Charting a New Political Notion: “Devolution Max” and its Circulation in Britain Since 2009

This paper focuses on a recently invented British political notion: that of “devolution max” (or “devo max”). The first aim of this paper is to trace the origin and chart the circulation of this political concept within the UK. “Devo max” dates back to the time when the Scottish National Party (SNP) formed its first ever minority government, in 2007, but it only became common political parlance after the SNP was elected to power for the second time, in 2011; it then took centre stage throughout the UK in the year 2012. However, the Edinburgh Agreement signed by the British and Scottish Governments on 15 October 2012 might have temporarily put an end to the debate on “devolution max”, at least until the results of the 2014 independence referendum. The second aim of this paper is to offer a definition of the “devolution max” notion by comparing and contrasting it with other constitutional reform proposals. Two other proposals for further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament will be examined: that embodied in the Scotland Act 2012, which will apply from 2015, and the “devolution plus” proposal put forward by a Scottish think tank. Such a comparison reveals that the main difference between “devo max” and other proposals for furthering devolution lies in the level of fiscal autonomy which would be granted to Scotland. Finally, two general conclusions will be drawn from the circulation and mainstreaming of the “devo max” notion and of the idea of a multi-option referendum to which it is linked. Firstly, the SNP’s invention and promotion of the idea of “devolution max” has allowed it to carve out a new political space for itself and has forced the Unionist parties to redefine their place on the Unionist-independence continuum. Secondly, the British-wide parties’ attitudes towards the “devolution max” concept has brought to light the difficulties that they have in adapting to the new multi-level politics in the UK