Building sub-national government
One year on from Scotland’s independence referendum: how to save the union from the unionists
Scotland’s referendum on independence took place just over a year ago, with a narrow majority endorsing the proposition that the UK should remain in the United Kingdom. Another referendum may be on the horizon, however, with a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU providing a potential opportunity for the pro-independence SNP government to justify […]
If the Northern Powerhouse really is a ‘cruel deception’, then Jeremy Corbyn should set out a serious and substantial alternative
The Government’s devolution agenda has centred around the “Northern Powerhouse”, which is seeing Greater Manchester take the lead in enjoying a greater degree of autonomy from central government. Here, Paul Lakin reacts to Jeremy Corbyn’s take on the Northern Powerhouse, which he has termed a ‘cruel deception’. Lakin argues that Corbyn should set out an […]
Jeremy Corbyn’s republican and socialist sympathies add even greater uncertainty into Northern Ireland politics
The Northern Ireland government is in crisis, with the resignation of the First Minister Peter Robinson potentially seeing the power-sharing agreement between republicans and unionists heading for collapse. Neil Matthews, Christopher Raymond, and John Garry place recent events in the context of Jeremy Corbyn’s elevation to Labour leader, and argue that his status as being […]
In order to sustain itself, the UK must become a new and different Union
Jim Gallagher reflects on what the Scotland Bill tells us about the Scotland-UK relationship and devolution more broadly. He argues that the Bill presents a challenge to the unwritten constitution, and that now is the time to clarify and codify the territorial aspects to make a statement about how and why the Union hangs together. […]
People’s vews about what kind of region they want to live in will inform their views on local and regional devolution
The Northern Powerhouse project has picked up steam, with the Chancellor George Osborne using the policy to give Greater Manchester greater heft. This, and events in Scotland, have put regional and local devolution firmly on the agenda. Here, Ian Martin promotes an event which aims to bring people together in the Yorkshire area to think […]
The North-East Combined Authority represents another step in the uncertain progress of English devolution
The North East Combined Authority has had a quiet start to its life, in stark contrast to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority which was launched last year to great fanfare. The North East differs from Greater Manchester is the comparitive lack of unity between the constituent councils and council regions, and as John Fenwick argues, […]
Tax hyper-centralisation has failed to to produce balanced GDP per head. It is time to give devolution a chance
The UK is a centralised, and largely unitary state, despite the existence of an increasingly powerful Scottish parliament and government, as well as devolution for Wales, Northern Ireland, and London. Recent moves by the government have seen Greater Manchester empowered, too, but nonetheless most decisions are made in Whitehall. Tony Travers argues that the UK […]
Local political actors need the discretion to make sense of and adapt national policies to the local setting
Successive governments have made the devolution of power to the local or sub-national level a policy priority, with the current Government pushing ahead to create a “northern powerhouse” which will enjoy control over all manner of policy areas. Discussing a recent article in the Politics and Policy journal, Michael Barrett, Eivor Osborn, and Charlotte Sausman […]
Cornwall is a logical place to begin with rural devolution, but a coherent UK-wide plan is sorely needed
The Government has announced that the south-west county of Cornwall will be the first rural area in the country to receive powers over elements of public policy, following on from the City-region deals. Joanie Willett argues that Cornwall is a logical place to start owing to its rich cultural history and distinctive identity. However, an […]
‘English Votes for English Laws’ —a viable answer to the English Question?
Daniel Gover and Michael Kenny outline the government’s detailed proposals for introducing EVEL that were published last Thursday. They argue that, while incremental and modest in some respects, the proposals do raise wider points of constitutional principle which suggest English Votes could be the start rather than the end of a much longer process of […]
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