Building sub-national government
The proposed merger of Newcastle and North Tyneside councils would diminish rather than enhance devolution
Against the backdrop of talks to create a North East of England shared local authority and moves by London councils to pool certain elements of back-office functions, a suggestion that Newcastle and North Tyneside Councils should merge has been made. It came from the Newcastle Liberal Democrats, and was met with hostility from local figures in the […]
Boris Johnson’s influence over the outcome of the EU referendum is highly overstated
Boris Johnson, the Conservative Mayor of London and MP for Uxbridge, recently announced that he would campaign for a vote to Leave the European Union in the forthcoming referendum on UK membership of that body. Here, Ben Worthy argues that Boris’s views aren’t as influential as his media admirers may suggest. Similar PostsA great or […]
Scottish devolution will now have a bigger fiscal dimension
A deal has finally been struck on the fiscal framework for the Scotland Bill. Holyrood will now be supported by a mixture of shared UK resources and its own tax revenue, levied in Scotland, but supplemented by UK resources as well. Here, Jim Gallagher reviews the compromise and the negotiations leading up to it. Similar PostsThe […]
The survival of power sharing and devolution through another crisis is an achievement but the Northern Irish settlement remains fragile
The path to political “normalisation” has been a regular feature of debate about Northern Ireland over the past two decades, since the paramilitaries (mostly) laid down their arms and the main republican and unionist parties (mostly) committed to making a success of power-sharing and devolution. Akash Paun looks at the latest developments. Similar PostsAs Scotland […]
Three things that must happen for devolution to be a success: economic development, revenue generation, and democracy
If devolution is to be a success, argues Rachel Laurence, those who control devolution policy must ensure that it stimulates the kind of economic development that will improve the prosperity of all communities within the devolved areas, generates greater levels and control of revenue and capital for regional government, and creates meaningful democratic structures. Similar […]
Negotiations about the fiscal framework for the Scotland Bill are becoming high political drama
The Scottish government has set a St Valentine’s Day deadline for the end of negotiations over the fiscal framework for the Scotland Bill but the two sides are struggling to read a deal. In this article, Jim Gallagher discusses the sticking points, and writes that the fiscal framework is of constitutional significance because it sets […]
The time is right for an audit of Scottish democracy
Last year, we launched Democratic Audit – Scotland to provide meaningful, in depth, scrutiny of Scotland’s democratic record. The aim of the site, explains Paul Cairney, is to provide a democratic audit, to examine the effectiveness of its political system, a democratic dashboard, to help members of the public make an informed choice when they participate in […]
The UK needs a devolved government for London
London is the UK’s undiscovered country and it is time we recognised it as the UK’s fifth constituent part by granting it the devolved political powers it deserves. As Tim Oliver argues, London’s size, unique population, economy, politics, identity, society, place in the UK, Europe and the world all add up to make it stand […]
‘Emotive nationalism’ does not explain Scotland’s young ‘Yes’ voters
The independence referendum of 2014 granted 16 and 17 year old Scots the right to vote in a nationwide contest for the first time, with the increased political engagement of young people proving to be one of the key positives to come out of the election. Here, Maddie Breeze, Hugo Gorringe, Lynn Jamieson and Michael Rosie look at […]
The real ‘Northern Powerhouse’? A collaborative relationship between Scotland and the North East and Cumbria holds real potential
Many progressive voices in the border regions of England were nervous about Scottish independence and continue to be so about new powers due to the potential for their region to lose out due to potential cross-border differences such as tax rates. However, Keith Shaw argues that increasing collaboration between Northumberland and Cumbria and the Scottish border counties […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.