More Powers for the Scottish Parliament
There is a groundswell of opinion in Scotland in favour of more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Some people want it to have a lot more power, even independence. Others would be content with just a few additional powers. Whatever the arguments, the question remains: who ultimately decides this question? Although Jack McConnell stated in Holyrood that “I agree that the people of Scotland should ultimately decide what Scotland's constitutional position should be”, this begs the questions of when and how would the people take that decision? In other countries the answers to these questions would be clearer, because they would be found in the country’s constitution. In this country, however, the answers vary at the whim of whichever party is in power. For example, in the 1978 devolution referendum the consent of at least 40% of those entitled to vote was required for devolution to go through, whereas in the more recent referendum that requirement was conveniently ignored. It is time that Scotland had constitutional clarity and stability.

The Rise of Englishness
There is a corresponding groundswell of opinion in England in favour of English votes for English matters. This will probably happen, in some form or another. It could take the form of only English MPs being allowed to debate and vote on English matters. Or it could take the form of an English Parliament, with powers equivalent to Scotland’s and with its own Executive. Either way, it will raise fundamental questions about the role of the UK Parliament because, once purely English business has been take away from it, it will not have much left to do. True, it will have defence and foreign policy, but these matters do not occupy much parliamentary time. And while many assume that a residual UK Parliament will retain overall responsibility for taxation, an English parliament is unlikely to accept a block grant system, simply because of the sheer scale of its expenditure. One way or another, major tax-raising powers will eventually come to Scotland and England. When combined with the advent of an English Parliament, that will have the effect of significantly diminishing the role of the UK Parliament. And that, in turn, will call the nature and future of the Union into serious question. It is much better to plan for this eventuality than to wait until it happens and respond in crisis mode. The planning will involve many things, but it will certainly involve making some clear decisions about the Constitution of Scotland and about our relationship with England and the other countries of the UK.

Diverging Moral Climates
Although there are some who want us to be more “British” and are struggling to define what this means, there can be little doubt that Scotland and England are diverging in some important respects. At one time it was thought that devolution would cater for the differences (e.g. free tuition fees, free care for the elderly, the treatment of young offenders etc.), but the Iraq war, Trident, immigration, and the UK Government’s closeness to a right-wing US Government suggests that the divergence runs much deeper and wider, into matters currently reserved to Westminster. This divergence is likely to increase and is unsustainable in the long run. It can be addressed only with new constitutional settlements in Scotland and England.