The idea that devolution was something foisted on Scotland by Tony Blair and the EU ignores reality. The campaign for the Scottish Parliament took off basically just as soon as the dust had settled on the 1979 vote and by the mid 80s was kind of on the road to being unstoppable in Scotland itself. The Claim Of Right (see text below) was supported by the big bulk of Scottish politicians, local authorities, trade unions, churches, civic bodies etc. All Lib Dem and Labour MPs supported it bar Tam Dalyell. Only the Tories opposed the idea itself. The SNP did not sign up to it initially as although they obviously regard the Scottish people as sovereign they chose not to initially support the idea of a devolved parliament rather than an independent one. However later in the timeline they too did join the campaign for the devolved parliament. Scotland got the 2nd Devolution vote once Blair came to power basically because he had no choice. It was a major part of Labour policy in Scotland and was supported by many others across Scotland as a whole. Blair himself was not an ardent devolutionist and famously suggested the parliament would be a Parish Council which brought him some flak. It would have been a major loss of face and politically very damaging in Scotland had Labour not brought forward the Devolution vote. Whatever folks in the EU thought - the fact is Scotland got its devolved parliament because Scots wanted it and had campaigned long and hard for it.

The thing Labour misjudged of course was in thinking, and openly saying, that devolution would stop the push for independence in its tracks. Rather than killing off the SNP it gave them a platform where they could actually win power. Something that would be impossible to do at Westminster because of the demographics within that chamber.



"We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount. We further declare and pledge that our actions and deliberations shall be directed to the following ends: To agree a scheme for an Assembly or Parliament for Scotland; To mobilise Scottish opinion and ensure the approval of the Scottish people for that scheme; and To assert the right of the Scottish people to secure implementation of that scheme."