The Smith Commission must choose between a Union basedon either separation or sharing

The Smith Commission is the body tasked with making recommendations on the future status of Scotland within the UK. Christine Bell argues that there is a critical choice for the Commission (and any subsequent political negotiations over devolution in Scotland and beyond). One the one hand there is the option to pursue a Union based on a rationale of separation, where ‘sharing’ of power across the UK at Westminster will require to be justified on an on-going basis in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy. The alternative option is a Union based on a rationale of sharing, which views the Union as existing because it encapsulates and can protect a set of common baseline values to which constituent parts of the Union subscribe to and have a stake in. Credit: Andrew