Building sub-national government
Italy shows that the pursuit of regional autonomy within a federal structure can backfire
Talk has been rife in recent months about discussion of some variant of United Kingdom federalism, particularly in the wake of the Government’s decision to attempt to introduce English Votes for English Laws. But how practical is federalism? Angelo Salento explains how the creation of a new kind of federal union went wrong in Italy. […]
The Government’s new EVEL timeline still isn’t sufficient to facilitate the necessary debate and deliberation
In the immediate aftermath of Scotland’s vote to remain in the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister David Cameron proposed removing the rights of Scottish MPs to vote on ‘English only’ issues – a process which would be contemporaneous with the granting of new powers for Scotland. Katie Boyle argues that there are at least three […]
The Government’s narrow EVEL proposals are likely to repeat the mistakes of the past
In the wake of the Referendum on Scottish Independence, the Prime Minister announced that he would be reforming the operation of the House of Commons in order to disqualify Scottish Members of Parliament from voting on legislation deemed to be ‘English only’. On July 2nd, the Leader of the House of Commons Chris Grayling announced […]
A road map for pluralistic and ‘asymmetric’ devolution in the UK
Devolution to a model set out by the centre is not devolution at all, writes Jonathan Carr-West. We need local authorities and groups of local authorities in cities and counties to come forward with detailed and realistic proposals on how they plan to grow their local economies and improve local services and what powers they need […]
The Greater Manchester mayoralty is beginning to take shape, but there are still issues to be ironed out
Greater Manchester this week becomes the first combined metro area to have its own mayor – a decision from central government which has been met with much controversy. Tony Lloyd, the former Labour MP turned Police and Crime Commissioner has been chosen as the first interim mayor until elections can be organised. Professor Francesca Gains […]
Sub-regional devolution and the effects of austerity are combining to draw councils further away from communities
The local government sector has come under sustained fiscal pressure following the election of a Conservative-led Government in 2010, and is set for more after the election of a majority Conservative government in 2015. Alison Gardner argues that this, and the introduction of sub-regional levels of governance such as the reforms being rolled out in Greater […]
Time will tell whether the ousting of Mayor Lutfur Rahman has restored or denied democracy to Tower Hamlets
The ousting by the Government’s Department for Communities and Local Government and an independent commission of lawyers of Lutfur Rahman, who was twice Elected as Mayor of Tower Hamlets suggests that we expect different levels of behaviour from Bangadeshi politicians and those of the general white British political culture, argues Paul Thompson. Now the general election […]
A new constitutional settlement for the UK would be the most fitting Magna Carta celebration
On the day of the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, Andrew Blick argues that, in the realm of constitutional matters, we need to look forward as much as backward. Similar PostsAn independent Scotland may find it impossible to pursue a more liberal immigration policyUnfinished devolution has created constitutional imbalances in the UKTo appreciate the […]
The Government’s approach to “Metro Mayors” amounts to imposition rather than devolution
The newly elected Conservative majority government have made city deals and metro area devolution one of the cornerstones of their policy offer, with Greater Manchester set to get a metro mayor and others set to follow suit. John Pugh MP, in a recent Westminster Hall speech, argued that the Government’s policy threatens to ignore communities just […]
The government’s determination to shrink the state may make it more difficult to save the union
On Friday 5 June, the Constitution Unit and the Welsh Governance Centre jointly sponsored a conference of politicians and academics on ‘Devolution and the Future of The Union’ at the British Academy. It followed up a series of separate reports by them and by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and the Institute […]
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