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The Scotland Act 1998 was one of the most significant pieces of constitutional legislation of the 1997�2010 Labour government. Yet, unlike the attempts to enact devolution in the 1970s, its parliamentary passage was relatively uncontroversial. In the 1970s, there was no party or public consensus for the proposed scheme, and no majority government to prevent various enforced amendments which ultimately led to its defeat in the March 1979 referendum. In the late 1990s, the situation was very different with much more consensus; a huge parliamentary majority with favourable legislative programming, and extensive advance policy development. The parliamentary progress of the bill was characterised by smooth passage and constructive scrutiny. Once enacted, the legislation was implemented smoothly and swiftly, though this did not prevent some unintended consequences, such as controversies over the Sewel convention and over the size of the Scottish parliament. The devolution scheme of the 1998 act enjoyed an extended honeymoon, with generally favourable political, financial and legal circumstances. However, recent years have seen the onset of more fluid and difficult times, which will test the robustness and viability of the 1998 act in the government of Scotland and of the United Kingdom.
