Tartan takeover: The rise of the Scotocracy

The last Scottish monarch was not Idi Amin, whose pretensions have been immortalised in the 2006 film starring Forest Whitaker, but a dowdy lady named Anne Stuart.

Queen Anne was an ordinary person elevated to an extraordinary position. As she ruled over three realms, it was said that "she sometimes doth counsel take, and sometimes tea", but she was smart enough not to let kinship or sentiment come before the interests of the state. She sided with the English Protestants against her Catholic father, the deposed King James II. And to those who take a certain view of Scottish history, she committed a gross betrayal of the land of her forefathers 300 years ago yesterday, on 28 April 1707, when she signed the Act of Union that came into effect on 1 May.

The Act formally united England, Scotland and Wales in the British state. In view of some Scottish patriots, it was the day when the English finally achieved what they had been trying to do for four centuries - since Edward I put the Scottish patriot William Wallace through a horrible death: they had conquered Scotland, aided by treacherous Scots. Robbie Burns lamented: Fareweel to our Scottish fame/ We're bought and sold for English gold/ Such a parcel of rogues in a nation!

But many Englishmen thought it was the Scots who had played a blinder. Taking advantage of English fears that when Queen Anne died, childless, they would crown her pro-French, Roman Catholic brother James King of Scotland, the Scots obtained access to the power and wealth of England. One English aristocrat commented: "What a pother is here about a union with Scotland, of which all the advantage we shall have, will be no more than what a man gets by marrying a beggar, a louse for her portion." The argument about whether Scotland was "sold for English gold" or whether the English "got a louse for her portion" carries on, three centuries later.

A growing minority of Scottish voters seem to agree with Robbie Burns. The Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) is expected to emerge from this Thursday's elections as Scotland's largest party, on a manifesto that declares that "the 300-year old Union is no longer fit for purpose. It was never designed for the 21st-century world. It is well past its sell-by date and is holding Scotland back... Independence is the natural state for nations like our own." The SNP is planning a referendum on independence, pencilled in for the year 2010.

The leaders of all the mainstream British political parties take the opposite view, that the Scots have done very well out of the union and would be damaging their own interest by pulling out. Tony Blair told MPs recently, "taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom will lead to a huge economic risk for Scotland and for Scottish industry".

Others have gone a step further and implied that perhaps the English should be freeing themselves from Scottish domination. The Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was drawn into a furious exchange two years ago, after he had described the current Home Secretary, John Reid, as "Labour's all purpose attack dog". "You called me an attack dog because I have a Glasgow accent," Reid alleged. Paxman retaliated by suggesting Reid had a chip on his shoulder. "I mean, down here we live under a sort of Scottish Raj," he complained. This prompted unkind suggestions that Mr Paxman might have a personal problem with his co-presenter Kirsty Wark, or with the BBC's former political editor Andrew Marr, or some of the other authoritative Scots' voices heard in the media.

The ink was hardly dry on the 1707 Act before Scots took advantage of it to operate on a grander stage than their home country could supply. On the back of the new £20 notes there is a tribute to Adam Smith, an 18th-century Scot who revolutionised the way the (omega) English thought about money. On every light bulb there is stamped the letter W, in honour of the Scottish engineer, James Watt.

The Act meant that, for the first time, Scots travelled south as members of the English Parliament, sitting for Scottish constituencies. Without it, Gordon Brown could not aspire to be prime minister; John Reid, Des Browne, Alistair Darling and Douglas Alexander could not be Cabinet ministers, nor could Menzies Campbell be leading the Liberal Democrats.

When a Scottish peer, Lord Bute, was appointed Prime Minister in 1762, the Scots replaced the Jews and the Irish as England's most hated ethnic minority. Young James Boswell was at the opera in Covent Garden later that year when two Highland officers tried to take their seats in the audience. "The mob in the gallery roared out 'No Scots! No Scots! Out with them!', hissed and pelted them with apples," he noted in his diary. "My heart warmed to my countrymen... I hated the English; I wished from my soul that the union was broke."

