Devolution ten years on: 'The parliament has been good for Scotland'

Published on Tuesday 30 June 2009 09:43

TEN years ago tomorrow, Edinburgh regained a badge of honour as a capital city when it officially became home, once again, to the Scottish Parliament.

After being absent for nearly three centuries "home rule" returned in an event formalised by the opening by the Queen of the revived parliament in its temporary home on the Mound.

Today, a decade on, some people still remain unsupportive of the parliament. A poll commissioned for this week's anniversary showed only a minority – 41 per cent - thought the parliament had been "a good thing".

While only 9 per cent viewed the parliament as bad, this still leaves a lot of Scots who are unconvinced that the parliament's creation has been beneficial to them and their families.

Historians won't find it hard to explain this reluctance to embrace devolution in practice, even after such an overwhelming public vote in its favour in the 1997 referendum.

The parliament was beset with difficulties from the off, with rows over the construction costs at Holyrood and MSPs hit by scandals galore – one even bringing down a First Minister.

It is to be hoped that such negativity is in the past. For surely there can be no doubt that parliament has been good for Scotland, with more local decision-making allowing Scottish solutions to Scottish problems in health, education, transport and crime.

Edinburgh in particular has undoubtedly benefited from having the parliament here, as a new focal point for an aspirational Scotland – and all the business that brings, to say nothing of thousands of well-paid public sector jobs.

There's every chance that the public image of Holyrood is finally on the rise, too, with favourable comparisons being made of the regulation of MSPs' expenses compared with allegations of mass freeloading at Westminster.

This perhaps explains why the same poll which found that only a minority of Scots thought the parliament had been a good thing also detected a desire to hand it more power. 47 per cent said Holyrood should decide on tax and spending, with only 22 per cent wanting London to retain those powers over a devolved Scotland.

Perhaps most encouragingly, only 28 per cent backed an independent Scotland, which suggests that demand for us to go solo is static despite the popularity of Alex Salmond's SNP government.

A decade on, Scots may not be entirely happy with devolution. But they are not ready yet to throw themselves headlong into the unknown waters of independence.