New politics (Scotland)
Political slogan in Scotland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"New politics" was the term widely-used by the Scottish home rule movement and the Scottish Press to describe Scottish devolution before, during, and immediately after the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum. According to Professor James Mitchell of the University of Edinburgh, the term "was never precisely defined",[1] but implied several features within the rhetoric of pro-devolution campaign groups. These included:
- New political institutions, the most obvious being the Scottish Parliament[1]
- A new semi-proportional electoral system, adopting the additional-member system instead of the first-past-the-post used in UK general elections[1]
- Consociational, "consensus politics" (as opposed to the confrontational style of debate found in the House of Commons)[1]
- Increased involvement of civil society in governance, through "Civic Forums", consultations, and e-petitions as part of a wider emphasis on popular sovereignty[1]
- Increased transparency regarding political lobbying, historically made towards the Scotland Office[1]
- Greater representation of women in politics and fairer political institutions (e.g., family friendly opening hours, childcare provision), at a time when fewer than 10% of MPs were women[2]
"New politics" rode on an atmosphere of social and political change in Scotland after the stagnation and decline of the Thatcher years. It was attached to a wider 1990s cultural revival in anticipation of the new millenium, similar to Cool Britannia in England and exemplified by films like Trainspotting,[3] Glasgow's status as European City of Culture in 1990,[4] new musical acts like Primal Scream and Belle and Sebastian and a booming rave scene.[5]