Devolution and Electoral Politics in Scotland and Wales

In this article we examine the impact of devolution on electoral politics in Scotland and Wales. After reviewing the electoral history of the two territories, we set out the result for the 1999 and 2003 devolved elections, noting the substantial differences between voting patterns in these elections from those for the UK parliament. We then go on to consider the main reasons why voting patterns differ across the two types of poll. The paper concludes by summarizing the main findings and then considering both the implications of the findings for future devolved elections and the potential contribution of the study of such elections to broader theories of voting behavior.