ABSTRACT
Most supporters of a Scottish Parliament within the union like to claim that it will be able to deal radically with Scotland’s social problems, and - in particular - will be able to diverge significantly from England where popular preferences seem to indicate that it ought to do so. Unionist opponents of the proposed parliament generally agree, but view the prospects of radical divergence as a reason not to have a parliament at all. Nationalist opponents, on the other hand, argue that a domestic parliament would be so constrained by the framework of the union as to represent no departure at all from the situation Scotland has faced for the last three centuries; such a parliament, they believe, would therefore be wholly ineffective as a means of social reform.
