SNP Perth River Tay

🏛️ SCOTLAND EXPLAINED

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿?

If Scotland has its own Parliament, why doesn't it make every law in Scotland?

When the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999, not every power was transferred to Holyrood. Some responsibilities were devolved to Scotland, meaning decisions in those areas would be made by the Scottish Parliament, while others remained with the UK Parliament.

Powers that remain with Westminster are known as reserved matters. These are areas where decisions are made for the whole United Kingdom.

Some reserved powers affect issues we hear about regularly in the news, while others operate quietly in the background.

Here are four examples of powers that remain reserved today, and why they are handled at UK level.

🛡️ 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
The UK has a single military structure covering the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Decisions about national defence, military operations and national security are therefore made by Westminster.

🌍 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀
The UK is represented internationally through embassies, treaties and diplomatic agreements. These responsibilities remain reserved so that the UK speaks with one voice in its dealings with other countries.

🛂 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The UK currently operates a single immigration system. Decisions about visas, asylum, citizenship and who can live and work in the UK are therefore made by Westminster.

💷 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆
Scotland uses pound sterling, which is managed by the Bank of England. Decisions about currency, interest rates and monetary policy remain reserved at UK level.

𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 was designed to divide responsibilities between different levels of government. Some decisions are made in Edinburgh, while others are made in London.

Understanding which powers are 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 and which are 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 can make Scottish politics much easier to follow, especially when responsibility for different decisions is being debated.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙.

Coming next in Scotland Explained: what is devolution?

🏛️ SCOTLAND EXPLAINED

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹?

Many people know that Scotland has its own parliament, but fewer know exactly what it's responsible for.

The Scottish parliament at Holyrood makes decisions on many of the issues that affect our daily lives, including:

✅ NHS Scotland and healthcare
✅ Education and schools
✅ Housing
✅ Transport within Scotland
✅ Agriculture and fisheries
✅ Justice and Scottish courts
✅ Environment and climate policy
✅ Local government
✅ Some taxes and social security benefits
✅ It also oversees Scotland's police and fire services.

However, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗞 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 at Westminster, including defence, immigration, foreign affairs and most welfare spending.

Understanding which parliament is responsible for which decisions help us better understand how Scotland is governed. It will also help show why independence is much needed.

📚 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 is a new series exploring how Scotland's political system works, one topic at a time.

Next instalment: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿?

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗬𝗲𝘁? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

After the intensity of the election campaign, the first week back at Holyrood has been about getting Scotland’s Parliament up and running again.

New MSPs have been inducted, members have taken the oath, committees are beginning to form, and Parliament has now voted to return John Swinney as First Minister once again.

𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀.

Away from the headlines and political theatre, the focus turns back to the issues that affect everyday life across Scotland, like our NHS, energy bills, transport, jobs, childcare, housing and public services.

𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

It’s about what happens afterwards, the decisions, priorities and direction that shape daily life for ordinary people.

I’ve been a bit quieter recently while taking some time to recharge and focus on health, but it feels like the right time to start joining the conversation again.

There’s still plenty worth discussing, protecting and improving.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗬𝗲𝘀 𝗬𝗲𝘁?🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄?

The Scottish National Party was 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟰 with a simple belief:

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

Over the decades, the SNP has grown from a small movement into the party of government; helping shape modern Scotland through investment in public services, support for communities and a vision built around fairness, opportunity and democracy.

At its heart, the SNP continues to stand for the idea that 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 who live and work here.

As Parliament prepares to vote for Scotland’s next First Minister on Tuesday (good luck John Swinney), it is a good moment to reflect on the values that continue to guide the party today:

✅ Opportunity
✅ Fairness
✅ Compassion
✅ Democracy
✅ A stronger future for Scotland

Because Scotland’s story is still being written.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗬𝗘𝗦 𝗬𝗲𝘁? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The dust has settled on an SNP landslide election result, so now what? It’s business as usual and John Swinney is making sure our focus stays firmly on a Scottish referendum. He still plans to hold a vote on a Section 30 order, and quite right too! Scotland must be free from Westminster before Nigel Farage gets sniff at becoming prime minister.

BREAKING: John Swinney has confirmed he plans to request another independence referendum from Westminster

The First Minister said he still plans to hold a vote on a Section 30 order, though the SNP did not achieve a majority

Great results for John Swinney holding Perthshire North and Jim Fairlie holding Perthshire South! Well done and thanks for voting for them

Polls are now closed.
Thank you to everyone who voted, volunteered, shared, phoned, knocked doors and helped get the SNP vote out across Scotland.