News and opinion

Bringing together leading academics and practitioners to reflect on 25 years of the Scottish Parliament

Elizabeth Bomberg reports back from COP26, stressing that the underlying message is worth repeating: substate actors are absolutely core to addressing climate change. All levels of governance – whether cooperating or competing - are needed to increase ambition and deliver the change needed.

As the dust settles on the Scottish elections, Kurt Mills, Andrea Birdsall and Naomi McAuliffe reflect on the manifesto commitments the parties made to external relations and human rights. They expect to see a progressive and engaged Scotland that supports human rights domestically and internationally, even if the key fault line of independence continues to divide the population.

Dr Timothy Peace, Lecturer in Politics at the University of Glasgow, shares his analysis of the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary elections – “2021 election results show that the challenge has been recognised, but the fight for equality and better representation in Scotland continues”.

Talat Yaqoob reacts to the Scottish 2021 elections for the Centre on Constitutional Change and RACE.ED, arguing that a participatory, modern democracy which focuses on communities most disenfranchised is a long-term goal which requires leaps forward, rather than the small steps witnessed in this election.

Emilia Belknap and Meryl Kenny reflect on what the Scottish Parliament 2021 Election delivered for women's representation in a quick reaction post.

Kirstein Rummery discusses how this Scottish Parliament will be the most gender diverse in its history. A historic 45% of MSPs are now women, making it the 13th most gender equal Parliament in the world.

Following the Scottish Parliamentary Elections, Stephen Tierney notes that the political landscape remains both uncertain and challenging and may well remain fraught for a long time to come.

Alistair Clark explores the relevance of small parties in the upcoming election, arguing that while small parties tend to have fluctuating fortunes, they have become a permanent presence in Scottish politics. For more on small parties, see Alistair's contribution to our recent ebook.