The Scottish Parliament

'There shall be a Scottish parliament. I like that.'
(The late Donald Dewar, Scotland's First Minister, 1997)

With these words, the 'settled will of the Scottish people' was expressed for a devolved parliament for Scotland. We present here a list of books on the politics, the people, and that building.

The Scottish Parliament (the institution, not the present building) officially opened for business on 1 July 1999, meeting for the first time in 300 years. Donald Dewar, the Glasgow Labour MSP for Anniesland, had been elected First Minister in the first elections held on 6 May of that year and David Steel of the Lib-Dems was voted Presiding Officer. The first sessions were held in the Church of Scotland's Assembly Halls on the Mound in Edinburgh that same month and one of the items for debate was the question of whether a new parliament building was required. It was. The final site of Holyrood at the foot of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh was chosen with two architect firms, EMBT of Barcelona and RMJM of Edinburgh, being awarded the design contract. The building was opened on 9 October 2004 after a stormy period of budgetary revisions, hold-ups, public reviews, and intense debate in the media.

The Scottish Parliament consists of 129 elected representatives, known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and has the power to pass legislation and alter the rate of tax. Devolved powers include education, health and prisons whilst other areas of decision-making, called Reserved Powers, are dealt with at Westminster. (Don't get us started on the West Lothian Question...)

General Interest

Politics and History titles