Marking the first twenty years of the Scottish Parliament, this collection of essays assesses its impact on Scotland, the UK and Europe, and compares progress against pre-devolution hopes and expectations.

Tables, Contributors Introduction: A New Political Landscape? Gerry HassanSection One: The Political Institutions and Environment1. The Electorate and Elections, John Curtice2. Attitudes to Constitutional Change, Alisa Henderson3. The Scottish Government, Margaret Arnott4. The Scottish Civil Service, Zoe Ferguson5. The Scottish Parliament and ‘new politics’ at twenty, Emily St. Denny6. The Emergence of a Scottish Political Classes, Klaus Stolz7. The Committee System of the Scottish Parliament, Mark Shephard8. Scotland and Westminster and continental drift, Torcuil Crichton9. British political tradition and Scottish Local Government, Neil McGarvey10. Public Spending and Taxation, Richard KerleySection Two: Scotland’s Political Parties11. SNP: Devolution Winners, Craig McAngus12. The Fall of the House of Labour, Gerry Hassan13. The Scottish Conservative Party: Wilderness to Recovery, Alan Convery14. The Liberal Democrats: From Coalition to the Margins, David Torrance15. Scottish Greens: Radical and Relevant? Lynn Bennie16. Socialism in a Cold Climate: The Radical Left since 1999, Ewan GibbsSection Three: The Wider Environment17. Brexit, Kirsty Hughes18. Europe, David Gow19. Independence and Union Revisited: Recent Interpretations in Scottish History, Literature and Politics, Colin KiddSection Four: Inside Politics20. The Parliament sits in the Land, Ambrose Gillick and Lee Ivett21. Devolution: An Assessment, Jim Gallagher22. Inside the Changing Business of Governing Scotland, Marco G. Biagi23. The Journey of the Scottish Parliament to Maturity, Johann Lamont24. From Think Twice to Radical Devolution: A Conservative Movement, Murdo Fraser25. The Scottish Parliament: Past Dreams, Present Realities, Possible Futures, Joyce McMillan Appendix: A Chronology of Scottish Politics and Devolution 1997-2019, Gerry Hassan