History (Scotland)

'There shall be a Scottish parliament' Scotland Act 1998, section 1(1)

The Scottish parliament has the authority to initiate and pass primary legislation and to vary the basic rate of income tax by up to three pence in the pound from the UK-wide rate.

The transfer of powers from London to Edinburgh took place on July 1st 1999, when the parliament was officially opened by the Queen following its first meeting on May 12th. Elections had been held on May 6th as required by the Scotland Act 1998, which brought the parliament into existence.

Labour had made a manifesto commitment in its 1997 manifesto to hold a referendum on Scottish devolution and on tax-varying powers. After the May 1997 landslide a white paper was published in July. A referendum was held on September 11th 1999 in which 74.3 per cent of voters endorsed proposals for a parliament and 63.5 per cent backed tax-varying powers on a turnout 60.1 per cent of the electorate.

Scotland had shared a parliament with the rest of the United Kingdom since the Act of Union in 1707. The Scottish Office - the first recognition of Scotland as a distinct entity in UK government - was formed in 1885. The first secretary of state for Scotland (George Trevelyan) was appointed the following year.

The next key date was 1979. The government of James Callaghan held a referendum on self-government. Although a majority of those who voted backed the proposal, a low turnout meant that the 'yes' vote did not represent the required 40 per cent of the potential vote and the plan was shelved.

The Scottish Office was subsumed into the Department for Constitutional Affairs in 2003.