I wonder what you thought when you saw the title above… suspected my of being incredibly inward-looking, perhaps stretching to a comparison with Gordon Brown’s “British jobs for British workers”? Â It could be the title of a rather controversial post, I will grant you… and, I guess, is something to ponder.
But – for the moment – its nothing like that. Â I’m after a favour. Â Or rather, someone else is.
Dr Paul Cairney of the University of Aberdeen is in the midst of drafting a book which is likely to be of interest to readers of this blog. Â It is titled “The Scottish Political System Since Devolution:Â From New Politics to the New Scottish Government”. Â So really, all the stuff we talk about here – but probably (definitely!) written in a more comprehensible manner, and certainly better researched than our stuff.
Anyway, the phrase in the title of this post: Â “Scottish solutions for Scottish problems”. Â Dr Cairney is looking for the origin of it. Â Who said it first, and in what context? Â Does anyone know?
I couldn’t help, but figured someone here might be able to. Â If so, let us know in the comments. Â Thanks!
#1 by Don McC on August 3, 2011 - 5:06 pm
Donald Dewar, when Scottish Secretary, made a speech to the Scottish Council Development and Industry in August 1997, asserting that devoltion would “would provide an opportunity for business help a new Parliament find Scottish solutions for Scottish problems.”
Not sure if there’s an earlier usage of the phrase.
#2 by Don McC on August 3, 2011 - 5:14 pm
Typical, just as I click the post button, I come across a Scottish Affairs committed reports from 1993 that quotes a Scotland Office document from the same year that uses the same phrase:
http://www.scottishaffairs.org/backiss/pdfs/sa5/SA5_Parry.pdf
#3 by Rory on August 3, 2011 - 5:25 pm
I really don’t see how it’s inward-looking at all. Scotland does have it’s own distinct problems, caused by it’s own distinct history and culture, and I don’t think the political elites of Westminster are knowledgeable enough of the nature and causes of these problems to tackle them in an efficient, effective and sensitive way, while politicians in Scotland are almost certainly far more capable of finding creative solutions to them.
‘Scottish’ doesn’t necessarily need to have ethnic connotations. If you live here, want to live here, and you want to see Scotland flourish, then you are as Scottish as a Scot can be.
#4 by Malc on August 3, 2011 - 5:28 pm
We may get to that at another point – all I meant was that the connotations of the phraseology are inward-looking, But that wasn’t the point. Who used the phrase first?
#5 by Una on August 4, 2011 - 11:23 am
I long for the day when we can just say ‘the government’ and ‘solutions for problems’ without having to tag ‘scottish’ in front of everything. Another benefit of independence over devolution
#6 by Jeff on August 4, 2011 - 12:51 pm
“Scottish independence for Scottish problems”? I’m not entirely sure you haven’t undermined your own point there Una…. 😉
Personally I think the lack of understanding around Economics and how spending money on a global power’s products (I’m looking at you Tesco) over a local trader who sources provisions/inputs locally is one of Scotland’s biggest issues right now. The local currency idea in the Borders was a good one for focussing minds and even the Leith bag discount scheme helped Leith shops get a bit more trade.
We seem to have this mentality where we need to embrace globalisation and that almost means pointedly abandoning Scottish trade, yet practically every other European country is able to find the right balance between proud support of their own companies without being protectionist.
Anyway, not sure that has anything to do with Malc’s post but it certainly has nothing to do with the tiring independence vs unionist debate as it’s a problem that can be fixed just as easily either way.
#7 by Una on August 4, 2011 - 3:52 pm
Not undermined at all – I make no serious point about the benefits of union v independence, just a daft comment about naming conventions. I get tired of everything having to be tagged as Scottish (yawn). Local solutions and sustainable practices are of course a great thing.
#8 by Indy on August 3, 2011 - 6:46 pm
It was a buzz phrase around the time of Constitutional Convention, Scotland Forward etc. Closely associated (for me) with Donald Dewar. I am sure he used it in speeches and maybe even in documents.
#9 by Nikostratos on August 3, 2011 - 8:48 pm
Hmm! Not sure about that one but the one i do know is
English Solutions to Scottish problems caused by English solutions
Rabbie Burns -1707
#10 by Observer on August 3, 2011 - 10:10 pm
I always thought it was a variant of working class solutions for working class problems which was a bit of a socialist mantra.
Althought that would associate Donald Dewar who did say it with socialism.
#11 by EphemeralDeception on August 3, 2011 - 10:23 pm
“Dr Cairney is looking for the origin of it.”
Well the historical root source is possiblly the Declaration of Arbroath 😉
#12 by Lewis on August 4, 2011 - 3:01 am
“We need Scottish solutions to a Scottish problem”
Andrew Welsh, 1988
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1988/oct/25/state-of-the-economy#S6CV0139P0_19881025_HOC_319
“peculiarly Scottish problems which demanded specifically Scottish solutions”
Archibald Sinclair, 1932
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1932/jun/06/clause-51-application-to-scotland#S5CV0266P0_19320606_HOC_562
#13 by Lewis on August 4, 2011 - 3:17 am
“The Solicitor – General for Scotland says, “What have Englishmen got to do with this Bill? We are dealing with a peculiarly Scottish problem; let us deal with it in a peculiarly Scottish way.””
Arthur Balfour, 1908
http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1908/feb/25/small-landholders-scotland-bill-1#S4V0184P0_19080225_HOC_276
#14 by Dr William Reynolds on August 4, 2011 - 6:34 am
I also think that there is nothing inward looking about seeking Scottish solutions for Scottish problems.The conetations are that each nation has some unique circumstances and that while we can learn from other nations,we need to adapt solutions to fit the context in which they will be applied.I would think that many countries believe that solutions need to fit with the cultural mindset and other circumstances within the country.
