Scotland is a nation that forms part of the United Kingdom. It became part of the United Kingdom in 1707 through the Act of Union and, until the creation of a Scottish Parliament in 1999, legislative power resided in the House of Commons. Scottish home rule first became a political issue in the 1880s, and since the 1930s the Scottish National Party has campaigned for full independence. In the referendum on devolution held on 1 May 1979, the Scots narrowly supported the proposal (yes 51.6%; turn-out 63.6%), but the result failed to win the required support of 40% of the total electorate. Following the election of the Labour Party on 1 May 1997 a second referendum was held on 11 September of that year. The Scottish electorate were asked both if they supported proposals for devolution (yes 74.3%; turn-out 60.4%) and whether Scotland should have its own tax-raising powers (yes 63.5%). The Scottish Parliament was established in the capital Edinburgh and the first elections to it were held in 1999. The Scottish Parliament has powers to legislate in such matters as education, health, prisons, tourism and transport.
The 129-seat parliament is elected every four years by a system of proportional representation. The Parliament then elects a First Minister; at the most recent elections, held on 1 May 2003, Jack McConnell of the Labour Party was re-elected as First Minister of Scotland. He leads a second Labour-Liberal coalition. At present 39% of the Members of the Scottish Parliament are women.
Economy: The Scottish economy has traditionally been dominated by the coal and steel industries. Heavy industry suffered a number of periods of decline and, since the 1970s, there has been no revival. During the 1980s deindustrialization led to high rates of unemployment—more than 15% in 1984—and poverty. The economy is now concentrated on the North Sea oil reserves first discovered in the 1970s 150 km east of Aberdeen, as well as the growing service, finance and tourism industries. Unemployment has fallen to around 6% (2002), though it remains higher than the UK average. Wages in Scotland are around 91% of the UK average (2002). The population of Scotland—5.05m.—is in decline; the country has a lower birth rate than the UK average and the lowest life expectancy in Western Europe.
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