Devolution Flashcards
What manifesto was devolution included in
1997 election manifesto
Why was devolution introduced
To provide an expression for nationalism, silence calls for independence and to satisfy the calls for greater autonomy and democracy.
Part of new Labour’s wider constitutional reform programme to modernise and democratise Britain.
It was believed that devolution would result in improved public services and economic conditions.
Powers given by the Scotland Act 1998
Significant legislative and tax varying powers. It was given the most power out of all of the devolved bodies.
Included control over most public services, can be described as ‘service devolution’
When did SNP dominate Scotland
Until 2007 Labour was in power, after that SNP was in power
Run up to 2014 Scottish independence act
In the run up to and since the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, Scotland has gained more powers in order to try and satisfy the calls for more autonomy and disincentivise independence.
Particular in the Scotland Act 2016
What powers does the Scottish Parliament have now
- controls key public services e.g. health and social policy and education
- controls income tax rates and bands and has the right to 50% of all VAT raised in Scotland
- control its own composition and electoral system and since the Scotland Act 2016 can only be abolished with a referendum, making it a permanent part of the constitution.
- 2016 Scotland act also enshrined the Sewel Convention into law. Westminister must ask Holyrood for permission if legislating on a devolved matter.
Supreme Court ruling in 2022 (referendum)
November 2022, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the Scotland Act 1988 doesn’t give the Scottish Parliament the power to unilaterally legislate for an independence referendum. Instead, it is still a reserved power of the UK Parliament.
Wales initial devolution powers
No legislative powers
Only granted administrative devolution
Over the years, Wales has gained more powers in response to growing nationalism and public support for devolution. This was in particular after the 2011 Welsh Devolution Referendum, which saw a 64% vote for primary legislative powers, and the 2017 Wales Act, which gave Wales further powers and renamed the Welsh Assembly the Welsh Parliament.
Wales current devolved powers
Welsh Assembly now controls health and social services, education, the environment, housing, economic development and its own composition and elections, among other areas.
Collects 20% of Wales income taxes and can vary the bands and rates for this 10%.
Still doesn’t control law and order like the Scottish Parliament does, as the UK government blocked it.
Northern Ireland - why was devolution introduced
As part of a broader peace process between Catholics and Protestants following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Power sharing was key to this process.
Government in Stormont is very fragile, though, with suspensions in which the parties refuse to work together in government. During these suspensions, government functions are decided directly by the government in Westminister, during which some significant changes have been made, including the legalisation of same sex marriage.
What powers does NI have now?
- primary legislative control over areas not reserved for Westminister. Apart from corporation tax and policing and justice being devolved, the Northern Irish Assembly has gained few powers since and still lacks major tax raising powers.
Has service devolution
Assembly can also legislative on some reserved matter with the support of the NI secretary.
How have devolution developed in England
Certain powers were devolved in the Greater London Authority in 1998.
New Labour proposed Regional Assemblies in the early 2000’s, but dropped the idea after a 2004 referendum on a Regional Assembly in the North East of England received a 78% no vote.
They introduced city regions with elected ‘metro mayors’, including Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool.
Greater London Authority
- London has the most devolved powers in England, controlled by a directly elected mayor and elected London Assembly.
- responsibility and power over policing, transport and economic development.
City Regions
- each city has negotiated its own arrangements and powers on a bespoke basis.
Greater Manchester has blazed a trial in gaining substantial control over health.
West Lothian Question
Power being devolved to Scotland, NI and Wales raised the West Lothian Question.
This questioned why Scottish MPs should be able to vote on English matters in the UK Parliament that don’t affect their constituents, when English MPs cant do the same in the Scottish Parliament.
In order to tackle this EVEL was introduced.
EVEL
Introduced in 2015 allowing English MPs to veto any legislation affecting England only from being passed. It didn’t, however, allow English MPs to make their own laws.
It was criticised for creating two tiers of MPs, adding unnecessary complications and not providing a viable expression for English identity and was scrapped by Boris Johnson’s government in July 2021.
The Barnett Formula
System used to determine the amount of funding given to each devolved body.
Originally drawn up as a short term mechanism in 1979 and doesn’t take into account relative need.
How attitudes to devolution have changes
- Boris Johnson described devolution as a “disaster” and Tony Blair’s “biggest mistake” in November 2020 and failing to work closely with devolved administrations when in power, with frequent clashes with the Scottish and Welsh governments over COVID policies and constant criticism of Nicola Sturgeon in particular.
- Rishi Sunak recently increased tensions hugely by using a Section 35 order to block Scotland’s proposed gender reform bill, which would have introduced self-identification for those who wanted to change gender and allowed 16 and 17 year olds to do so.
Section 35 of the Scotland Act
- allows the UK Government to block a bill from a devolved body in exceptional circumstances if it believes it will have an adverse impact on UK-wide law.
COVID-19
- England and Northern Ireland lifted restrictions after the first lockdown quicker than Scotland and Wales did, opening non-essential retail as well as pubs and restaurants.
- due to the Nature of COVID this increased tensions
Mark Drakeford accused Boris Johnson of “disrespecting the people of Wales” and called the PM “really, really awful” for neglecting the Welsh population in the way he formulated and announced COVID policies.
higher education as a policy difference
England: coalition gov increased uni fees up to £9,250 per year for home students and scrapped most grants
Scotland: scrapped tuition fees in part by the Labour-Lib Dem coalition gov in 2001 and then completely by the SNP in 2008.
Wales: tuition fees are capped at £9,000 a year and there is a £1,000 grant to help with cost of living for all students, with higher grants for those from low income households.
Northern Ireland: tuition fees are capped at £4,630 per year and there are maintenance grants for students from lower income households.
