A New Elite? Politicians and Civil Servants in Scotland after Devolution

Abstract

One aim of devolution in Scotland was to create a political class more representative of the country as a whole. In practice devolution has accelerated trends towards a professional background in Scottish representatives. There has been a significant increase in representativeness by gender; but not by social or occupational background. A professional Scottish political class is in the making. Devolution has not had a significant effect on the civil service in Scotland. Mobility between Edinburgh and London and between the public and private sectors was always low and Scottish civil servants tended to be less likely to gain a private or Oxbridge education. The Scottish Parliament gains in gender representation are not mirrored within the civil service