UK Quasi -Federalism

Question 1

what is a federal state

Answer 1

• sees sovereignty divided between two tiers of government
• power is shared between national government and regional government = EQUAL POWER
• regional government is protected by the constitution –> cannot be abolished or reformed significantly against
  its will

Question 2

what is a quasi-federal state

Answer 2

• national government are in charge
• central government of a unitary state devolves some of its powers to subnational governments
• has some features of a unitary and federal state
• legally there is a supreme legal authority located at the centre as in a unitary state, but the centre no longer makes domestic policy for some parts of the state
• the subnational tier of the gov is politically difficult to abolish

Question 3

legal sovereignty and sovereignty of WM in practice

Answer 3

• Parl has legal sovereignty, and WM can overule/abolish the devolved bodies
• in practice: WM is no longer sovereign over domestic S,W,NI matters and will not impose leg in devolved areas

Question 4

why has parl sov been limited in practice

Answer 4

• S act 2016, WM cannot legislate in devolved areas without consent and recognised devolved powers are a permanent part of the political landscape
• they cannot be abolished without a referendum

Question 5

how is the UK quasi federal

Answer 5

• WM: english domestic law but federal parl for S,W,NI –> reserved WM powers on major UK wide matters
• has a joint ministerial committee (where the gov is a lead player) and a supreme court

Question 6

how are devolved administrations funded

Answer 6

• block grants from the UK treasury (Barnett formula) calculated on average population

Question 7

what is the impact of the impact of this funding system and what is its criticisms

Answer 7

• S,W,NI gain more public spending per head –> NHS, Road maintenance etc.
• 2012/2013 –> E=97, W=111, S=116, NI=124
• problems: it amounts of an english subsidy of the rest of the UK and does not take into account the relevant needs of the population in each devolved country (older pop needs to spend more on pensions)

Question 8

policy divergence in health and education between devolved nations

Answer 8

• welfare state: scotland, new powers on tax and spending
• lockdown: different countries have stricter laws
• approach to brexit, education, healthcare etc

Question 9

how may policy differences be positive or negative

Answer 9

POSITIVES:
- devolved institutions can respond to the individual needs of their electorate
- ie public spending in scotland and plastic bag charges in wales

NEGATIVES:
- it challenges the principle of equal rights in the UK
- eg same sex marriages were not legal in NI previously

Question 10

what is british identity built around

Answer 10

• an umbrella identity that provides a common bond between the people of the UK while maintaining their distinct national identity
• often built around british state symbols –> monarchy, parliament, NHS

Question 11

how has national identity changes since 1997

Answer 11

• an increase in nationalism is palpable
• non english people see themselves as their individual country before being british
• devolution aimed to strengthen unity, but it has only become more fragile
• countries want more autonomy, and nationalism is a large threat, as the process of devolution is not complete and was asymmetrical

Question 12

positives of having a quasi federal state

Answer 12

• policies are more responsive to individual areas
• power sharing in northern ireland increased peace
• met demands to discourage scottish independence

Question 13

negatives of having a quasi federal state

Answer 13

• unfair distribution of funding across the union
• policy divergence undermines equal rights - abortion laws/same sex marriages in NI
• gave a platform to anti unionists groups
• conflict of ‘sovereignty’ in the UK –> no single authority

Question 14

challenges to the westminister model

Answer 14

• uncodified const –> defacto law, human rights act 1998, scotland act 2016
• parl sov –> eu membership, devolution, human rights act, use of referendums
• collective gov –> presidentialisation, dilution of collective responsibility
• decline of party cohesio, reduced likelihood of a party majority
• limited role of the judiciary –> increased judicial review, creation of the supreme court
• unitary state –> legislative devolution, increased support for scottish independence, english question
• first past the post –> changes to its operation, new electoral systems beyond WM
• two party systems –> decline in C+L support, rise in multi party politics
• representative democracy –> increased use of direct democracy (ref), fall in turnout in GE, rise of antipolitics

Question 15

devolution HAS improved political representation, accountability and perceived legitimacy of government

Answer 15

• S+W voters gained a distinct local voice that acted in their interests (listens to voters and make decisions)
• variety of coalition and minority gov in S+W: collaborative 1999 labour LD coalition in scotland and labour minority wales 2022
• ireland –> only 158 died in conflcit 20 years after GFA

Question 16

devolution HAS NOT improved political representation, accountability and perceived legitimacy of government

Answer 16

• devolved legislatures became like WM: lack of transparency and prioritising voters
• power sharing NI assembly suspended and collapsed –> direct rule from WM: lack of trust and confidence

Question 17

devolution HAS led to improved economics performance, better public services and more successful policies

Answer 17

• devolved legislatures have made healthcare free
• health acts put in place by one country also gets adopted by another (2015 wales organ opt out + plastic bags)
• mayors: can give power to regions in england due to democracy

Question 18

devolution HAS NOT led to improved economics performance, better public services and more successful policies

Answer 18

• divergence from reforms: detrimental –> wales overall drop in overall education due to the removal of the 11+ and 14+
• local regions still lack some devolution deals –> not as much power as devolved countries, as WM still has control over england

Question 19

similarities between UK and US devolution/federalism

Answer 19

• US federal , UK - quasi federal features
• US tiers of gov are protected by the const and need special procedures to remove + the removal of devolved bodies require a referendum due to the scotland act 2016
• us federal gov hold major powers, but give powers to states and WM and devolved inst have reserved and devolved powers

Question 20

differences between UK and US devolution and federalism

Answer 20

• Uk unitary state but US federal state
• the 2 tiers of government have equal powers and cannot abolish, but in the UK WM = sovereign and does not abolish as it is a convention
• there is significant policy divergence between states of the USA, but devolution has limited policy divergence (gun laws, death penalty)
• US supreme court can make binding judgements between power problems with gov and state but UK supreme c has less power –> can decide whether correct but cannnot strike down leg

Question 21

pro of the constitution

Answer 21

• has evolved gradually without the need for a codified const, as it limits gov action
• gov is scrutinised by the electorate: 2 party system means u can choose between gov and alternative
• puts power in elected reps hands, not judges and courts
• increased use of ref –> legitimacy to const changes
• gov scrutinised by parl eg committee questioning
• electoral system –> creates a single and effective single party gov
• high turnout (scot ref), participation is alive
• HOL: advising voice without political pressure
• improved by neutral independence supreme court
• gov held accountable to parliament, and parl = sov as they are ELECTED and have the power to remove gov
• monarch –> advises due to their role above party politics
• const = living body of rules
• dev = increased political representation –> more proportional electoral systems + listens to electorate wants
• leaving EU = psov increases
• the executive works through the legislature –> govs has a power tom pass laws, avoiding gridlock

Question 22

con of the constitution

Answer 22

• several groups are still under represented as parl is not truly represented of the pop (minorities)
• anti politics is on the rise –> disillusionment within the political system has meant an increase in threats to politicians –> low turnout showing low political engagement
• devolution has left E underepped –> EVEL did not fix
• more devolution breaks up union as the s parl has not stopped s independence
• S and NI taken out of the EU against their will
• increases ref use compromises P sov –> voters decide on issues they dont get
• HOL: undemocratic, unelected
• important const changes can be easily changed by a future parl
• out of date: dates to medieval time
• party leaders: move to presidentialisation vs cabinet gov
• rights and the rule of L not currently protected
• parl is not an effective check on gov
• not always clear –> need authoritative works
• existed unelected monarchy is out of date
• election system wasted votes, safe seats –> UK election system, not fit to purpose, more pol parties than C and L now