The violent suppression of the Jacobite rebellion drove other Scots abroad, to create a highly successful diaspora. Mariscal James Keith went to work for the Empress of Russia, who sent him, in 1739, to negotiate a treaty with Turkey. After long talks, conducted through interpreters in Russian and Turkish, Keith was about to leave when the Turkish grand vizier suddenly declared, in a broad Scots accent, what a pleasure it was to see him again. "Dinna be surprised," he added. "I mind weel seein' you and your brother, when boys, passin' by to the school at Kirkcaldy."

Apart from the violent suppression of the Jacobites, Scotland mostly prospered from the union, and in the 19th century, Walter Scott reinvented a kitsch version of the country's history, involving kilts, bagpipes and romantic legends. Many people now think that the best Scottish artists are those such as Annie Lennox or Ewan MacGregor who do not feel they need to play up their origins. Self-consciously Scottish bands such as the Bay City Rollers or comics such as Billy Connolly, soon become tiresome.

Home Rule cropped up again as an issue only after the First World War, in which Scotland lost about one-tenth of its male population of military age. The SNP, founded in 1934, became a force in Scottish politics with a spectacular by-election victory in 1967. The discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s increased Scottish suspicions that they would be better off without the English. In October 1974, the SNP won 11 seats at Westminster. It was Labour's failure to give Scotland the devolved assembly it had been promised that ultimately brought the government down and let in Margaret Thatcher - creating another 20-year delay before Scotland's assembly came into being.

The Scots may or may not have been serious about wanting to go it alone, but the threat was enough to gain concessions from the London Parliament. Scotland's allocation of Commons seats was increased, out of proportion to its population. Until the 2005 election, there were 72 MPs from Scotland, 56 of whom were Labour. Scotland contained about one-twelfth of the population of the UK, but its MPs made up more than one in seven of the ruling party.

That over-representation was corrected in time for the last election, at which the number of Scottish MPs was cut back to 59, but Scotland still benefits from a perk known as the Barnett formula, which fixes relative levels of public spending in the four sections of the UK. In 2005, public spending in Scotland averaged £7,346 per year, in England £5,940.

The Edinburgh-based writer David Stenhouse, author of How the Scots Took Over London believes that the long political debate over independence in the 1970s and 1980s has made Scottish politicians and intellectuals sharper than their English counterparts.

"A generation of Scots, including some who are now in the Cabinet, became incredibly sussed and aware. You can also see that in a lot of Scottish writers and journalists. That has led to a situation where Scots are really dominant in the political classes generally, including writers and journalists," he said.

"Scotland is a very small country, so Scots on the make are burrowing into the heart of London. But at the same time, Scots are complaining that we are disadvantaged by being in Britain."

So, who did better out of the union, England or Scotland? The Scottish actor Sean Connery claimed that: "We have not been free for almost three centuries, and as the years have passed we have paid a higher and higher price for this bankrupt and out-of-date union. With control over our own resources Scotland would be the eighth richest nation in the industrial world - yet we are not permitted to decide on anything for ourselves."

Sir Sean is possibly the most famous living Scot and certainly the best-known advocate of Scottish independence, in whom patriotism burns so fiercely that he has promised that if Scotland becomes independent he will leave his tax exile and return to the homeland he left 50 years ago.

To another Scot who has done rather well outside Scotland, Andrew Marr, whose first book was a history of Scottish devolution, the question is less simple. "Individually, the Scots did better out of the union because they got access to pinnacles of the British empire," he said. "Whether they ended up running banks in Hong Kong or running the civil service in London, individually ambitious Scots were able to rise up a ladder that wasn't there before. But for that reason you could argue that Scotland, as Scotland, didn't do so well, because they lost many of their best people."

It is noticeable that Scottish devolution failed to draw back to Scotland any of the very large number of Scots who had achieved positions of prominence in the world outside. Even the front-rank Scottish politicians stuck with Westminster politics, leaving the Scottish Assembly to be run by players fit for the second division.

