Is Scotland setting the political agenda in the UK?

When David Cameron made his speech on 8 May after returning as Prime Minister with a much sought after but largely unexpected majority, he made a point of stressing the ongoing togetherness of the United Kingdom.

“We will govern as a party of one nation, one United Kingdom. That means ensuring this recovery reaches all parts of our country: from north to south, from east to west. And indeed, it means rebalancing our economy, building that ‘Northern Powerhouse’,” he said. 

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“It means giving everyone in our country a chance, so no matter where you’re from you have the opportunity to make the most of your life. It means giving the poorest people the chance of training, a job, and hope for the future. It means that for children who don’t get the best start in life, there must be the nursery education and good schooling that can transform their life chances. And of course, it means bringing together the different nations of our United Kingdom.”

With the Scottish independence referendum still fresh in everyone’s minds and with the SNP returning 56 of Scotland’s 59 MPs, Cameron said he had always believed in “governing with respect”.

He added: “That’s why in the last Parliament, we devolved power to Scotland and Wales, and gave the people of Scotland a referendum on whether to stay inside the United Kingdom. In this Parliament I will stay true to my word and implement as fast as I can the devolution that all parties agreed for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“Governing with respect means recognising that the different nations of our United Kingdom have their own governments, as well as the United Kingdom Government. Both are important, and indeed with our plans, the governments of these nations will become more powerful, with wider responsibilities.

 “In Scotland, our plans are to create the strongest devolved government anywhere in the world with important powers over taxation. And no constitutional settlement will be complete, if it did not offer, also, fairness to England.”

North of the border, the Conservatives received 14.1 per cent of the General Election vote and returned one MP – Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale’s David Mundell. Overall, the party’s majority is very small, just 16 MPs, and with a strong SNP contingent insistent they will hold the Tories to account, Cameron and his cabinet have a challenging time ahead.
However, despite this, the outlook for the Tories in the next five years is rosy compared to their former coalition bedfellows, the Liberal Democrats. The party was completely decimated in the General Election – they returned only eight MPs, compared to 57 in 2010. 

Nick Clegg, the man who everyone was so keen to agree with in 2010, was forced to resign after the results were announced, which saw former ministers Danny Alexander and Vince Cable, among others, losing their seats.

Clegg said: “I always expected this election to be exceptionally difficult for the Liberal Democrats, given the heavy responsibilities we’ve had to bear in government in the most challenging of circumstances. But clearly results have been immeasurably more crushing and unkind than I could ever have feared. For that, of course, I must take responsibility and therefore I announce I will be resigning as leader of the Liberal Democrats.”

In July, Tim Farron became new leader and promised a turnaround for the party.

Speaking at a rally after the result was announced, he said: “Westminster is only one brick in the governance of this country. The challenges we face in the cities, towns and villages of these islands, are ones which we can help to address wherever there are Liberal Democrats.

“We may not be able to change Britain from the top down but we can change lives from the bottom up. Our survival, revival, our rebirth, our rebuild will happen in communities, in councils, in common rooms, away from the stuffy corridors of Westminster.

 “Step by step, we will change people’s lives for the better and as we do that we will regain their trust.”
In the hours after May’s results were announced, Labour’s leader Ed Miliband also announced his intention to quit. He said he took “absolute and total responsibility” for the result and Labour’s defeat. The party returned 232 MPs, down from 258 in 2010. However, it was in Scotland this was felt most strongly as the party only managed to secure one MP – Edinburgh South’s Ian Murray – and many big names lost their seats to the SNP. Even more embarrassing for the party, its Scottish leader, Jim Murphy, was among those who failed to be re-elected. 

Murphy remained in post until June before his deputy, MSP Kezia Dugdale, replaced him last month. The Scottish leadership campaign, a two-horse race between Dugdale and Ken Macintosh, was a polite and straightforward affair, especially when contrasted with the national contest.

After months of very heated debate, Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour leader with a massive 59.5 per cent of the first preference votes. Corbyn, a longstanding left-wing MP, entered the leadership race at the last moment and was initially a 300-1 outsider. He said: “This decision to stand is in response to an overwhelming call by Labour Party members who want to see a broader range of candidates and a thorough debate about the future of the party. I am standing to give Labour Party members a voice in this debate.”

Before long, Corybn was striking a chord with the Labour grassroots, new members, CLPs and trade unions, and was speaking at overflowing venues. His anti-austerity message, promise to scrap Britain’s nuclear weapons and renationalise the railways and major utilities, proved very popular, causing some serious headaches for his rivals and the Labour establishment. 

John McTernan, Tony Blair’s director of political operations and chief of staff when Murphy was Scottish Labour leader, said the Labour MPs who nominated Corbyn to take part in the leadership contest were “morons”. He followed this up by saying in a podcast for the Spectator: “Who cares about the grassroots?”
Tony Blair, too, ridiculed those in the party who said their heart was urging them to support Corbyn. He said: “When people say. ‘My heart says I should really be with that politics’, get a transplant.”

