ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Scotland profiles of longstanding democracies and of the European Union, and provides essential detail on history, electoral system, political parties and cleavages, and governments. The monarchies of England and Scotland were united in 1603, but it was not until 1707 that Queen Anne finally “forced” Scotland into the United Kingdom, despite objections in Scotland. In a minority situation, and under pressure from the single-party majority and Plaid Cymru, the Labour government in 1977 introduced legislation to allow for referenda on devolution in Scotland and Wales. Scotland uses a form of mixed-member proportional electoral system. There are thus two main cleavages in Scotland. The first is the traditional left-right cleavage, which overlaps with the distinction between the industrial and non-industrial areas. The second main cleavage is the national one, that is, whether Scotland should become independent or remain part of the United Kingdom.
