There have been demands for greater autonomy for Scotland within the UK since the country joined the Union in 1707, but it was only in 1997- 25 years ago this month- that Scotland finally got its own parliament. 

1997 was the culmination of a long struggle for self-government led by a group of people in Scotland, some left-wing, others right, many non-descript. These people, the devolutionists, are the subject of today’s episode. Whilst few can, in and of itself, criticise any group’s desire for self-government, the matter of devolution- that is to say, the giving of powers- to parliaments in Scotland and Wales, has proven highly controversial. 

Many British commentators argue that the granting of a Parliament to the Scots, far from satisfying demands for self-government, merely gave them a taste for it, leading inevitably to calls for total separation from the UK. Whether that’s true is up for debate, but there is little doubt that many people in England have grown tired of the Scots, and are now for the first time contemplating English independence. 

My guest for this conversation is a man who can truly describe himself as a devolutionist. Lord Jack McConnell served as the First Minister of Scotland- the position now held by Nicola Sturgeon- from 2001 until 2007. Jack is the first former head of government I have had on the podcast, and it was brilliant to speak to him about his own experiences running Scotland in the early days of the parliament. We discuss the flourishing of the modern Scottish, as opposed to British, identity; the government of Margaret Thatcher as a catalyst for change, the complex interplay between Brexit and Scottish independence, the future of Jack’s Labour Party in Scotland, and much more.