Now Corybn is firmly in office, with his position voted for by members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters alike, his task looks daunting. He must unite a party divided by many schisms, as well as continuing to engage with voters and prove the viability of his policies.

After the results were announced, Kezia Dugdale said: “People are calling for radical change and straight talk. Jeremy’s election shows that the party has listened to that call, and I look forward to working with him and meeting him to discuss his priorities.

“I have already said that I want people to take another look at the Labour Party. I hope that those who were lost to us in the past will start to listen again as both Jeremy and I put forward radical policies that we hope will win back support for Labour.”

Dugdale had previously suggested in an interview that Corbyn was not prime-ministerial material and if successful, Labour would be left “carping on the sidelines”. However, she then backtracked by saying: “That is hardly the most critical thing that anybody has said about his campaign. I am excited about his campaign and many people across the country are.
“I don’t think our politics are wildly different. I think that I and Jeremy Corbyn share the same views when it comes to trying to build a fairer, more equal, economy, in trying to build a welfare state in a system that is fair and protects people who need our help.”

Since the election, while the Conservatives have pursued their political plans without the encumbrance of their Lib Dem coalition partners, Scotland has remained top of the agenda. Public appetite for a second referendum is increasing, a recent TNS poll of 1,023 adults found 47 per cent would vote Yes if a second referendum was held tomorrow, compared to 42 per cent who would back No and 11 per cent who said they did not know. This comes on the back of an Ipsos Mori survey for STV which had the Yes vote at 53 per cent. The Scottish Government and Westminster have also already clashed over issues such as Trident and welfare cuts.
Shortly after the election result was announced in May, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The people of Scotland have spoken. They have placed their trust in the SNP to represent them in Westminster as well as Holyrood. These 56 SNP MPs will represent the interests of all in Scotland.

“That is the priority these men and women will now take to the very heart of the Westminster agenda. It cannot and will not be business as usual when it comes to Westminster’s dealing with Scotland. My message today to Westminster is this – Scotland’s voice will be heard in Westminster now more loudly than it has ever been before.”
Later that month, commenting on the publication of the UK Government’s legislative programme in the Queen’s Speech, Sturgeon said Westminster’s priorities failed to recognise a “drastically” changed Scotland.

She said: “The key problem with this Queen’s Speech as far as Scotland is concerned is that it does not take account of the dramatically changed political circumstances we now find ourselves in. As a result, it is abundantly clear that the priorities this UK Government have outlined in the Queen’s Speech are not the priorities of the Scottish Government.

“The Scotland Bill must deliver the Smith proposals in full, but that must not be portrayed by the UK Government as some kind of concession – delivering Smith would only be fulfilling the pledge they have already signed up to and the promise they have made to the people of Scotland.

“In addition, we believe the massively changed political circumstances in Scotland provides a mandate for substantial further powers beyond those recommended by the Smith process, and we will continue to make a strong case to the UK Government for those powers to be delivered.”

The House of Lords has also remains a hot topic. David Cameron was accused of “cronyism” after handing 26 peerages to former Conservative ministers and aides, including Douglas Hogg, who was at the centre of an expenses row over a £2,200 bill for cleaning his moat.

The Lib Dems also got 11 peers, with eight for Labour, making a total of 45 new lords, swelling the total number in the House of Lords to 826. While Downing Street said it was normal practice for prime ministers to recognise their aides in dissolution honours lists, the SNP was highly critical. Kirsty Blackman MP, SNP spokesperson on the House of Lords, said: “This is a sorry list of rejected and retired party politicians – cronies and hangers-on with big cheque books. The message from David Cameron is – even if people reject your party at the ballot box you will be handed a seat in parliament for the rest of your life – because Mr Cameron ‘can’.

 “It is an affront to democracy that politicians whose parties have been roundly rejected by the electorate can then re-appear in parliament a few weeks later and legislate for the rest of their lives without ever having to be accountable again.”

The number of Lib Dems on the list was also seen as controversial. Seven Lib Dems who lost their seats or stood down at the General Election were elevated to the Lords, including former leader Sir Menzies Campbell, Sir Alan Beith and Lynne Featherstone. Vince Cable and Danny Alexander, who are thought to have turned down the chance to enter the Lords, have been knighted.

Now, all eyes will be turning to the 2016 London mayoral contest and the Scottish Parliament election. Arguably, it is the Labour Party which has the most to gain or lose, as they take on the Conservatives in London and the SNP in Scotland. With Jeremy Corybn at the helm, many are predicting a change in the party’s fortunes but after a difficult couple of years, only time will tell if the electorate is willing to turn the tide in their favour at the ballot box.