Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Twenty years of devolution: Two decades of achievement, scandal and tragedy

When Donald Dewar spoke at the opening of the Scottish Parliament two decades ago he described the moment as “a new stage on a journey begun long ago and which has no end”.

The journey the late first minister was referring to had its origins in the old parliament – dissolved in 1707 – and included the long fight for Home Rule that was to lead to the first Scottish election exactly 20-years ago today.

Mr Dewar was also looking ahead to what would be a rocky path littered with tragedy and scandal, but which today has resulted in Holyrood firmly established as the focal point of Scottish public life.

Mr Dewar’s death in 2000 was one of the saddest of the many dramatic and controversial moments that have characterised devolution.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


But speaking on the eve of its 20th anniversary, one of Mr Dewar’s successors as first minister, Lord McConnell, said away from the dramas the parliament had made a “huge difference” to people’s lives.

According to Lord McConnell, Holyrood has been good for democracy, with one example of that being his administration’s decision to introduce the smoking ban.

“If the smoking ban had been an experiment by Westminster in Scotland there would have been riots in the streets – or riots in the pubs,” the former Labour first minister said.

Other ground-breaking social policies have included free personal care for the elderly, minimum pricing for alcohol and the legislation allowing same sex weddings.

More recently, new powers have seen Scotland diverge from the rest of the UK on income tax.

In terms of political drama, nothing could beat the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

In a parliament designed to be run by a coalition, Alex Salmond’s SNP defied the odds to win a majority in 2011.

What followed was a roller-coaster that ended up with Scotland voting by 55% to 45% to stay in the UK.

But with Nicola Sturgeon renewing calls for a second referendum, the issue remains in a country where politics has become characterised by the independence divide.

In the early days, the most damaging controversy to dog the early days of devolution was the spiralling cost and construction delays of the Scottish Parliament building.

As parliament sat in its temporary home on the Mound, the budget increase of the project at the other end of the Royal Mile from £40 million to more than £400 million fuelled much of the cynicism about devolution.

Then there was the downfall of Henry McLeish, the Labour politician who became first minister after Mr Dewar’s death.

Mr McLeish resigned after just over a year in the role after becoming embroiled in an “officegate” expenses controversy.

Another political leader to succumb to an expenses row was the late David McLetchie, who stepped down as Scottish Tory leader in 2005 after it was revealed he had claimed £11,500 on taxi fares over five years.

Some Scottish politicians even found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

The socialist firebrand Tommy Sheridan was sentenced to three years in jail for lying in court about an affair and a trip to a sex club.

Labour MSP Lord Watson of Invergowrie was jailed for eight months after setting fire to hotel curtains at a political dinner.

Former SNP MSP Bill Walker, meanwhile, was jailed after committing a series of attacks on three of his former wives and a step-daughter.

In his opening speech, Mr Dewar acknowledged mistakes would be made. But he also said politicians would strive to do right by the people of Scotland.

Despite set-backs, parliamentarians have tried to live up to that plea.

Twenty years after it was made, Holyrood survives and thrives.