‘The Brown Government must engage with the Scottish question while at the same time, ceding yet more British sovereignty to the European Union... it is here that the interests of the English and the other nationalities of the UK divide.’
FRANK FIELD, MP
‘[This paper] is the first step in a national conversation’
UK GOVERNMENT GREEN PAPER 2007 ‘THE GOVERNANCE OF BRITAIN’
‘This paper is the first step in a wide-ranging national conversation about the future of Scotland’
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER 2007 ‘CHOOSING SCOTLAND’S FUTURE’
This book aims to take these conversations forward, to engage in the key issues facing Scotland and the UK.
Has the SNP victory in 2007 changed forever the mindset of Scottish politics or have we been here before?
Is the 300-year-old Union in danger?
What is the state of Scottish politics today? Is it the end of traditional loyalties? Is a seismic shift in public opinion underway? How will the Scottish landscape look in the future?
Scotland: The Road Divides is a hard-hitting, incisive, and informed look at where the devolution journey has taken us - from the heady days of the new Blair government in 1997 to the dramatic events of 2007 - and where we go from here.
Arguing that the Union must adapt to survive, McLeish and Brown contend that the devolution referendum paved the way for a bold new constitutional settlement. A contentious and pertinent commentary, this book maintains that many polititians have not come to terms with the dramatic changes and do not appear to understand the ‘new politics’, or the new Union.