Health as example of policy difference
England: prescription charge of £9.35 per item, whilst in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, prescription charges have been abolished.
In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there is also greater financial support for the costs of care for the elderly.
Impact of devolution on democracy : positive impact
- devolution has allowed for more effective representation, with devolved bodies able to respond to the concerns of their electorates.
- more proportional systems in these devolved areas have led to a more representative mix of parties.
- UK parliament still theoretically has the power to remove the powers of the devolved bodies and is therefore still theoretically sovereign.
Impact of devolution on democracy : negative impact
- devolution undermines parliamentary sovereignty is key to British democracy and that devolution undermines those by moving decision making power away from the UK parliament, which is elected by the whole of the UK.
- turnout in devolved assembly elections is generally low. 63.5% in the Scottish Parliament elections, the same in the 2022 Northern Irish Assembly elections.
- could be argued devolution undermines equal citizenship, as divergence in policy mean that citizens have different access to healthcare, education etc and are subject to different laws.
Impact of devolution on the unit of the UK : positive
- no nationalist movement has yet achieved independence and it can be argued that devolution has satisfied some demands for self-government and therefore helped to avoid the break up of the UK.
- devolution has led to a relatively stable peace in Northern Ireland, providing the framework for building long-term change.
- recent increases in support for independence can be attributed to the unpopularity and failure of recent Conservative governments rather than due to devolution itself.
Impact of devolution on the unity of the UK : negative
- asymmetric nature of devolution, with different powers and policies for different parts of the UK, can be seen as undermining the unity of the UK as different citizens have different levels of representation, are subject to different laws and different policies.
- it can be argued that devolution has field increased nationalism and calls for independence, by showing the ability of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to govern themselves and giving nationalist parties and politicians a platform.
- relations between devolved bodies/leaders and the UK government have been very strained and fragmented, with tensions and a lack of cooperation.
Economic and policy impacts of devolution: positive
- scope for experimentation has meant that some policies that have been tried in Scotland and other devolved bodies, have been adopted across the whole of the UK.
- Devolution has allowed for policy that reflects the interests of local populations, as can be seen in policy divergences over COVID, healthcare and education.
- in some areas effective policy making can be seen as a result of devolution.
Economic and policy impacts of devolution: negative
- it can be argued that devolution undermines equal citizenship, as divergence in policy mean that different citizens have different access to healthcare, education etc and are subject to different laws.
- some argue that devolved governments, particularly the SNP, focus too much on independence rather than day-to-day policy making.
Arguments for further devolution
- devolved bodies have shown they can run public services and decide policy, including during the COVID crisis. Giving them power would increase their ability to reflect local opinion and address local issues.
- Brexit allows a lot of policy areas that used to be governed by the EU to be given to devolved bodies, including in already devolved areas such as agriculture and energy.
- though Wales is smaller than Scotland and more closely integrated with England, there is no reason why Cardiff shouldn’t gain many of the powers Holyrood already enjoys.
- significant scope for more fiscal devolution
- further devolution may discourage Scotland from voting for independence
Arguments against further devolution to existing devolved bodies
- further devolution, especially in terms of tax raising powers, risks leading to greater disparities in the public services offered to people and the laws that govern people in the UK, further undermining equal citizenship.
- devolved bodies already hold a significant amount of of power.
- in many areas of regulation such as food and safety standards and environmental targets, national policies better protect people and limit the burden on businesses.
- devolved bodies have failed to prove the economic and political benefits of devolution.
Overall arguments for further devolution to England
- devolution is currently asymmetric, with England underrepresented within the context of the whole of the UK. This is especially important as it holds the majority of the UK’s population.
- further devolution to England could help solve the ‘West Lothian question’
- it could give an outlet for nationalism within England and therefore prevent it being manifested in divisive was, like it can very seen as having done in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Arguments against further devolution in the UK
- none of the proposed methods for representing England are practical
- there is little public appetite for further devolution to England.
- other measures could be taken to better represent the English population and increase fairness, rather than further devolution. These include reintroducing and adapting EVEL and scrapping the Barnett Formula.
Arguments for an English parliament
- it would complete devolution within the UK, making it symmetrical and grating the English population the same level of representation as the rest of the UK.
- it would create a more coherent system of devolution, with a federal UK parliament responsible for UK-wide issues, as opposed to Westminister currently being responsible for UK-wide issues, as opposed to Westminister currently being responsible for UK-wide issues combined with English issues.
- it would give English identity and interest effective political and institutional expression.
- it could be combined with the codification of the constitution to establish clear relations between the UK government and governments of the four nations.
Arguments against an English Parliament
- would only serve to create another layer of government and would create tensions between the English Parliament and government and the UK-wide government, with the former challenging the latter.
- it wouldn’t create a coherent or equal system, as England is much bigger in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and holds 85% of the UK’s population. Federalism works best when there is no dominant state or region.
- there is little support for an English Parliament within England.
Arguments for more regional devolution in England
- more city regions/ regional assemblies would bring decision making closer to the people and address the differing interests of each English region.
- as many consider England too large to have its own parliament, regional assemblies would create a more balanced devolution settlement within the UK.
- some areas, such as Cornwall and Yorkshire have a strong sense of regional identity.
Arguments against more regional devolution in England
- it would break up England and fail to provide expression/ a platform for English interests and identity, whilst few areas have a string sense of regional identity.
- there is potential for tensions between regional assemblies/ city regions and local government.
- urban interests would often dominate regional assemblies and drown out rural interests.
- there is little public support for a regional layer of government in England. The 2004 referendum on whether to introduce a regional assembly for the North East of England received a 78% no vote on a 47% turnout.
