Scotland’s Constitutional Debates? Mapping the Alternatives

1. Scotland’s Constitutional Debates? Mapping the Alternatives One Year On Scottish Government Corporate Analytical Services Awayday 30 April 2008 CHARLIE JEFFERY University of Edinburgh

2. What’s the Problem? • Apparently radical reform, but structural continuities • Devolution = attempt to renew the UK union through the democratisation of differentiated territorial administration outside England pre-1999 • Not much change in England • Four imbalances in consequence: • Piecemeal reform, no big picture • Intergovernmental coordination not fit for purpose • UK govt made lopsided by an unreformed England • Too little thought about purposes of union in new circumstances • The alternatives: two scenarios • Scottish Constitutional Commission • National Conversation

3. Imbalance #1: Piecemeal Reform • Different departments introducing different reforms for different places, little coordination in 97-9 or since • Long ‘union-state’ tradition of bilateral relationships between centre and non-English nations • Two problems • Mix of devolution outside England and centralisation of England not approached as integrated system of government • Self-contained reforms blind to possibility of spillovers, i.e. reform in one place has unanticipated impacts on other places, e.g. …

4. Spillovers into England • Scottish devolution solves Scottish problem … • … but opens up perception that Scottish devolution unfair to the English • Inequity in representation (West Lothian) • Inequity in resource allocation • Inequity in policy provision

5. Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells • Sir, I see that Scotland is to end all university fees for Scottish students by 2009. The Scottish government has already taken care to see that Scottish student’s debts are already small by comparison with those of English students because they are heavily subsidised by England. Scots also receive free nursing and residential care and drugs denied to, but paid for by, the English. Many will now be saying ‘damn the British state’ and all its vast and increasing injustice directed against the English.

6. Spillovers into England • Scottish devolution solves Scottish problem … • … but opens up perception that Scottish devolution unfair to the English • Inequity in representation (West Lothian) • Inequity in resource allocation • Inequity in policy provision • NB temptation of piecemeal solution to this English problem …

7. Imbalance #2: Intergovt Relations • Projecting forward pre-devolution intra-govt relations between UK departments • Ad hoc, collegial among officials, ministers broker agreement if dispute • OK for 99-07, but fit for purpose now officials serve different govts and ministers are from different parties? • Ill-attuned to public dispute between govts with different mandates • NB dispute is normal, needs to be channelled, managed more systematically • Ill-attuned to making policy for the union as a whole • NB common interests are normal, need to be coordinated more systematically across jurisdictions • Irony: only pro-independence SNP pushing agenda of beefing up UK-wide coordination structures

8. Imbalance #3: England • ‘Disgusted’ says England is the victim • More often the villain? • Size and economic weight in single market, welfare state, internal security area • (Con)fusion of English with UK govt in Westminster and Whitehall • Decisions by UK govt for England spill over outside England (sometimes wilfully, mainly unconsciously) • Decisions by UK govt for UK driven by English interests, neglectful of effect in devolved settings • Weak grip of devolved govts on the Anglo-UK centre • See intergovernmental relations • UK govt ill-placed to arbitrate spillover issues, because ‘captured’ by English interests

9. Imbalance #4: Purposes of Union • Piecemeal reform → not much thought put into revisiting purposes of union • Growing issue now parallel/divergent democratic processes under way simultaneously • Debates on identity and values as ‘glue’ insufficient • ‘Disgusted’ points to what’s needed

10. Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells • Sir, I see that Scotland is to end all university fees for Scottish students by 2009. The Scottish government has already taken care to see that Scottish student’s debts are already small by comparison with those of English students because they are heavily subsidised by England. Scots also receive free nursing and residential care and drugs denied to, but paid for by, the English. Many will now be saying ‘damn the British state’ and all its vast and increasing injustice directed against the English.

11. Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells • Sir, I see that Scotland is to end all university fees for Scottish students by 2009. The Scottish government has already taken care to see that Scottish student’s debts are already small by comparison with those of English students because they are heavily subsidised by England. Scots also receive free nursing and residential care and drugs denied to, but paid for by, the English. Many will now be saying ‘damn the British state’ and all its vast and increasing injustice directed against the English.

12. Imbalance #4: Purposes of Union • Piecemeal reform → not much thought put into revisiting purposes of union • Important now parallel/divergent democratic processes under way simultaneously • Debates on identity and values as ‘glue’ insufficient • ‘Disgusted’ points to what’s needed … • union is also about interests, policy outcomes, solidarity achievable/ desirable at a union-wide scale • What should the state do for all irrespective of where they live, and should not vary across jurisdictions? • What is (seen to be) a fair territorial allocation of resources? • Without a union-wide discussion of union-wide interests post-devolution UK open to perceptions of injustice, opportunistic politicisation, piecemeal responses, etc

13. Addressing the Imbalances • Status quo sustainable? • Two alternatives

14. Alternative #1: More Union • Express union more explicitly in operation of devolved UK, e.g. • Guarantees of minimum standards for all citizens • Social security, health, education • Build the union explicitly into territorial finance • Territorial allocations by need as expression of solidarity • One England or nine? • Make elements of grant conditional on achieving UK-wide priorities or negotiate joint funding of UK-wide priorities • Policy-making for union by intergovt agreement • Devolved govts need grip on Anglo-UK in setting minima, terms for fiscal equalisation, conditionality/joint funding • More systematic distinction of English and UK-wide roles of UK centre • NB none of this incompatible with further devolution, fiscal autonomy • Might be more easily achieved as package including further devolution

15. Alternative #2: Less Union • Downgrade the ambitions of union • Further devolution, fiscal autonomy without balancing measures, leading to fuller demarcation of devolved from Anglo-UK citizenship • Special status within UK ↔ independence outside UK • NB even with less union, England will spill over

16. The Alternatives

17. The Alternatives

18. Perspectives on Territorial Finance

19. Perspectives on Territorial Finance

20. Trajectories Competition, incoherence of views on the union Vs. Clarity of view on the trajectory of less union [and don’t forget Disgusted: the prompt for less union could come from England]