Scottish parliament and government

Question 1

How many MSPs are there?

Answer 1

129

Question 2

How many MSPs are selected using FPTP?

Answer 2

73 (57% of the total)

Question 3

How many MSPs are additional members chosen through party lists?

Answer 3

56 (43% of the total)

Question 4

How does Scotland’s system of additional members work?

Answer 4

They are elected in 8 multi member regions, each of which selects 7 members using a regional list system of PR. These seats are allocated to parties on a corrective basis so that the distribution of seats more accurately reflects the vote share of the parties

Question 5

What does the Scottish government do?

Answer 5

Draws up policy proposals and implements legislation

Question 6

Who heads up the government and appoints the cabinet?

Answer 6

The first minister. This is usually the leader of the largest party

Question 7

Who ruled between 1999-2007?

Answer 7

A Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition

Question 8

What has been the governing party since 2007?

Answer 8

The SNP

Question 9

Who did Nicola Sturgeon replace as SNP leader in 2014?

Answer 9

Alex Salmond

Question 10

What was the governing arrangement in 2021?

Answer 10

The Greens and SNP are engaged in a power sharing agreement. It falls short of a coalition but has meant that the greens have gained two ministerial positions in return for pledging to support the SNP in major parliamentary votes

Question 11

What did the 1998 Scotland Act do?

Answer 11

Gave Scottish parliament primary legislative authority over a range of policy areas, such as law and order, health and education. It also gave the Scottish parliament tax raising powers

Question 12

How many pieces of legislation has the Scottish parliament passed since its creation?

Answer 12

Over 300

Question 13

What are reserved powers?

Answer 13

Policy areas that remain the sole responsibility of Westminster

Question 14

State three reserved powers

Answer 14

• UK constitution
• Defence and national security
• Foreign policy

Question 15

How did the 1998 Scotland Act preserve parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 15

Stated that Westminster remains sovereign in all areas, but has chosen to exercise this sovereignty by devolving responsibility and diminishing its own powers. Westminster retained the right to overrule Scotland in devolved policy areas. It could theoretically dissolve Holyrood

Question 16

What were the two main stipulations of the 2016 Scotland Act?

Answer 16

• Westminster will not legislate on dissolved matters without consent
• Scottish parliament and government are a permanent part of the UK’s constitutional arrangements and can therefore not be abolished without the consent of a referendum

Question 17

What did the UK government set up after the SNP entered office in 2007?

Answer 17

The Calman Comission, which considered the potential for further devolution

Question 18

What did the Calman Commission recommend?

Answer 18

Giving Scottish parliament the power to control the rate of income tax. This was enacted in the 2012 Scotland Act

Question 19

What put on independence referendum on the agenda?

Answer 19

The SNP’s landslide victory in 2011

Question 20

How did Westminster get around the fact that the constitution is a reserved matter during the independence referendum?

Answer 20

It granted a section 30 order, giving Scottish parliament temporary powers to hold a referendum

Question 21

Who fronted the Yes Scotland campaign?

Answer 21

The SNP

Question 22

What did the Yes Scotland campaign argue?

Answer 22

That the people of Scotland were in the best place to make decisions about Scotland, highlighting the social and economic policies an SNP government would pursue

Question 23

What was the SNPs vision for Scottish independence?

Answer 23

Wanted an independent Scotland that would keep a ‘personal union’ with the UK. They would retain the Queen as their head of state and the pound as a currency union with the UK. Scotland would have its own constitution and gain full responsibility for welfare, foreign and defence policy

Question 24

What was the pro union campaign called and who was it supported by?

Answer 24

Better Together, it was supported by Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems

Question 25

What did the Better Together campaign argue?

Answer 25

• An independent Scotland would damage its economy
• The UK treasury committee insisted there would be no union with the UK
• Argued that Scotland enjoyed the best of both worlds; with extensive devolution alongside the cultural, political and economic benefits of the union

Question 26

What did the European Commission warn about Scottish independence?

Answer 26

That an independent Scotland would not automatically become part of the EU

Question 27

What was the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum?

Answer 27

55.3% said no

Question 28

How many local authority areas returned a majority yes vote?

Answer 28

4

Question 29

What was the turnout for the Scottish independence referendum?

Answer 29

84.5%

Question 30

What two recent events have reignited demands for Scottish independence?

Answer 30

• The UK government’s handling of the COVID 19 pandemic
• Brexit (Scotland record a 62% vote to remain)`

Question 31

How did the 2021 Scottish parliament election fan the flames for devolution?

Answer 31

The SNP pledged to bring forward a referendum bill and pro-independence parties won a majority of seats

Question 32

How did the UK government respond to the increased fervour for independence following the 2021 elections?

Answer 32

They said they would not grant a section 30 order for a second referendum in the short term, and so any attempts by the Scottish government to hold a referendum could be challenged in the courts

Question 33

What do critics of independence now argue?

Answer 33

That a referendum held without the consent of Westminster would be illegitimate

Question 34

What do those in favour of independence now argue?

Answer 34

That Westminster is ignoring the will of the Scottish people and upholding the union on the basis of law rather than consent

Question 35

What did the leaders of the three main parties promise towards the end of the 2014 independence campaign?

Answer 35

Further devolution in the event of a no vote

Question 36

How have tax varying powers changed since 2014?

Answer 36

The 2016 Scotland Act devolved some control of income tax and bands and gave Scottish parliament 50% of the VAT revenue raised in Scotland

Question 37

What did the 2016 Scotland Act do aside from varying tax collection powers and providing constitutional protections for Holyrood?

Answer 37

• Devolved powers over some welfare benefits, like housing and disability
• A threshold of two thirds support in Scottish parliament was set up for extending the franchise

Question 38

What did the 2016 Scotland Act fall short of?

Answer 38

Devomax

Question 39

What is devomax?

Answer 39

Granting Scottish parliament power over all taxes, duties and spending

Question 40

What did the 2016 Scotland Act do symbolically?

Answer 40

Gave a major extension to devolution that made Holyrood far more powerful than the vast majority of sub national governments in Europe

Question 41

What kind of devolution had existed in Scotland since the 19th century?

Answer 41

Administrative devolution. An unelected Scottish executive administered various services on the behalf of Westminster

Question 42

What is the electoral system for Scottish parliament?

Answer 42

AMS