25 years after his death, how Donald Dewar fought to stop Labour colleagues watering down devolution
Donald Dewar had to go up against Labour heavyweights to bring about his vision of devolution for Scotland
Saturday, October 11, is the 25th anniversary of the death of Donald Dewar, statesman, great Scot, patriot, politician, visionary and Scotland’s first First Minister. He was the mastermind behind the remarkable White Paper that led so quickly to a referendum, the first elections to the new parliament and, after an absence of nearly 300 years, the return of a government of Scotland.
Remarkably, the future of Scotland and its politics was transformed in only three years, between 1997 and his tragic and untimely death in 2000. His vision, understanding of history and political skill shaped his legacy in an era that was less politically charged and more respectful.
Scotland is a tough place to build heroes. As a nation, we discount personal and political achievements quickly, the media’s interest soon moves on and it can be withering in its criticism. Giving praise is not one of Scotland’s strongest qualities. Sustaining adoration for individuals is hard.
Sharp intelligence, political skill and hard work
However, Dewar’s contribution was unique. A successful parliament has had an impact on the Scottish people, although we now appreciate that constitutional change is a ‘process, not an event’.
In the late 1990s, devolution was a radical change. It had never been part of the DNA of the highly centralised Westminster parliament, which had ruled without disruption for centuries.
This was the context in which Dewar had to win the battle for Scotland. One man’s sharp intelligence, political skill and sheer grinding hard work helped turn the dream into a reality.
When Labour came to power in 1997, for the first time in 18 years, there was a sense of euphoria and it would have been easy to lose focus, but Dewar would not be diverted. Throughout that summer, he got down to work.
He produced one of the most significant White Papers ever presented to parliament, spelling out with clarity and conviction how devolution would be delivered. It was his finest moment.
Not going to be easy
However, would the proposals stand up to the political and forensic scrutiny of the big beasts of Westminster? The key to this was a Cabinet sub-committee called Devolution-Scotland, Wales and the Regions (DSWR), involving Labour heavyweights like Jack Straw, David Blunkett, John Prescott and Derry Irvine, who each had strong views on devolution. The biggest reform of the British constitutional landscape was not going to be easy.
Throughout the weekly battles within the committee, Dewar’s White Paper emerged unscathed. Returning to Dover House, after long and gruelling committee sessions, Dewar would, in that laconic, self-deprecating and often dispiriting manner, bemoan how well or otherwise he had done.
His civil servants, however, would often be privately applauding another remarkable performance defending Scotland’s interests and the integrity of the White Paper, which was triumphantly endorsed in the referendum on September 11, 1997.
This was Dewar’s legacy: he did not fail his nation, to which he was politically, intellectually, historically, culturally and emotionally attached. There was to be no watered-down version of the White Paper that many in the Cabinet wanted to see.
A ‘Union of the Nations’
Working closely with the Secretary of State, I admired his remarkable focus and, in a way, ruthlessness, which was essential in making sure that Scotland got the devolved parliament that history demanded.
Dewar had remarkable insights as to how the future of devolution might unfold. In a speech called “Towards a modern and flexible constitution”, delivered in November 1998, the day after the passing of the Scotland Act, Dewar said: “Clearly, the debate should not stop when the doors of the Scottish Parliament open. What we have done in Scotland may be a catalyst for further change.”
He had a different vision of the Union. There had been a Union of the Crowns in 1603, a Union of the Parliaments in 1707, could there be a ‘Union of the Nations’ in the future? “It would be absurd to think that the UK is so fragile that any change to the constitutional settlement is bound to result in the fracturing of the whole,” he argued in the speech. “It would be even more absurd to believe that the UK can saunter on into the future with precisely the same set of arrangements that have served it in the past.”
He reinforced Scotland’s potential at the opening of the Scottish Parliament on July 1, 1999, saying: “For any Scot, today is a proud moment; a new stage on a journey begun long ago and which has no end. A Scottish Parliament. Not an end; a means to greater ends.” The constitutional genie was out of the bottle and there was no going back.
Cross-party collaboration
As well as a devolved parliament, Dewar sought to create a different kind of politics in Scotland, based on working with other parties. In October 1999, when he was First Minister, he shared a platform with the SNP’s Alex Salmond and Liberal Democrat Jim Wallace to launch a “Scotland in Europe” campaign to adopt the euro currency.
He also had the courage to concede Labour ever having a majority in the new parliament, by agreeing to proportional representation for the Holyrood elections, which made this very unlikely.
The Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood was another big project. Although much criticised, Dewar had the far-sightedness, tenacity and vision to press ahead but he sadly died before it was completed.
Today Holyrood is a source of great pride for our nation, one of the iconic parliament buildings in the world, in architecture and design, and also a statement about modern Scotland.
Donald Dewar’s political career stretched over four decades, but he was never in government until 1997. But in three short years, he left a lasting mark.
He had faith in his nation and truly embraced the soul of Scotland. Had he lived, he may have changed the face of post-devolution politics in so many different ways. Sadly, we will never know.
Henry McLeish became First Minister of Scotland following Donald Dewar’s death
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