Scotland is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, along with the principality of Wales. Scotland and England were formerly separate states. Scotland, along with the rest of the United Kingdom, is governed primarily from Westminster. The secretary of state for Scotland administers government ministries relating to welfare and economy. Scotland is represented in the British Parliament by 72 members. Scotland has a legal system which is separate and different from that of the rest of Great Britain. In it, the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court, and its civil counterpart is the Court of Session. For the purposes of local government, Scotland was divided into 33 counties until 1975, when they were reorganized into nine administrative regions. Scotland has been part of the United Kingdom since the eighteenth century, but by the middle of this century a new nationalist movement had emerged. Home rule failed to win approval in a 1979 referendum but has gained new support in the early 1990s. The shift of power from Westminster to a ruling body in Scotland is known as devolution, and it is seen as a precursor to possible separation. The Scots voted for devolution last year and created their own legislative body, but it is no clear if the move for separation is as strong as was the move for devolution or if the two states will remain connected if separately governed.
When the Conservatives were in power, devolution was not on the agenda. Conservative Prime Minister John Major opposed bringing home rule to Scotland and Wales, although it would bring more votes to his party if both countries broke away from the UK. Labor Party leader Tony Blair supported devolution during his campaign, although it might result in lost votes for his party ("Highland Games" 45). With the coming to power of the Labour Party, supporters of regional government started to push for an assembly, seeing the...