devolution

Question 1

how was the beginning of Scottish devolution?

Answer 1

smooth. they had more primary legislative powers.

Question 2

how was the beginning of Welsh devolution?

Answer 2

they had 50/50 support in 1997 referendum and had fewer powers at the start.

Question 3

how was the beginning of Northern Ireland devolution?

Answer 3

less smooth. they had terrorism groups between the unionists and the nationalists.

Question 4

Name 3 Scottish devolution legislation

Answer 4

1. Scotland Act 1998
2. Scotland Act 2012
3. Scotland Act 2016

Question 5

What did Scotland Act 1998 do?

Answer 5

it gave the Scottish parliament primary legislative powers - eg. health, education, transport.

Question 6

What did Scotland Act 2012 do?

Answer 6

it gave the Scottish parliament tax-raising powers, stamp duty and landfill taxes, allowed the Scottish gov to borrow £5 billion and set up tax authority - Revenue Scotland. This makes it possible to fund essential services - police, justice systems, healthcare.

Question 7

What did Scotland Act 2016 do?

Answer 7

more transfer of powers like - authority of laws for equal opportunity, abortion, speed limits, and who could vote in elections to 16-17 year olds.

Question 8

Name 3 Welsh devolution legislation

Answer 8

1. Government of Wales Act 1998
2. Government of Wales Act 2006
3. Senned and Elections Act 2020

Question 9

What did the Government of Wales Act 1998 do?

Answer 9

set up the Welsh Assembly

Question 10

What did the Government of Wales Act 2006 do?

Answer 10

enabled the Welsh Assembly to ask Westminister for more primary legislative powers like health and transport

Question 11

What did the Senned and Elections Act 2020 do?

Answer 11

it formally changed the name of their legislature to Senned Cymru. it also gave the vote to 16 and 17 year olds

Question 12

What agreement/treaty ended the ‘Troubles’ era in Northern Ireland?

Answer 12

the Good Friday Agreement 1998

Question 13

What was the Troubles Era which lasted from 1969-1998 in NI?

Answer 13

A period where the unionists and nationalists were at a disagreement because the nationalists believed that England had too much control over NI.

This is due to:
1. unionist majority in Stormont Parliament
2. British Army troop presence in NI for peace keeping

Question 14

What did the Good Friday Agreement 1998 do?

Answer 14

return on devolved government

Question 15

what happened to Stormont Parliament due to the Trouble era?

Answer 15

dissolved in 1972 and abolished in 1973

Question 16

Name 4 ways devolution in NI is distinct to devolution in Scotland and Wales?

Answer 16

1. Party Structure - the unionists (DUP and UUP) and the nationalists (Sinn Fein and SDLUP)
2. the exec has power sharing embedded into its structure - the exec must be made up from both communities
3. Assembly members must designate themselves as ‘nationalist’, ‘unionist’, or ‘other’
4. they use the STV (single transferable vote) electoral system unlike the others who use AMS (Additional Member System)

Question 17

Who are the first and deputy first ministers of NI (the executive)?

Answer 17

fm - Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin
dfm - Emma Little-Pengelly, DUP (democratic unionist party)

Question 18

first minister of Scotland?

Answer 18

John Swinney, SNP

Question 19

first minister of Wales?

Answer 19

Eluned Morgan, Labour

Question 20

3 benefits of devolution

Answer 20

1. strengthen the union
2. enabled the peace process in NI and fostered cross-community cooperation
3. encourages creativity in policy making to test which ones will be effective. Eg. Scotland ban public smoking 2006, which extended to devolved powers, even England

Question 21

3 limitations of devolution

Answer 21

1. greater demand for independence which weakens the unity in the Uk - eg. Brexit in 2016 NI and Scotland heavily voted to remain despite Wales and England voting leave
2. inequalities in provision - eg. university tuition is free in Scotland but is £9,535 per year in England
3. Community relations in NI were still fragile after the GFA 1998. Assembly devolved between 2017-2020

Question 22

name 3 devolved powers

Question 23

name 3 reserved powers

Question 24

3 ways England is already informally devolved (local government)

Answer 24

1. City Mayors - after the Local Government Act 2000 any local council could hold a referendum to elect a mayor. Now you don’t need a referendum for that. Now there are 25 mayors by 2024
2. 21 County Councils - oversee services like education and social care in less urbanised towns eg. Suffolk
3. 62 Unitary Councils - oversee services like education and social care in large towns and cities eg. London

Question 25

3 Arguments FOR an English parliament

Answer 25

1. enable decentralisation from Westminister 2. Complete devolution and remove asymmetry 3. Give clear English identity and culture to flourish like it did for devolved regions - eg welsh assembly changed their name is Senned Cymru

Question 26

3 Arguments AGAINST an English parliament

Answer 26

1. English parliament would economically dominate a federal UK because of its size in comparison to the other devolved regions 2. EVEL has largely addressed the West Lothian Question by giving English MPs more control over laws dealing with England

Question 27

how has devolution impacted the british constitution?

Answer 27

it has given more power to devolved regions and made power less centralised. it has changed from a unitary framework to a quasi-federal framework - power shared although it's legally unitary.

Question 28

how has devolution impacted policy variation?

Answer 28

it has reduced Westminister control on domestic policy (the set of decisions that a government makes relating to things that directly affect the people in its own country) beyond England. Eg. scotland no university tuition fees but it's 9,535 in england

Question 29

how has devolution impacted alternate voting systems?

Answer 29

brought in alternative voting systems like AMS and STV. leads to greater cross-party cooperation like in Northern Ireland