If Scotland has lost the services of its brightest children who are busy running England, we cannot always assume the English will be grateful. It was an Ulster politician, Steven King, who warned: "If the English are ruled by a Scottish prime minister, relying on the votes of Scottish MPs to implement his policies, the United Kingdom could head towards divorce."

"English nationalism is the dog that hasn't barked yet," Mr Stenhouse warned. "If we have this extraordinary situation where a Scot is prime minister, and the SNP is running Scotland, then I think the dog will start barking very loudly." s

Great Scots! Tartan, talented and taking over

Alex Kapranos

The lead singer of Franz Ferdinand has lived in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow, where he was a fixture on the local music scene long before the Mercury Prize-winning success of his band's debut album in 2004. Away from Franz Ferdinand, Kapranos writes about food and is increasingly involved in producing other bands.

Gerard Butler

Raised in Paisley, it was while studying law at the University of Glasgow that Butler was spotted in a London coffee shop by the playwright, director and actor Steven Berkoff. The chance meeting led to a role in Berkoff's Coriolanus and Butler has since landed leading film roles in The Phantom of the Opera and the recent blockbuster 300.

Christopher Kane

Although he had graduated from London's Central Saint Martins less than a year earlier, this 24-year-old Scot was the runaway success at this year's London Fashion Week. Raised in Newarthill, near Motherwell, Kane has already turned down a day-job with Donatella Versace in order to go it alone.

Sir Fred Goodwin

With Sir Fred as its chief executive, the Royal Bank of Scotland has spread itself worldwide, snapping up NatWest, Directline and Charter One Financial in the US, as well as investing £1bn in the Bank of China. Last month, RBS announced annual profits of £9.2bn, the biggest in Scottish business history.

Sir Sean Connery

A fierce advocate of Scottish independence, Connery shot to fame in 1962 playing James Bond. Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, himself an ex-pat Scot, loved Connery's accent in the role so much that in a later novel he gave Bond a Scottish father.

Andrew Marr

The Glasgow-born journalist arrived in London as a correspondent for The Scotsman, joined the Independent when it launched, became political editor of the BBC and is now one of its leading interviewers. His book, The Battle for Scotland, put the case for Scottish devolution.

Lord Blyth of Rowington

James Blyth, a Tory peer since 1995, has headed defence sales at the Ministry of Defence, and ran Boots the chemist for many years. Since 2000, he has chaired the world's biggest drinks company, Diageo, whose brands include Johnnie Walker, Haig, Guinness, Baileys, Smirnoff and many more.

Gordon Brown

Unlike Tony Blair, whose Scottish links have been exaggerated, the man who would be prime minister is a true son of the Manse, the son of a Church of Scotland minister, educated in Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh, who came south when he was elected MP for Dunfermline East in 1983. He has a home in Kirkcaldy.

Sir David & Sir Frederick Barclay

The publicity-shy twins made their money in property. They own the Ritz and Littlewoods, but are best known as media magnates. They bought the Telegraph titles in 2004 and, previously, The Scotsman. The sons of Scottish Roman Catholics, the Barclays grew up in west London.

Lord Falconer

Charles Falconer, born in Edinburgh, is head of the English judiciary, and Tony Blair's old flatmate. He was supposed to be the last Lord Chancellor, but the attempt to abolish the centuries-old post was botched. He followed Derry Irvine, another Scot, who succeeded Lord McKay of Clashfern, also a Scot.

Kirsty Wark

Interviewees on the BBC's Newsnight have learnt that Kirsty Wark's Scottish lilt is to be feared every bit as much as Jeremy Paxman's English accent. For over 10 years, she and husband Alan Clements also ran the production company Wark Clements, whose output included 10 one-hour documentaries on WW1.

Annie Lennox Hailing from Aberdeen, Lennox studied to be a classical musician at the Royal Academy of Music, but instead became the lead singer of the Tourists, before forming the Eurythmics with Dave Stewart. A recent VH1 poll called her the "greatest white soul singer alive".

