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A level politics > devolution > Flashcards

devolution Flashcards

1
Q

Devolution

A

devolution is where central government grants power to subordinate authorities while retaining sovereignty.

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2
Q

Does devolution mean a change in sovereignty?

A

No - the ultimate power remains with the central government.

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3
Q

Where has power been devolved to in the UK?

A

Northern Ireland.
Scotland.
Wales.
Some regions of England.

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4
Q

What was the result in Scotland?

A

51.6% yes out of 64% turnout

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5
Q

What was the result of the 1997 Welsh Devolution Referendum?

A

50.3% voted in favour of devolution with a turnout of 50.2%

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6
Q

What was the result of the 1998 Northern Irish Good Friday Agreement Referendum?

A

72% yes out of 81% turnout

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7
Q

What are reserved powers?

A

Powers which affect the whole of the UK and are not suited to be handled separately.

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8
Q

What is the Sewel Convention?

A

A constitutional convention which states that the Westminster Parliament shall not legislate on areas of devolved power unless they are given permission to do so by the devolved assemblies.

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9
Q

Which Act of Parliament saw the Sewel Convention codified?

A

Scotland Act (2016).

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10
Q

Since 2009, which body has arbitrated disagreements between the regions of the UK?

A

The Supreme Court.

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11
Q

What did the Supreme Court rule?

A

That the Welsh Government had not exceeded its authority.

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12
Q

How are the devolved administrations funded?

A

via block grants from the Westminster Government.

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13
Q

Which formula is used to calculate funding?

A

The Barnett Formula.

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14
Q

As of 2018, what is the rate of public spending per person in England?

A

£9,296

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15
Q

What is it in Scotland?

A

£11,247

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16
Q

What is it in Wales?

A

£10,656

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17
Q

What is it in Northern Ireland?

A

£11,590

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18
Q

Why might it be said that this disparity in funding is fair?

A

Population density - Scotland is more sparsely populated than England - the cost of delivering public services in the Scottish Highlands will inevitably be higher than in suburban South East England.
The size of the public sector differs between countries - there is less privatisation than there is in England - water is nationalised in Scotland.

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19
Q

Why has the Barnett Formula been criticised in England?

A

People resent the fact that more money is being spent on Scottish, Welsh and Nothern Irish citizens than on English people, especially when provisions are offered in these countries that are not provided in England.

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20
Q

Questions from Devolution: The West Lothian Question

A

Why can Scottish and Northern Irish vote on English concerning only the UK but English MPs cant vote on devolved issues

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21
Q

How did David Cameron’s Government try to solve the West Lothian Question in 2015?

A

They added an additional Committee Stage - the Grand Committee Stage - to the legislative process. At this stage, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs are not able to have a say on English laws.

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22
Q

Did this solve the West Lothian Question?

A

No - all MPs would still be able to vote on the final version of a bill. Plus, it was not easy to denote an English-only matter.

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23
Q

Why do MPs from devolved regions claim that to have a vested interest in most legislation voted on by the Westminster Parliament?

A

Due to the mechanics of the Barnett Formula, the amount of money payed to the devolved areas is dependent upon how much the UK Government spends.

24
Q

Who’s responsibility was it to decide whether a particular bill constituted an English-only matter?

A

The Speaker of the House of Commons.

25
Q

Give an example of the West Lothian Question?

A

In 2016, the Conservative Govenrment proposed to relax Sunday trading rules in England and Wales - the motion was defeated by 317 votes to 286. Had 59 SNP MPs not voted against the change, the government would have won by 21 votes.

26
Q

Why they vote against it?

A

They were concerned that the bill would affect wage rates in Scotland.

27
Q

What happened to EVEL during Covid?

A

It was suspended.

28
Q

What happened in 2021?

A

Parliament voted to abolish EVEL entirely.

29
Q

What did this demonstrate?

A

That, as a consitutional reform, it had not worked.

30
Q

What was the result of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum?

A

55% - No
45% - Yes

31
Q

What percentage of Scottish people voted to remain in the EU in 2016?

