Building sub-national government
The biggest lesson from the Scottish Parliament election: if you are determined to make and act on the argument about identity politics you should do it well
Scotland recently re-elected the SNP to run the Scottish government, albeit with a reduced majority. A new development was the rise of the Scottish Conservatives, who claimed second place after an increased vote share. Here, Paul Cairney discusses the implications the vote has for a potential future second independence referendum. Similar PostsBeyond anecdotes on lowering […]
The SNP’s radical constitutionalism vs its need to appear as a ‘safe pair of hands’ remains its key strategic dilemma
The SNP won an unprecedented third term in Holyrood, but despite securing more constituency votes than ever before, lost its overall majority. Here, James Mitchell digests the results, and argues that the SNP’s strategic dilemma – simultaneously needing to appear as a safe pair of hands while at the same time proposing a radical new […]
Does Nicola Sturgeon’s refusal to increase the Additional Rate to 50p unless it is increased in the rest of the UK undermine the case for tax devolution?
Nicola Sturgeon recently let her opposition to an increased top rate of income tax to 50p be known, arguing that such a move would be desirable only were it implemented across the whole of the United Kingdom. Here, David Eiser weighs up the political and economic case for increasing the rate, and whether stance is inconsistent […]
Public consultations do not currently enable all stakeholders to effectively contribute to the legislative process
In a recent study, Helen Taylor and Axel Kaehne looked at responses to the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Bill to consider how effective the public consultation process is at incorporating wider expertise into the legislative process. The findings highlighted a number of issues relating to both the nature of responses and the way in […]
EVEL is unlikely to offer a sustainable solution to the West Lothian question
Last month the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee published a report on English votes for English laws in which significant doubts were raised about whether the new standing orders are a sustainable solution to the West Lothian question. The committee’s chair, Bernard Jenkin, outlines his committee’s findings and argues that the government […]
Southern Powerhouse: A chaotic process endangers combined authority deals
It may be Budget day before we learn whether any part of central southern England will reach an agreement with the government on a ‘devolution deal’. But the chaotic process of recent months may have damaged the credibility of what is, at its heart, a very good idea, explains John Denham. Similar PostsAssessing England’s metro-mayors: […]
The Budget will give clues as to how far English devolution marks a radical change for local government
For all the focus on Europe, it could be devolution that is the critical constitutional change of our era. Ahead of tomorrow’s Budget announcement, Andrew Walker looks in depth at the prospects for radical change in local government. Similar PostsAssessing England’s metro-mayors: a mixed pictureSouthern Powerhouse: A chaotic process endangers combined authority dealsThe territorial politics of coronavirus: is […]
If devolution in England is to be effective the government needs to address the lack of process
The PSA recently published a new report that highlights a number of problems with associated with the current approach to devolution to England’s cities, which is based almost exclusively on informal governance. Ed Cox writes that, far from blaming local areas alone for the apparent disintegration of so many current negotiations, the government must take […]
Labour has been too slow to grasp the centrality of ‘place’ in post-crisis Britain
In a previous post for the SPERI blog reposted on Democratic Audit, Craig Berry argued that the Conservatives understand and exploit the electorate’s concern about ‘place’. In part two of the post, Dr Berry argues that Labour – under all recent leaders – has been slow to grasp place’s centrality to the UK electorate’s thinking. […]
The Conservatives understand – and exploit – the electorate’s concerns about ‘place’
The Conservatives’ time in office, since their entry into government with initial Liberal Democrat support, has seen large scale budget reductions across a range of policy areas. They have also pursued what is rhetorically a policy of devolution, with the Greater Manchester “Northern Powerhouse” at its centre. However, as Craig Berry argues, this may represent […]
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