Editing 1997 Scottish devolution referendum (section)

==Background==
[[File:1997 Yes Yes Logo.svg|thumb|Logo used by the Yes Campaign.]]
A [[1979 Scottish devolution referendum|referendum was held in 1979]] under a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government which stipulated that a [[Scottish Assembly]] would come into being if the referendum had been supported by 50% of votes cast plus a controversial rule whereby at least 40% of the electorate had to vote in favour. Although 51.6% voted in favour, this was only 32.9% of the electorate so the Assembly was not brought into being. Shortly afterwards, the predominantly anti-devolution-led [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] won the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]].

[[File:1997 No No Logo.svg|thumb|Logo used by the No Campaign.]] {{UK Referendums}}
That government put devolution to one side but it was a policy area that remained on the agenda of the Labour Party.<ref name="mitchell-1998" /> A [[Campaign for a Scottish Assembly]] was formed afterwards to continue the campaign. They brought together a committee of "prominent Scots" who drafted the document "[[A Claim of Right for Scotland]]".<ref name = "claim"/> The "Claim" was published in 1988 and signed by most Scottish politicians, local councils, trade unions and churches.<ref name = "claim">{{cite web |url=http://www.alba.org.uk/devolution/claimofright.html |title=The most influential document this century |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |first=Paul H. |last=Scott |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228030210/http://www.alba.org.uk/devolution/claimofright.html |archive-date=28 December 2011}}</ref> It was agreed to form a [[Scottish Constitutional Convention]], made up of existing MPs and councillors.

The Labour Party included the establishment of a Scottish Parliament in its manifesto for the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], which they won with a landslide majority of 179.<ref name="mitchell-1998">{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.pa.a028782 |title=The 1997 Devolution Referendum in Scotland |year=1998 |last1=Mitchell |first1=J. |last2=Denver |first2=D. |last3=Pattie |first3=C. |last4=Bochel |first4=H. |journal=Parliamentary Affairs |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=166–181 }}</ref>