ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broader UK context for Scottish devolution, and offers an assessment of the implications and consequences for the rest of the UK of what has already occurred and is now taking place in Scotland. It begins with a brief history of devolution in the UK and then progresses to a discussion of some of the more important issues, trends and challenges. It then provides an assessment of some possible alternative future pathways for the UK devolution project. The chapter explains the wide range of issues, factors and arguments associated with the devolution debate. Although devolution as a feature of British political life has been evident since the late nineteenth century, the home rule or devolution debate has faltered or stalled on many occasions. From the failure of the first Irish Home Rule Bill in 1886, the question of devolution for Scotland, Wales and England has frequently been considered as part of a wider constitutional settlement.
