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At one stage, Scottish peers were entitled to elect sixteen representative peers to the House of Lords. In 1963, the Peerage Act was passed, allowing every Scottish peer to sit in the House of Lords. However, since the current Labour government's reforms of that house this is no longer the case and hereditary Scottish peers have to stand for election from amongst all eligible peers to sit in the house as part of a group of 92 entitled to do so.

Scotland has its own BBC services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and Scottish Gaelic language service, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, whilst others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK and further afield. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football leagues, separate from those of England.

During the 16th century, Scotland became embroiled in the throes of the Protestant Reformation. John Knox stood out as the primary figure in this battle. A disciple of John Calvin, Knox, waged fierce battles with the forces of Catholic orthodoxy and eventually converted the country to Presbyterianism. Only the most distant parts of the Highlands retained a taste for older forms. Presbyterianism first gained a foothold in 1556 but it didn't really get going until John Knox's firebrand oratory started stirring people up, most notably in Perth, when he roused the townsfolk so much that a mob scoured the countryside for Catholics after one of his sermons, destroying the old abbey at Scone in the process. Within a few years Parliament had legislated for a National Presbyterian church, the Catholic Queen had fled, Scotland had Protestant England rather than Catholic France as its main ally, and firm Presbyterian tutors were in charge of the upbringing of the infant King.

Scotland currently elects 72 MPs from 72 single-member constituencies to serve in the House of Commons. This is an over-representation and it is expected that the number will be reduced in time for the next General Election. Indeed, the boundary commission for Scotland has recommended a reduction to 59 MPs. This over-representation was widely accepted before to allow for a greater Scottish voice in the Commons, but since the establishment of a Scottish Parliament it has been felt that this is less necessary.

Scotland was historically represented in the UK government by the Secretary of State for Scotland. This post was established in the 1880s but recently it has been the topic of much speculation. Many believe that since devolution there is no need for such a role to exist. The current Secretary of State is Alastair Darling.

Banking in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England remains the central bank for the UK Government, three Scottish corporate banks still issue their own banknotes: (the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in England, Wales or Northern Ireland (although they can be used throughout the UK, particularly in Northern Ireland, where Irish banks also issue their own banknotes, and they are also freely accepted in the Channel Islands). In Scotland, neither they nor the Bank of England's notes rank as legal tender (as Scots law lacks the concept), however banknotes issued by any of the four banks meet with common acceptance

The Parliament is elected with a Proportional Representation electoral system, namely, the Additional Members System. This is unlike Westminster which is still elected by the First Past the Post method. It is elected every four years and contains 129 members (referred to as MSPs).

In 1512 under a treaty extending the Auld Alliance, all nationals of Scotland and France also became nationals of each other's countries, a status not repealed in France until 1903 and which may never have been repealed in Scotland. However a year later, the Auld Alliance had more disastrous effects when James IV was required to launch an invasion of England to support the French when they were attacked by the English under Henry VIII. The invasion was stopped decisively at the battle of Flodden Field during which the King, many of his nobles, and over 10,000 troops — The Flowers of the Forest — were killed. The extent of the disaster impacted throughout Scotland because of the large numbers killed, and once again Scotland's government lay in the hands of regents.

In 1603, the Scottish King James VI inherited the throne of England, and became James I of England. James moved to London and only returned to Scotland once. In 1707, the Scottish and English Parliaments signed the Treaty of Union, which was deeply unpopular in Scotland, as it had been negotiating from a position of economic weakness and suffering from English tariffs. Implementing the treaty involved dissolving both the English and the Scottish Parliaments, and transferring all their powers to a new Parliament sitting in London which then became the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A customs and monetary union also took place.

HM Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of the United Kingdom, is descended from King James VI of Scotland, the first Scottish monarch to also be King of England (James I of England from 1603). While some controversy has simmered amongst the Scottish public over her official title since her coronation (many believe that, being the first Queen Elizabeth of Scotland, she should use the style "Elizabeth I"), the courts of Scotland have confirmed "Elizabeth II" as her official title. She has said that in the future monarchs will follow the international ordinal tradition that, where a monarch reigns in a number of non-independent territories (or independent territories that agree to share a monarch) that each have a differing number of previous monarchs of the same name, the highest ordinal used in any of the territories is the one used across all.

This state of affairs continued until May 1999 when Scotland's Parliament was established following a referendum. Whereas the old Scottish Parliament had functioned as the full parliament of a sovereign state, the new parliament governs the country only on domestic matters, the United Kingdom Parliament having retained responsibility for Scotland's defence, international relations and certain other areas.

The traditional political divides of left and right have also intersected with arguments over devolution, which all the UK-wide parties have supported to some degree throughout their history (although both Labour and the Conservatives have swithered a number of times between supporting and opposing it). However, now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Scotland's constitutional status remains between those who support Scottish independence and those who oppose it. Recent trends indicate, according to the State of the Nation Poll 2004, that 66% of Scots would like the Scottish Parliament to have more powers, while only 2% would like to see the powers returned to Westminster.

In 1468 the last great acquisition of Scottish territory occurred when James III married Margaret of Denmark, receiving the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands in payment of her dowry.

Scotland has distinct media from the rest of the UK. For example, it produces many national newspapers such as The Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid), The Herald broadsheet, based in Glasgow, and The Scotsman in Edinburgh. The Herald, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald, changed its name to promote a national rather than a regional identity, while The Scotsman, which used to be a broadsheet, recently switched to tabloid format. Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail (published by Daily Record parent company Trinity Mirror) and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively. Regional dailies include The Courier and Advertiser in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north.