Michael Cole discusses his latest article in Policy & Politics, 
“Committee scrutiny in Scotland: a comparative and bi-constitutional perspective“.

In the last few months, an intensive spotlight has been thrown on Scottish government and politics. First, almost 45% of the voters supported leaving the UK and second a consensus has emerged that the Scottish Parliament should acquire additional powers. Latterly, opinion polls have chronicled a surge in support for the SNP and potential electoral doom for Labour in Scotland and perhaps consequentially at UK level.   These contemporary events provided a good forward for research I have been undertaking over the last few years on scrutiny in the Scottish Parliament.  The central themes perhaps being is this resurgent self-confidence in Scottish institutions justified? And how do they differ from those at UK level?

The research looked at the nature of the committee scrutiny at the Parliament in terms of the selection of committee Continue reading →