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Devolution Issues concerning women 171 12 Devolution ➤ Review of the background to devolution ➤ Past attempts to introduce devolution ➤ Analysis of the reasons why devolution was introduced after 1997 ➤ How devolution was implemented in various parts of the UK ➤ Analysis of different political attitudes towards devolution ➤ Speculation as to how successful the implementation of devolution has been BACKGROUND Movements which were dedicated to the introduction of greater selfgovernment for Britain’s national regions can be traced back as far as the nineteenth
and/or executive powers in three of the four nations within the United Kingdom. It has also provided for some decentralisation of government within England. Changes have ranged from giving some powers to a mayor and assembly in London to powers conferred on cities or city regions, but with other parts of England left without a regional ‘power house’. The devolution or disbursement of powers from the centre to national and regional levels has been a notable feature of the period since the end of the twentieth century. There are various models that have been
’ demands. Consequently, a Bill was drafted and passed, not without difficulty. The referendum for a Welsh assembly, however, was defeated by a four-to-one majority and the Scottish one, subject to an amendment won by opponents during the passing of the Bill that the majority had to exceed 40% of the electorate, was passed by too small a margin. Devolution then languished during the decade when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. Her brand of ultra-Conservatism, combined with her haughty Home Counties manner, however, managed to restoke the fires of nationalism and, by
Introduction Devolution was one of the defining issues in British politics during the late 1970s. It was the subject which eventually brought about the parliamentary defeat of the Labour government and precipitated a general election. Both Labour and the Conservatives had long grappled with the question of how desirable and how achievable a shift of administrative and legislative powers away from Westminster may have been. Although their chosen methods for achieving such a change, and their absolute belief in them, differed, the belief that
This book explains devolution today in terms of the evolution of past structures of government in the component parts of the United Kingdom. It highlights the importance of the English dimension and the role that England's territorial politics played in constitutional debates. Similarities and differences between how the components of the UK were governed are described. The book argues that the UK should be understood now, even more than pre-devolution, as a state of distinct unions, each with its own deeply rooted past and trajectory. Using previously unpublished primary material, as well as a wealth of secondary work, it offers a comprehensive account of the territorial constitution of the UK from the early twentieth century through to the operation of the new devolved system of government.
This book compares the politics, policies, and polity-building dynamics of devolution in Wales and decentralisation in the French region of Brittany. Empirically, it draws conclusions from in-depth fieldwork within the two regions and reports the findings of a comparative public-opinion survey. Theoretically, the book contributes towards our understanding of the comparative study of regions. Perhaps most impressive is how the case studies generally are based on, but also cast light back to, the nuanced theoretical framework on regional capacity established at the outset. The book uncovers the dynamics of devolution in Wales and decentralisation in Brittany through extensive face-to-face interviews: over two hundred interviews were carried out from 2001 to 2004, a formative stage in the development of the devolved institutions in Wales and also a period of expectation in Brittany.
No one rises so high as he who knows not whither he is going. (Oliver Cromwell) By 2022 there was greater clarity on the policy direction of devolution in England and the continuation of the MCAs and the metro-mayors had been clarified. The MCAs typified political and constitutional change in Britain in the ad hoc process of their establishment. All structures bear the mark of the circumstances and the temporal context in which they are produced. Their permanence
What explains the radically different extents to which Scottish devolution was Europeanised in the 1970s and in the 1990s? Was the deepening of European integration the key factor? As discussed in the pages below, no single factor can fully account for the variation, several changes among actors and institutions at each of the three levels – European, British, Scottish – played a role. Two connected factors, though, stand out as having had the greatest impact. First, the ideological change among left-of-centre elite actors that was
13 Integrity issues and devolution The advent of devolution, which brought a new layer of governance to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the late 1990s, has generated somewhat different provisions for regulating standards across the three jurisdictions. In this chapter we explore the divergent integrity arrangements in the several parts of the United Kingdom and evaluate the effects of these institutional arrangements. The CSPL was set up before devolution occurred and its remit initially covered the whole of the United Kingdom. However, as the devolved
3303 Devolution 31/3/09 08:43 Page 142 7 Devolution is a process: Wales Devolution is a process, not an event. (Ron Davies) Introduction Even more than Scotland, the nature of the union between Wales and the rest of Britain has undergone significant change over a relatively short period of time. A historical overview is essential to understand why Welsh devolution today differs from that which exists in Scotland. What becomes clear is that while Welsh devolution is a pale version of that in Scotland, Welsh institutional development has been more dramatic