News and opinion

Time stands still for Brexit but not Covid
As an epic year for global public policy reaches its end, Richard Parry discusses the way that the pandemic has impacted other aspects of the political cycle.

Multicultural Scotland
Ross Bond, University of Edinburgh, examines the demographic structure and history of Scotland, and the attitudes, identities and experiences of its people.

Who do you say you are? The politics of national identity
David McCrone analyses the politics of national identity in Scotland comparing it to England's sense of national identity for his chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics.

Small States in the Modern World: Opportunities and Vulnerabilities
Michael Keating, University of Aberdeen, discusses requirements for small states to thrive, arguing that small states do equally or better than larger states.

Scotland has its own political class...just like Westminster
It is commonplace in Britain to identify a “political class”, out of touch with the general population. It was promised that the Scottish Parliament would broaden recruitment of MSPs, becoming more representative to class, ethnicity, gender, education and former careers. But, Michael Keating, University of Aberdeen, and Paul Cairney, University of Stirling, argue that we have not seen such a divergence between MSPs and MPs.

England votes for a break from politics
Richard Parry discusses the way that the 2019 UK General Election bucked the trend for surprise results.

Keeping Perspectives
Instead of focusing on the success of the SNP, we should compare the Labour and Conservative vote share in Scotland and England since 1945, states David McCrone, University of Edinburgh.
Continuity and consolidation?
Malcolm Harvey, University of Aberdeen, provides a rundown of the general election results in Scotland, asking is this the new norm?

Will 2019 be like 1987, 2015 or 2017?
Richard Parry assesses the prospects of Boris Johnson’s surpassing the electoral achievements of David Cameron and Theresa May.