News and opinion

Following today's release of the report ‘The Shameful Conquest of England’, read Ailsa Henderson's accompanying blog piece exploring the attitudes of the English to their neighbours in the UK, the mechanics of the Union, the UK’s relationship to the EU, and the governance of their own nation.

The majority of voters in England describe themselves as ‘angry’ or ‘fearful’ about British politics, according to new research co-published by the Centre on Constitutional Change. The research is published in the report ‘The Shameful Conquest of England’, co-authored by Professor Ailsa Henderson from the University of Edinburgh and Professor Richard Wyn Jones from Cardiff University.

At the heart of the debate over the relationship between age and support for Scotland seceding from the United Kingdom is a key question: do Scots become less likely to support secession as they age, or is the relationship due to differences between birth cohorts that persist over time?

Read Michael Keating as he explores shifting national identities, the inadequacies of traditional constitutional concepts, and the interplay of nationalism with social identities in Britain and Ireland. These topics are explored in greater detail in the new book, ‘Political Change across Britain and Ireland’, edited by Paul Gillespie, Michael Keating, and Nicola McEwen.

On 18th March, Liz Kendall outlined new reforms to UK social security policies. The UK social security system is generally considered to be highly centralised; however, through the Scotland Act 2016, the Scottish Government has developed various social security powers and responsibilities. Read Hayley Bennett and Kay Wiggan on what the UK Government reforms might mean for Scotland.

In some quarters, last year’s general election result in Scotland was considered the death knell for the independence movement. However, while the political winds finally turned against the nationalists, it would be a mistake to write off their founding political project - even as the world plunges into its most uncertain geopolitical era since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

We invite contributions that analyse Scotland’s political institutions, policies, and political identities - both in isolation and in comparative perspective - to enhance academic understanding of the upcoming election and where it might lead Scotland.

Adrian Florea argues that contested territories in practice enjoy varying degrees of international sovereignty over governance functions

Why do independence movements win overwhelming support nearly everywhere except in wealthy democracies of the global North?