Photo opportunity, 11.45 am, Friday June 28, West Park Conference Centre,319 Perth Rd, Dundee
Could Federalism be the solution to the debate over whether Scotland should be a devolved or independent nation, by giving it greater autonomy while maintaining its union with the rest of the UK?
The pros and cons of bringing federalism to the UK will be a topic for discussion at a major politics conference taking place at the University of Dundee on Friday June 28.
Scottish Governance: Devolution, Federalism or Independence? will feature speakers including David Davidson, MSP, author and broadcaster Paul Henderson Scott and the Federal Trust's Stanley Henig as politicians, academics, policy analysts and members of the public seek to clarify what is next for Scotland, four years after the Scotland Act 1998 brought devolution.
Stanley Henig of the Federal Trust will talk about the possibilities he believes a federal system, such as operates in Germany, Canada and the US, could bring to Scotland and the rest of the UK. The cases for maintaining Scotland's devolved status, or making it independent within and interdependent world will also be under scrutiny.
The conference has been co- organised by the University's Centre for European Political (CEPR)Research and the Federal Trust.
Dr Alex Wright, of the CEPR, said, "There is a gap between the aspirations of the bulk of Scotland's population and the actual outcome of devolution - many people got a wake-up call when they realised that so much power remained in London. Opinion now appears to be polarised between union and independence, while few people have considered or discussed a federal system.
"Technically, a federal system could potentially bring greater autonomy to Scotland by sharing power between the different tiers of government and creating supreme courts which have the power to challenge government legislation. However, if a federalism is to succeed, a number of issues need to be resolved, not least the apparent disinterest of the UK public in a federal system."