How does the Scottish Government score in the Worldwide Governance Indicators?
1: Voice and Accountability - good
2: Political Stability - good. Better than England
3:Government Effectiveness - good and more trusted than England
4: Regulatory Quality - good although an independent Scotland would need some new regulatory bodies
5: Rule of Law - good. It has a well-regarded legal sysem
6: Control of Corruption - good. Trust in Scottish government 4 times higher than trust in the UK government.
Scotland uses a proportional electoral system which means that an independent Scotland would have an inbuilt advantage over the UK in terms of voice and accountability. For example, in 2017, 47% of people said the Scottish Government was “very good” or “quite good’” at listening to people’s views before taking decisions, whereas only 16% said the same for the UK Government.
people trust the Scottish Government more than twice as much as they do the UK Government. There is, therefore, no evidence that government effectiveness in an independent Scotland would be an issue. In fact, the evidence suggests it is more likely to improve in terms of WGI score and to be more aligned to the values and priorities of the Scottish people.
By adopting EU standards, Scotland would already meet all of the requirements, although some new regulatory bodies would have to be established.
Scotland already has its own legal system, which is held in high regard throughout the world.
The Brexit fiasco has made it clear that the UK lacks the manpower, software and political ability to administer its own borders, customs processing and even to comprehend the issues at the Northern Irish border. This is a far bigger governance issue for the UK than the transition to independence would be for Scotland and the UK Government has failed dismally to rise to the challenge.
Brexit has been driven by an increasingly bullish version of British nationalism which refuses to accept that the UK’s position in the world has changed. The desire for “sovereignty” no longer means an insular, superior outlook which regards those outside our borders with suspicion.
Contrast that vision of the UK with the internationalist vision put forward by supporters of an independent Scotland, who seek to build bridges with our neighbours and trading partners and to forge new links with the rest of the world.
When it comes to governance it’s worth considering what the effect on Britain’s reputation as a well-governed, democratic country would be of Johnson’s refusal to acknowledge Scotland’s democratically articulated support for a second independence referendum. If returning a majority of Yes-supporting MSPs to the Scottish Parliament next week is not considered a clear indication that the country wants another say in its constitutional future what on earth would be?