devolution Flashcards
What was devolution?
The transfer of powers to take decisions and make laws to a regional government
powers devolved regions have
Administrative powers
Powers to manage public services, like public transport, the school system, hospitals, etc. without being able to make new laws on them
Legislative powers
Powers to make new laws that only apply within the region
Financial powers
Powers to change the level of taxation (income tax, corporation tax) to raise more money (or cut taxes)
Which power do Wales and Northern Ireland NOT have?
Financial powers - They cannot increase or reduce taxes if they need extra money; Scotland can
How do they get money to run all the public services they are responsible for?
All 3 regions get a block grant of money from the UK government to run the public services they are responsible for. The amount is based on a fixed amount of spending per
inhabitant (‘Barnett formula’)
The impact of devolution: impact on devolved regions
- Different policies and laws
No university tuition fees in Scotland; right to vote at 16 in both Scotland and Wales; different COVID laws - Increased influence of regional parties (SNP, Plaid Cymru): Before 1999 they were minor parties with a few seats in the UK House of Commons. Since then they are
major parties within their region, especially the SNP, running a government - There has been a continuing demand for more powers, or even independence
Scottish independence referendum 2014
Wales further devolution referendum 2011
What difference has devolution made for the rest of the UK?
UK government does not make laws on all topics for the whole country anymore. Some policies only apply to England 🡪 it has undermined parliamentary sovereignty.
It is now debatable whether the UK really is a unitary state
Rise of the SNP in the House of Commons too (56 seats in 2015! 47 since 2019)
Examples of other voting systems used in the UK as alternatives to FPTP
An unsatisfactory unequal situation –asymmetrical devolution.
‘asymmetrical devolution’
Devolution where different regions within a country have different powers and arrangements.
The opposite is where all regions have a similar powers, like in the US for example.
key problems of asymmetrical devolution
England feels ‘left out’; devolution appears
‘incomplete’
A very specific issue: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland still send MPs to the UK House of Commons. Those Scottish MPs get a vote on policies that only apply in England (e.g. university tuition fees,
solutions to asymmetrical devolution
Regional governments in regions of England (e.g. Yorkshire)
A regional government for the whole of England
An arrangement in Parliament where only English MPs get to vote on issues limited to England
Regions within England?
This was the original plan of the 1997 Labour government: regional assemblies
The most likely to vote ‘yes’ in a referendum was the North-East
Disadvantage of this option:
It was tried and failed; no popular support
english parliament
Disadvantages of this option:
82% of the UK population lives in England.
533 of 650 seats in the Commons are in
England. An English Parliament would be
very similar to the UK one - too much
overlap.
England has a population of 56 million,
with many regions with very different
interests - it wouldn’t offer the benefit of
devolution of decisions taken closer to the
people, reflecting local interests and
needs
EVEL
Devolution: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland decide on their own education, health care, etc.
No devolution for England
This means the UK Parliament still makes laws on education, health, etc for England
However, there are also still Scottish and Welsh MPs in the UK Parliament, who get to decide on English education and English healthcare – seen as not fair
Cameron’s solution: E V E L
EVEL
Solution: when there’s a topic that only
applies to England voted on in Parliament,
only MPs with an English constituency get to
vote.
Benefit for Conservatives:
they have a huge majority among English
MPs
Despite a number of issues, this was actually
introduced in 2015 and used 9 times
The Speaker of the House of Commons –
the person chairing debates – decides
whether a vote affects England only
In that case Scottish, Welsh and Northern
Irish MPs do not vote
issues remaining despite EVEL
What if the government party, with a
majority in the UK, has a minority in
England? This is unlikely to be a problem
for the Conservatives, more for Labour
Scottish and Welsh MPs protested that they
had become ‘second class’ MPs
It hasn’t given England devolution –
hardly anyone had heard of it, no English
government/policies/representatives
English devolution: cities and mayors
All of this has assumed that there has not been devolution
in England. But, that is not completely true:
Directly elected mayors and assemblies for large city-regions can be seen as a form of devolution
London since 2000
Since 2017 6 city-regions:
