Scottish and UK government relations must be election priority, Holyrood told

A professor of public policy has said managing relationships between the UK Government and Holyrood has to be a priority in the upcoming Scottish election – especially if it results in a minority administration.

Speaking at a Festival of Politics event at the Scottish Parliament about expectations and concerns for the Holyrood poll next May, Professor Nicola McEwen said that relationships across parties have become increasingly strained.

She said: “I think we can be pretty confident that we will end up with a fragmented parliament where there is not a single party majority.

“We will have a parliament of minorities – nothing new in that – but I think we will have a parliament of minorities that may find it more difficult to work across party lines.

“Partly because of the nature of relationships that have emerged over recent years, and we have seen an increasing polarisation among the parties.”

Prof McEwen is a professor of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Glasgow, director of the Centre for Public Policy, and senior fellow at the UK In A Changing Europe think tank.

She leads research on devolution and inter-institutional relations and provides advice to governments and public bodies.

Scotland has had devolved powers from the UK Parliament since 1998 and holds a degree of self-governance on matters like health and education. However, other key areas like foreign policy are still managed by the UK Government.

Prof McEwen advised that relationships across parties and between the UK and Scottish governments need to be prioritised in order for Holyrood to be able to successfully deliver on policies.

She said: “Even if there was a majority government – there won’t be, but even if there was – the Scottish Government cannot deliver things alone.

“It tends to set the framework and relies a lot on delivery partners, and a very big partner in that is local government.

“There’s the relationship between the Scottish Government and UK Government.

“It’s an area I’ve done quite a lot of research on over the years, and the relationship particularly before the general election was dire.

“That’s a problem, because it really matters … There are so many areas of policy that are still reserved, but they have an impact on the responsibilities of this parliament.”

She added: “Managing that relationship has to be a priority for any administration in Scotland. That has been better since the last election since the change of government, but there are still challenges and still issues.”