Lindsay Paterson is Emeritus Professor of Education Policy, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. His main academic interests are in education, civic engagement and political attitudes. He has contributed to many debates in Scotland since the early 1990s on education, on social change, and on politics. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Alice Brown is Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Co-Director of the Governance of Scotland Forum. Publications include The Scottish Electorate (Macmillan, 1999) and Politics and Society in Scotland (Macmillan 1996; 1998). John Curtice is a Professor of Politics and Director of the Social Statistics Laboratory at Strathclyde University, and Research Consultant to the Scottish Centre for Social Research. He is a regular commentator in the Scottish and British media.

Publications include The Rise of New Labour, (with Heath, A. & Jowell, R.) (Oxford University Press, 2001) and New Scotland, New Politics? (with Paterson, L., Brown, A., Hinds, K., McCrone, D., Park, A., Sproston, K.

, & Surridge, P.) (Polygon, 2001). Kerstin Hinds is Senior Researcher, National Centre for Social Research. Co-author of Women's Social Attitudes (Cabinet Office, 2000), Trends in Attitudes to Health Care (National Centre, 2000) and New Scotland, New Politics (Polygon at Edinburgh, 2001).