an Economic Analysis |last2=Yarrow |first2=George |date=1995 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=0-262-22033-4 |edition=6th |location=Cambridge, MA |page=317 |ol=2526861M |author-link=John Vickers}}</ref> Deindustrialisation took place rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s, as most of the traditional industries drastically shrank or were completely closed down. A new service-oriented economy emerged to replace traditional heavy industries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Payne |first=Peter L. |date=1995 |title=The End of Steelmaking in Scotland, c.1967–1993 |journal=Scottish Economic and Social History |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=66–84 |doi=10.3366/sesh.1995.15.15.66}}</ref><ref>{{Harvp|Finlay|2004|loc=ch. 9}}.</ref> This included a resurgent financial services industry and the [[electronics manufacturing]] of [[Silicon Glen]].<ref>{{Citation |last=H. Stewart |title=Celtic Tiger Burns Brighter at Holyrood |date=6 May 2007 |url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/scotland/comment/0,,2073303,00.html |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206135231/http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/may/06/scottishparliament.devolution |archive-date=6 December 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Religious diversity and decline===
{{Main|Religion in Scotland}}
[[File:Wfm glasgow central mosque front.jpg|thumb|left|[[Glasgow Central Mosque]], the largest mosque in Scotland]]
In the 20th century existing Christian denominations were joined by other organisations, including the [[Plymouth Brethren|Brethren]] and [[Pentecostal]] churches. Although some denominations thrived, after World War II there was a steady overall decline in church attendance and resulting church closures for most denominations.<ref name=Ditchfield1998p91/> Talks began in the 1950s aiming at a grand merger of the main Presbyterian, Episcopal and Methodist bodies in Scotland. The talks were ended in 2003, when the [[General Assembly of the Church of Scotland]] rejected the proposals.<ref>[http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-news/edinburgh-east-fife/kirk_rejects_move_to_form_super_church_1_648784 "Kirk rejects move to form 'super Church'"], ''The Scotsman'', 20 May 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2011.</ref> In the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]], 53.8% of the Scottish population identified as Christian (declining from 65.1% in 2001). The [[Church of Scotland]] is the largest religious grouping in Scotland, with 32.4% of the population. The [[Catholic Church in Scotland|Roman Catholic Church]] accounted for 15.9% of the population and is especially important in [[West Central Scotland]] and the [[Scottish Highlands|Highlands]]. In recent years other religions have established a presence in Scotland, mainly through [[Immigration to the United Kingdom|immigration]] and higher birth rates among ethnic minorities, with a small number of [[Religious conversion|converts]]. Those with the most adherents in the 2011 census are [[Islam in Scotland|Islam]] (1.4%, mainly among immigrants from South Asia), [[Hinduism in Scotland|Hinduism]] (0.3%), [[Buddhism in Scotland|Buddhism]] (0.2%) and [[Sikhism in Scotland|Sikhism]] (0.2%). Other minority faiths include the [[Bahá'í Faith in Scotland|Bahá'í Faith]] and small [[Neopagan]] groups. There are also various organisations which actively promote [[humanism]] and [[secularism]], included within the 43.6% who either indicated no religion or did not state a religion in the 2011 census.<ref name="census2011detail">{{Cite web |title=Religion (detailed) |url=http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2A_Religion_detailed_Scotland.pdf |access-date=12 April 2015 |website=Scotland's Census 2011 |publisher=National Records of Scotland}}</ref>{{Clear}}

===Educational reforms===
{{Main|Education in Scotland}}
Although plans to raise the school leaving age to 15 in the 1940s were never ratified, increasing numbers stayed on beyond elementary education and it was eventually raised to 16 in 1973. As a result, secondary education was the major area of growth in the second half of the 20th century.<ref name=Anderson2003/> New qualifications were developed to cope with changing aspirations and economics, with the Leaving Certificate being replaced by the [[Scottish Certificate of Education]] [[Ordinary Grade]] ('O-Grade') and [[Higher Grade]] ('Higher') qualifications in 1962, which became the basic entry qualification for university study.<ref name=Anderson2003/> The higher education sector expanded in the second half of the 20th century, with four institutions being given university status in the 1960s ([[University of Dundee|Dundee]], [[Heriot-Watt]], [[University of Stirling|Stirling]] and [[University of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]]) and five in the 1990s ([[Abertay]], [[Glasgow Caledonian University|Glasgow Caledonian]], [[Napier University|Napier]], [[University of Paisley|Paisley]] and [[The Robert Gordon University|Robert Gordon]]).