Sir Alex Ferguson

After 20 years in charge of Manchester United, Ferguson has won more trophies than any English football manager. He played his first match for Queen's Park at the age of 16, while serving his apprenticeship in the Clyde shipyards. He is now a racehorse owner and friend of the prime minister

Helena Kennedy

The daughter of a Glasgow printer, Kennedy has spent her life battling for civil liberties and political reform. As a QC, she has acted in criminal trials, including that of the Guildford Four. A Labour peer, she chairs the Human Genetics Commission and is said to be "the nation's favourite Portia".

Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay

Irvine Laidlaw achieved fame by turning a small publishing company into the world's largest conference organiser, the Institute for International Research, before selling the company for £768m. He was a major bankroller of the Tory party in its lean years and has lately achieved notoriety as a tax exile.

Ewan McGregor

In 1988, months before he graduated from drama school, McGregor landed a lead role in Dennis Potter's six-part drama, Lipstick on Your Collar. He established himself in film through Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, went on to sing with Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge, and appear as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. He lives with his wife in north London.

John Reid

The Home Secretary is now, arguably, the third most powerful figure in the government, but given his bad relations with Gordon Brown, that may not last. His life has been spent in politics, starting as a student organiser in Scotland. He is seen as the hard man of the Cabinet

Andy Murray

The Dunblane teenager became Britain youngest ever Davis Cup player at 17, then reached the third round at Wimbledon at his first attempt. Last year, he made it to round four in three of the Grand Slam tournaments. Ranked 10th in the world, he is not yet 20 years old.

Michael Martin

The Speaker of the House of Commons holds one of the most powerful positions in politics. He can order the Prime Minister to come to the Commons, and can ban a badly behaved MP from the building. He cannot be sacked. Not bad for a former sheet-metal worker from Glasgow.

Alexander McCall Smith

The nation's favourite comic author was brought up partly in Scotland, partly in Zimbabwe. As a Scottish law professor, he went to Botswana to help set up a law school, an experience that inspired his 1998 novel The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which has been published worldwide. He lives in Edinburgh.

KT Tunstall

Best known for her live performances, former busker Tunstall - she was christened Kate, but initials are more rock'n'roll - is one of the most exciting performers to come out of Scotland in the past decade. "Suddenly I See" - from her multi-million-selling Eye to the Telescope album - opens the film The Devil Wears Prada.

Brian Souter & Ann Gloag

The brother and sister team cashed in on the privatisation of the bus services to found the Stagecoach Group. Their tactics in undercutting rivals attracted criticism and Souter is an opponent of homosexuality who gave £1m to a campaign to prevent the repeal of the infamous "Section 28" law.

Stella Tennant

The Scottish former supermodel (right) is the granddaughter of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and distantly related to the Mitford family and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. Tennant is now muse to Chanel's chief executive of design, Karl Lagerfeld, and lives in Scotland with her photographer husband, David Lasnet.

Cameron Mackintosh

The theatre impresario hit the big time with Cats, which was London's longest-running musical. He owns seven London theatres, and has had a string of hits including Mary Poppins, which he produced in London in 2004 and Broadway in 2006. His father was a Scot, his mother Maltese.

Tilda Swinton

The daughter of a major-general in the Scots Guards, Swinton was born in London but now lives in Nairn with her husband, the artist John Byrne. The early arthouse movies and her mid-1990s stint as a sleeping piece of performance art have now given way to more mainstream roles including her portrayal of the White Witch in the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia.

Sir Tom Hunter

Scotland's richest man (his estimated wealth is £780m) began his career selling trainers from the back of a van. In 1998, Hunter sold his Sports Division chain of shops for £250m to JJB Sports. He is now a major property owner and philanthropist, and much of his charitable work is committed to helping the lives of young people in Edinburgh. Hunter donated £1m to the 2007 BBC Comic Relief and, with Bill Clinton, has set up the Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative in Malawi and Rwanda.