Devolution Flashcards
define devolution
devolution is delegating power from the UK Parliament to specific regions of the country (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
there is a lot of debate over whether devolution has improved democracy and representation in the UK
arguments to suggest that devolution has improved democracy and representation in the UK
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies has improved democracy and representation
has resolved conflicts, allowing for more effective and peaceful democracy
decentralises power, ensuring it is not all concentrated in one source
arguments to suggest that devolution has NOT improved democracy and representation in the UK
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies have not greatly improved democracy and representation
has created more divides than solutions, thus leading to instability which undermines democracy
does not sufficiently decentralise power as power still lies with parliament, who can reverse devolution
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies have improved democracy and representation: how have they improved democracy and representation?
STV is a highly proportional electoral system
used in Northern Ireland for Assembly elections, local government elections and European Parliament elections, also used in Scotland for council elections
one of the ways that it has improved democracy in these areas is due to the high levels of proportionality it provides
in other words, there is a very close correlation between the votes won and the seats awarded
it also offers a wider range of choice, not only between parties but also between candidates representing different wings and factions of the same party as multiple candidates from the same party are up for election
this means that there will always be someone that will appeal to people and someone that people want to be represented by, thus improving democracy
due to these strengths, it is the preferred system of the Electoral Reform Society
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies have improved democracy and representation: examples of STV being highly proportional
in the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly elections, Sinn Fein won 24% of the vote and 23% of the seats, demonstrating that the results under STV are fairer and better represent the views of the electorate rather than distorting them as FPTP does, which improves democracy
in the same year, the Green Party won 2.7% of the vote and 1.9% of the seats
if STV was used in 2015, the Liberal Democrats would’ve received 26 seats but under FPTP they only got 8, which did not reflect the number of votes that they had won across the country
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies have improved democracy and representation: what do these examples demonstrate?
these examples illustrate that the proportionality achieved under STV also helps smaller parties that are underrepresented under FPTP achieve a fairer number of seats that reflect the support they actually have, thus improving democracy by fostering a more pluralist system rather than letting the larger parties dominate
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies have not greatly improved democracy and representation: not totally proportional, weaker links to government
STV may have many positive features but this does not mean it has necessarily improved democracy
first of all, it is not totally proportional so does not give a truly representative outcome and still distorts voters’ wishes to some degree
secondly, the link between constituencies and MPs may be weaker than under FPTP, especially in large constituencies which are often too large for representatives to know well
electoral systems used in devolved assemblies have not greatly improved democracy and representation: complicated
moreover, it is quite a complicated system and harder to understand than other electoral systems
as a result of the complicated nature of STV, the outcome could be skewed as people may vote for their preferred candidate but randomly rank the others or just write numbers down as they appear on the ballot
this is known as donkey voting and can weaken democracy as the results may be ill-informed or completely random and not true to how the electorate genuinely feel
devolution has resolved conflicts, allowing for more peaceful and stable democracy: Northern Ireland
devolution has allowed for peaceful democracy by resolving conflicts
for instance, devolution in Northern Ireland via the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 helped mend rifts in society and end decades of violence seen between the unionist and nationalist communities by creating a power-sharing devolved body where both sides are equally represented and there is no single party domination
devolution has undeniably played a huge role in ending 30 years of violent disturbance in Northern Ireland and fostering a stronger and more peaceful democracy by creating a power-sharing government that enables representatives from both sides of the divide to work together and be fairly represented
devolution has not resolved conflicts and may actually create more divides than resolutions: growing nationalism in the different regions of the UK
devolution has arguably created more divides rather than ending them, leading to instability, which weakens democracy rather than strengthens it
there are growing divides between the regions of the UK in regards to national identity, which having devolved bodies seems to have strengthened
nationalist parties such as Plaid Cymru and the SNP have grown in significance within their respective devolved assemblies and both regions have seen a growth of nationalism and desire for independence
asymmetrical devolution has created tension between the assemblies as they have unequal powers
devolution has not resolved conflicts and may actually create more divides than resolutions: Northern Ireland
devolution has also not completely ended conflict in Northern Ireland, thus not providing the peaceful and stable democracy that many claim it does
for example, the Northern Ireland executive was suspended several times including for almost 5 years between 2002 and 2007 due to a breakdown of trust
cooperation between parties also broke down again in early 2017, triggering further elections
devolution decentralises power, ensuring that power is not concentrated into one source
decentralises power, ensures that power is not concentrated all in one source, thus acting as a check on government power which is vital in any democracy
prevents a remote and unaccountable government, or what Lord Hailsham referred to as an “elective dictatorship” – devolved bodies force the government to engage in regional issues and be more responsive
e.g. Scottish Independence
devolved bodies allow the regions to express opinions directly to the government more frequently and easily as they have a stronger link to government
they make the government more responsive by forcing them to listen to public opinion and prevents them from rushing through change without consulting the necessary regions and gaining their support, therefore acting as a check on government power
ensuring that the government is responsive and acts in the interests of the people is an important feature of any democracy, suggesting that improvements to democracy have been provided by devolution
devolution does not adequately decentralise power as ultimate power still lies with Parliament
does not provide a real check on government power as devolution can be reversed by Parliament using an act of parliament
parliament has the ultimate authority to delegate power to devolved bodies, but this also means that it can take this power away when it pleases and repeal legislation at any time using a simple majority in the House of Commons
