Tag: James Mitchell
General election 2019: a different contest in Scotland
Ahead of the Westminster election on 12 December, James Mitchell explains how party competition in Scotland is shaped by interrelated questions of policy, competence, independence and Brexit, which for short-term tactical reasons places the Tories and SNP in direct competition, and squeezes Labour and the Lib Dems, while most likely leaving longer term issues unchanged until after the Scottish parliamentary elections of 2021.
How the SNP’s post-referendum membership has changed the party – and what has stayed the same
As the SNP meets in Aberdeen for its party conference, James Mitchell looks at the impact of the 2014 post-referendum surge in membership on the party’s organisation and finances, and how this precipitated the proposed changes to the party’s constitution.
Audit 2017: How democratic is local government in Scotland?
Local authorities play key roles in the devolved government of Scotland, as the only other source of elected legitimacy and as checks and balances on the domestic concentration of power in Scotland’s central institutions. As part of the 2017 Audit of UK Democracy, James Mitchell and the Democratic Audit team explore how democratically local councils have […]
The SNP’s radical constitutionalism vs its need to appear as a ‘safe pair of hands’ remains its key strategic dilemma
The SNP won an unprecedented third term in Holyrood, but despite securing more constituency votes than ever before, lost its overall majority. Here, James Mitchell digests the results, and argues that the SNP’s strategic dilemma – simultaneously needing to appear as a safe pair of hands while at the same time proposing a radical new […]
The Scottish Question: The notion that constitutional politics can be separated from ‘ordinary’ politics is unconvincing
With the Scottish referendum less than one year away, James Mitchell discusses three broad types of issues in the debate: those that are core, such as the economy, defence and welfare; those that are insulated, for example the lively debate on public service reform that continues outside of the Scottish referendum context; and issues that are being […]
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