Chaotic scenes in Westminster as the Speaker of the House of Commons went against convention and outraged Conservative and SNP MPs alike are just the latest example of outdated and out-of-touch centralised British politics. Indeed, England has one of the least democratic and traditional systems in the UK, with Westminster still clinging on to centuries-old tradition. But does Scotland hold the answer to these woes? Could England learn from how politics is done north of the border and apply it to its own democracy?
The House of Commons vs Holyrood
I have never been to London let alone the Houses of Parliament, yet I have seen enough on our news channels and online to understand what a fiasco it is. The shouting and jeering remind me of things like the Jeremy Kyle show or the infamous Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting; displaying far too many elected representatives of the people show a deplorable lack of respect for each other. Indeed, when Jeremy Corbyn raised a member of the public’s point about this in his first Prime Minister’s Questions, it wasn’t long before the issue was dismissed and mocked by the government benches.
Contrast this with Holyrood. Not only have I kept up with the Scottish Parliament but no few days stay in Edinburgh would be complete for me without sitting in on a session in Holyrood’s public gallery. The last time I visited, nothing too exciting was being discussed and only few attended but the debate was handled professionally and respectfully. There was some occasional noise from Conservative MSPs but when that wasn’t happening, you could hear a pin drop. I am aware of noisier and more heated debates in the Scottish Parliament of course, but from what I have observed over the years, they have always been conducted with far more respect and professionalism than Westminster.
Progressive politics and the voting system
England’s voting system, which is used for UK-wide elections too, is argued to be one of the most unfair systems around. In this first-past-the-post system (FPTP), a candidate can win with a very small majority. One recent example of this is the 2019 UK general election where suspended SNP candidate Neale Hanvey won Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath with only 35.2%, winning with just over a third of the votes. The party with the overall majority of seats forms the government but the percentage of seats doesn’t add up to the percentage of votes the governing party won.
However, this is not the case for elections to the Scottish Parliament. FPTP is used for 73 constituencies across the country, there are 129 seats in total up for grabs with the remaining 56 MSPs elected across eight regions – meaning the number of seats a political party gets is equal to the number of votes the party receives. This hybrid voting system known as the Additional Members System ensures fairer and more proportional election results at the Scottish Parliament.
A big difference in conduct in Scotland
Recent referendums saw a nation divide and trouble caused on both sides of the debates, however, the 2014 Scottish independence referendum was conducted far better than the 2016 EU referendum.
The Scottish referendum held in 2014 asked voters north of the border “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
The Scottish Government legislated the franchise in 2014 so that for the first time in both Scottish voting history, 16 and 17-year-olds were given the vote. All British citizens over the age of 16 resident in Scotland were able to vote in the independence referendum as well as citizens of other Commonwealth and EU countries. Members of the House of Lords resident in Scotland were also allowed to vote in the referendum, as were Service/Crown personnel serving in the UK or overseas who were registered to vote in Scotland.
The UK Government, in contrast, refused to let 16 and 17-year-olds vote as well as EU citizens resident in the UK, unless they were from the Republic of Ireland, Malta or Cyprus.
While accusations of ‘fearmongering’ were thrown around by the YES campaign in 2014, the EU referendum was mired by allegations of unlawful campaigning. Fines were given to Vote Leave, Leave.EU, the Liberal Democrats and Open Britain (formerly the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign) for failing to deliver a complete and accurate spending return between 2017 and 2018 by the Electoral Commission.
There was also speculation of Russian interference with the referendum Leave campaign and an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office into the use of data analytics for political purposes. Vote Leave, Leave.EU, Cambridge Analytica and AggregateIQ were all accused with AggregateIQ being hit with a GDPR notice.
The aftermath of each referendum was also notably different. After the NO vote, First Minister Alex Salmond resigned and was succeeded by Nicola Sturgeon. There was some localised violence in Glasgow’s George Square, but on the whole, things carried on normally, the country peaceful and stable. By contrast, the aftermath of the EU referendum saw two changes in Prime Minister, two snap general elections, a seemingly never-ending parliamentary deadlock and the controversial prorogation of Parliament.
While politics is not perfect on either side of the border and there is always room for improvement, I believe that Scotland is miles ahead of England when it comes to modern and progressive politics. Perhaps Scotland could teach England the way politically and as a result, England and the whole United Kingdom might just wake up to a newer and fairer democracy.
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