Explain how the two governments have been in conflict “Devolution has caused conflict between Scotland and the rest of the UK” Explain how the two governments have been in conflict

Intro Scotland has had a devolved government since 1999, this means that powers have been passed from Westminster to the Scottish Parliament. However, during that time there has been a continued debate over whether it is fair that Scotland has these powers, and whether Scotland should have more power

Reducing poverty One thing that some political parties have argued for more power over, is benefits paid in Scotland. The Westminster Parliament has maintained control over the benefits that are paid for people who are unemployed, disabled, or families in poverty. Because the Scottish Parliament is made up of parties that are more collectivist than the Westminster Parliament, these parties have argued that we should have more power to decide on benefit levels, and we should be able to spend more on creating social equality in Scotland

Before the referendum, the political parties feared that Scotland would vote yes for independence, so they offered Scotland more devolved powers. Scotland was allowed to withdraw the hated “bedroom tax” which is causing more poverty in the rest of the UK. However, Scotland still does not have power to stop the move towards the “Universal Credit”, which is also a policy causing poverty. This has caused conflict between the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments.

Lockerbie Bomber Another example of conflict caused by the devolution of powers is the release of Abdelbasset Al- Megrahi – the man who had been convicted of arranging the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. He was serving time in prison in Scotland, but in 2009 he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given only 3 months to live. The Scottish Justice Secretary decided to release him to the care of his family, so that he could die in Libya. He felt that this was the compassionate and humane thing to do. But this action angered the UK government and the US government, and caused conflict between the Scottish Parliament and the Westminster government.

English Votes for English Laws Ever since the Independence Referendum in Scotland, there has been a marked increase in “Jockophobia” in national press. There has been an intense campaign against the SNP in England – this was particularly evident in the 2015 election where the Conservatives managed to win partly through English fears of the SNP controlling Labour. Many English MPs have also argued that it is unfair that Scotland has its own parliament to deal with Scottish issues, but there is no equivalent English Parliament to deal with English laws.