Wider consequences of the Scottish independence referendum
Many political commentators regard the Scottish independence referendum as a turning point in the UK's political history.
Greater devolution for Scotland will impact on decision making for the rest of the UK. As a result, former Conservative Party leader William Hague MP said in September 2014 that he would be prepared to chair a government committee to review the entire UK constitutional situation.
Further devolution timetable according to unionist parties
Future constitutional consequences
Due to so many areas of policy having been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, many MPs representing constituencies in England have called for legislation where only English MPs could vote on English laws (Scottish MPs would be prevented from making decisions which affect only England). This is known as English votes for English laws (EVEL).
The EVEL proposals were controversial because different parties had different views on how much power should be devolved (the Liberal Democrats tend to favour more decentralisation, whereas the Conservatives tend to be opposed to full devolution as they believe the UK is a small country which does not need so many different levels of government).
It has been argued that EVEL would lead to difficulties with regard to what constitutes an 'English-only' law. It has also been pointed out that this would lead to the creation of two types of MP, ie those MPs who could vote on all legislation and those MPs who could only vote on agreed UK legislation.
A form of EVEL was introduced in October 2015. Under the new system any law being discussed by the UK Parliament which would affect only England would need to be approved separately by a majority of English MPs, in addition to being passed by the House of Commons as a whole.
This was then scrapped in July 2021 with Conservative MP and Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg saying that it had undermined
Parliament and that all MPs should be represented equally. This view is not shared by all members of the Conservative Party as this was the only form of devolution available to England.
After effects of the Scottish independence referendum
The Scottish independence referendum had two other important long-term consequences for Scotland and the UK.
First, the levels of public political engagement were unprecedented, with a record turnout of 85%. This has translated into an increased turnout at General Elections in Scotland and Scottish Parliament elections. At the 2016 Scottish Parliament election the turnout was over 5% higher than 2011.
Second, in allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote in the independence referendum, there is now a growing level of support to lower the voting age across the UK to 16. In June 2015, the Scottish Parliament passed the Scottish Election (Reduction of Voting Age) Act allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to vote in Scottish Parliament and local council elections.
What is federalism?
There have been some calls for the United Kingdom to become a federalist country – like the USA.
This would mean that the UK would be split into states which would have equal powers and a federal (UK wide) government would reserve power over areas such as defence, foreign policy and immigration.
This is a stance that has been supported by the Liberal Democrats. They believe that the Scottish Independence Referendum, Brexit and Coronavirus have divided the UK and that this will help with equitable distribution of resources between different parts of the UK depending on need
.