<ref>D. Newel, "Scottish higher education policy and funding", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (2003), p. 142.</ref> After devolution, in 1999 the new [[Scottish Executive]] set up an Education Department and an [[Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department]].<ref name="Fairley2003">J. Fairley, "The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department and the Scottish Parliament", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (2003), pp. 132–140.</ref> One of the major diversions from practice in England, possible because of devolution, was the abolition of [[Tuition fees in the United Kingdom|student tuition fees]] in 1999, instead retaining a system of means-tested student grants.<ref name="Cauldwell2003">D. Cauldwell, "Scottish Higher Education: Character and Provision", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (2003), pp. 62–73.</ref>

===New literature===
{{Main|Literature of Scotland}}
[[File:Carol Ann Duffy (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Carol Ann Duffy]] the first Scottish [[Poet Laureate]]]]
Some writers that emerged after the Second World War followed Hugh MacDiarmid by writing in Scots, including [[Robert Garioch]] and [[Sydney Goodsir Smith]]. Others demonstrated a greater interest in English language poetry, among them [[Norman MacCaig]], George Bruce and [[Maurice Lindsay (broadcaster)|Maurice Lindsay]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/><ref>{{Citation |last=P. Kravitz |title=Introduction to The Picador Book of Contemporary Scottish Fiction |page=xxvii |year=1999}}</ref> [[George Mackay Brown]] from Orkney, and [[Iain Crichton Smith]] from Lewis, wrote both poetry and prose fiction shaped by their distinctive island backgrounds.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> The Glaswegian poet [[Edwin Morgan (poet)|Edwin Morgan]] became known for translations of works from a wide range of European languages. He was also the first [[Scots Makar]] (the official [[Poet laureate|national poet]]), appointed by the inaugural Scottish government in 2004.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Scots Makar |date=16 February 2004 |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/02/5075 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204042020/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2004/02/5075 |publisher=The Scottish Government |access-date=28 October 2007 |archive-date=4 February 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Many major Scottish post-war novelists, such as [[Muriel Spark]], with ''[[The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (novel)|The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie]]'' (1961) spent much or most of their lives outside Scotland, but often dealt with Scottish themes.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> Successful mass-market works included the action novels of [[Alistair MacLean]], and the historical fiction of [[Dorothy Dunnett]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> A younger generation of novelists that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s included [[Shena Mackay]], [[Alan Spence]], [[Allan Massie]] and the work of [[William McIlvanney]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival, this time led by a group of Glasgow writers associated with critic, poet and teacher [[Philip Hobsbaum]] and editor [[Peter Kravitz]].<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> In the 1990s major, prize winning, Scottish novels, often overtly political, that emerged from this movement included [[Irvine Welsh]]'s ''[[Trainspotting (novel)|Trainspotting]]'' (1993), Warner's ''[[Morvern Callar]]'' (1995), Gray's ''[[Poor Things]]'' (1992) and Kelman's ''[[How Late It Was, How Late]]'' (1994).<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> Scottish crime fiction has been a major area of growth, particularly the success of Edinburgh's [[Ian Rankin]] and his [[Inspector Rebus]] novels.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> This period also saw the emergence of a new generation of Scottish poets that became leading figures on the UK stage, including [[Carol Ann Duffy]], who was named as [[Poet Laureate]] in May 2009, the first woman, the first Scot and the first openly gay poet to take the post.<ref>{{Citation |title=Duffy reacts to new Laureate post |date=1 May 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030093931/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8029388.stm |archive-date=30 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Clear}}