I think that idea pr-dates Donald Dewar by a long way.I recall the SNP campaign in the early 1970;s where they aregued that econimic decisions taken in London did not suit the needs of the Scottish economy.In fact economic decisions taken in London frequentely harmed the Scottish economy.I am sure the argument pre-dated even 1974 since a major part of the economic argument has been that we need fiscal autonomy and the freedom to make our own decisions about tourism,fishing,and so on.I am certain that the Scots independent can help Dr Cairney with his research.
#15 by Dr William Reynolds on August 4, 2011 - 8:47 am
Sorry about the typo’s in the earlier blog Marc.I notice that since then people have come up with several souces.I would also suggest to Dr Cairney that he approaches Newsnet Scoland and Moridura.There are a lot of people on those sites with extensive historical knowledge.
It does not surprise me that the idea of Scottish solutions for Scottish problems goes back a very long way.The idea itself is (as I stated earlier) not exclusive to Scots or Scottish nationalism.It has its antecedents in the recognition that ideas coming from somewhere else need to be adapted to fit the local context.I think that people recognised that long before the politics of the 20th and 21st century.I learned that lesson through numerous business trips to developed countries.I recognised that if you wanted sustainability and growth you needed cultural sensitivity and local knowledge.Otherwise you return later to find very limited impact.I will soon go to Bangladesh on a project related to their lack of health professionals.while ideas have been taken from international experts,I do recognise that we need Bangladesh solutions for Bangladesh problems.To think otherwise would be very dumb.So Marc your refernce to Scottish solutions for Scottish problems being inward looking was very unhelpful.Understanding the origin of the idea does involve understanding how to implement change and achieve sustainability and growth in different contexts.
#16 by Paul Cairney on August 4, 2011 - 9:17 am
Thanks for the help. Here is how it fits into the chapter:
“We can look back on two contrasting predictions for the fate of public policy in Scotland after devolution. First, we might have expected a lot of activity and policy divergence. The famous phrase ‘Scottish solutions for Scottish problems’ sums up the idea that Scotland has distinct policy problems that require distinctive solutions, and perhaps that these solutions can only be produced in a devolved Scotland with dedicated policymaking institutions. It also suggests (although we are asking a lot from a five-word phrase) that a shift from the absence to the presence of those institutions would produce an avalanche of new and exciting policies after devolution. Second, we might have expected a net reduction in activity, as a relatively conservative Scotland breaks free from UK government policy processes characterised by constant policy innovation. A vote for devolution may have been ‘a vote to change institutions in order to stay the same’ (Mitchell, 2005: 26–7); a way to avoid policy change driven by the UK Government, in the context of the idea that devolution in 1979 could have saved Scotland from the worst excesses of Thatcherite policies (McCrone and Lewis, 1999: 17; McGarvey and Cairney: 32-9).
These contrasting visions are important reference points when we come to assess the difference that devolution has made to public policy. As with all public policy evaluation, this is not an objective process. Rather, we try to gauge the success and failure of policy by questioning the extent to which it lives up to our expectations. In the Scottish case, we either expect a great deal of change or very little; our expectations are likely to be unfulfilled if we expect a lot (as in the discussion of new politics in chapter 1) or we might be pleasantly surprised if we expect very little (which is perhaps the key to a contented life). The tendency in the Scottish policy literature is to identify unrealistic expectations, largely to point out that they were not fulfilled (see for example, Keating et al, 2003; McGarvey and Cairney, 2008: 199). It also reflects the wider finding in the policy literature that policy change tends to be incremental in most political systems. While many contemporary theories of public policy seek to explain major policy change, they do so on the understanding that it is rare; that incremental change is the norm (Cairney, 2012).
Of course, ‘policy divergence’ is not the same as ‘policy change’. The former suggests that the policies of two political systems are moving, or moving further, apart, while the latter suggests that policy in one system is moving away from policy in its past. Therefore, we may have significant policy change in Scotland without it marking divergence (as when both governments pursued legislation on anti-social behaviour), or moderate change in Scotland may help produce divergence if policy changes radically in England (as when the UK Government introduced tuition fees of up to £9000 shortly after the Scottish Government abolished the graduate endowment). Further, that divergence may only be temporary – a process that we can link to an even more famous phrase ‘laboratory of democracy’ (used to describe policy diffusion across US states). In other words, policy may diverge in the short term, only to converge in the long term as each government learns lessons from the other and seeks to emulate its decisions. Or, in many cases, UK government policies have a direct or indirect effect on Scottish policies which often limits divergence or causes convergence (particularly when both governments are led by the same party).
In this light, we have good reasons to hold very limited expectations about policy divergence in Scotland: few of us really believed that there would be a rush to major policy change (now that we have the benefit of hindsight); governments in all political systems face constraints on their ability to change policy; change in Scotland may not cause policy divergence; and, even if it does, that divergence may be replaced by convergence in the longer term. To explore these issues, the chapter is set out as follows …. “
#17 by Indy on August 4, 2011 - 1:04 pm
Thinking back to that era one of the other expectations of devolution is that it would deliver a new type of politics – “new politics” being another buzz phrase that went about at the time.
My recollection is a little hazy but it was all about making politics more participative, involving civic Scotland more and being more consensual, everyone working together to find Scottish solutions to Scottish problems. So the parliament had the circular chamber and there was lots of talk about moving away from the yah boo style of Westminster debate.
Safe to say that was an unealistic expectation!