A

62%

32
Q

Which voting system is used to elect MSPs?

A

AMS

33
Q

Over which legislative areas did the Scotland Act 1998 afford the Scottish Parliament authority?

A

Healthcare.
Agriculture
Transport
Local Government.
Sports and Arts.
Tax policy.
Welfare.
Housing.
Education.
Environment.

34
Q

What did the 2012 Scotland Act do?

A

Gave the Scottish Parliament new borrowing powers.
Changed the name of the executive from the Scottish Executive to the Scottish Government.
Allowed for the introduction of new taxes.
Alowed Scotland to set its own national speed limit.
Increased tax varying power.

35
Q

What did the Scotland Act 2016 do?

A

Gave Scotland control over rail franchising.
Gave control of the social care system.
Gave the right to recieve 50% of all VAT raised in Scotland.

36
Q

What was the pro-union campaign called?

A

Better Together - supported by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

37
Q

Why did the Scots not vote for independence?

A

THe UK treasury said that there would be no currency union. This would mean that an independent Scotland would have to create its own currency.
The European Union said that Scotland could automatically become a member if they opted for independence - they would have to apply for membership like any other country.
David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband pledged to offer Devo max if Scotland voted to stay.

38
Q

Thus, what type of government did Northern Ireland have during this period?

A

Direct rule from Westminster.

39
Q

What happened between 2017 and 2020 in respect of the Northern Irish budget?

A

It was set from Westminster - there was no devolved government.

40
Q

What type of government has Northern Ireland had since 2020?

A

Coalition - DUP, Sinn Fein, UUP, SDLP, Alliance.

41
Q

What happened in 2019?

A

The UK Parliament legalised abortion and same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland?

42
Q

Why was this controversial? (legalisation of abortion and same-sex marriage)

A

It breached the spirit of the Sewell Convention.

43
Q

Over which policy areas did the Northern Ireland Act 1998 give the Northern Irish Assembly authority?

A

Health and Social Services.
Education.
Agriculture.
Social Security.
Housing.
Local Government.
Transport.
Culture and Sport.

44
Q

How many seats are there in the Welsh Parliament?

A

60

45
Q

Over which policy areas did the Government of Wales Act 1998 give the Welsh Assembly authority?

A

Agriculture.
Health.
Housing.
Local Government.
Social Services.

46
Q

What did the Government of Wales Act 2006 do?

A

Gave the Welsh Assembly the power to ask for further devolved powers.
Allowed for an additional referendum to be held on primary legislative powers.

47
Q

What was the result of the 2011 Referendum on primary legislative powers?

A

64% Yes.

48
Q

What did the Wales Act 2014 do?

A

Devolved minor tax powers to Wales.

49
Q

What did the Wales Act 2017 do?

A

Devolved income tax varying power to Wales.
Devolved further powers over transport and energy to Wales.

50
Q

What happened during Covid?

A

Health is a devolved issue - the devolved administrations have responded to Covid differently.Health is a devolved issue - the devolved administrations have responded to Covid differently.

51
Q

Who has covid highlighted the positives of devolution?

A

Legislative laboratories.
Without a centralised, UK-wide approach, it was harder to contain Covid - the four governments diverged on key polcies like testing and track and trace.

52
Q

Over which areas did the the Greater London Authority Act 199 give the Greater London Authority control?

A

Transport
Policing
Fire and Rescue
Development
Strategic Planning

53
Q

What did the Greater London Authority Act 2007 do?

A

extended the powers of the Greater London Authority to include Climate change policy, waste managment and greater control over housing.

54
Q

devolution in wales and healthcare reforms

A

2013- organ transplant- from opt in to opt out- uk changed in 2020

2007- pay for prescription scrapped- northern ireland ended in 2010, scotland in 2011

55
Q

elected regional assemblies for

for-

A

bring decision making closer to the people and address differing interests of english regions

enhance democracy and catalyst for economic and cultural representation

cornwall- strong regional identity

A level politics (32 decks)

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