Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
over foreign affairs, major economic and tax issues and social security.
Scotland's first-ever
general election
took place in 1999. he form of proportional
representation (PR) adopted for the election made it unlikely that any one party would
achieve an overall majority in the 129-seat assembly, and the final result left Labour
needing to enter into a coalition with the Liberal Democrats to achieve a majority. he
SNP won just under 30 percent of the vote, making them the second largest party.
he coalition enjoyed two parliamentary terms, making its mark with important
decisions such as abolishing tuition fees for Scottish university students and granting
state support for the elderly in care - policies to the left of the Labour programme
elsewhere in the UK. Under the commanding leadership of
Alex Salmond
, however, the
nationalists took advantage of voter disenchantment with Labour in both Holyrood
and Westminster, gaining the largest number of seats in the Scottish Parliament in
2007. Salmond formed a minority administration, and, four years later, in the 2011
election the SNP won an outright parliamentary majority - something the PR system
was designed to prevent. he new SNP government immediately kept to their word
and organized a
referendum on independence
, to be held in September 2014. With the
country pretty evenly split between those opposing and those supporting
independence, this one looks set to go down to the wire.
Twenty-first-century Scotland
he Scottish
economy
has benefited from the general prosperity enjoyed in the UK as a
whole, but the decline of
heavy industry
has been all but total, and
unemployment
has
produced profound social problems in parts of Glasgow, Edinburgh and smaller towns.
Meanwhile, in Orkney, Shetland and in northeast Scotland, particularly around
Aberdeen, the
oil industry
- although past its boom - continues to underpin an
economy which might otherwise have struggled to cope with the uncertainties of
agriculture and, especially, fishing.
In spite of encouraging signs of recent progress, the
Highlands and Islands
remain an
economically fragile area that needs special measures, distance from markets being a
fundamental problem. Increasingly, the local environment is seen as a major asset, and
the establishment of a system of National Parks has gone some way to creating a firm
framework in which tourism can develop alongside local communities and the interests
of the natural world.
One aspect of Scottish life which has remained upbeat in the last decade is its
cultural
life
. he appointment of Scots-born Carol Ann Duffy as the first woman Poet Laureate,
the works of classical composer James MacMillan and artist Peter Howson, along with
a plethora of pop and rock acts from Belle & Sebastian to Emeli Sandé, have given
Scotland a substantial presence on the British arts scene. he
Gaelic
language has
enjoyed a revival, with old inhibitions about writing in Scots or in Shetland dialect
being laid to rest too, and much of the revival of cities such as Glasgow and Dundee is
attributed to their focus on the arts. Indeed, contemporary culture is one of the
healthiest aspects of Scotland today, and artists have often been able to articulate the
richness of Scotland's post-devolution future with more ambition and colour than the
country's frequently uninspiring politicians.
2011
2009
2013
2014
The Scottish National
Party win a majority in
the Scottish Parliament.
Carol Ann Duffy
becomes the first
Scottish Poet Laureate.
Andy Murray becomes
the first Scot to win
Wimbledon men's singles
title since 1896.
Scotland votes in
a referendum on
independence.
