Unit 5: Devolution Flashcards
What is devolution?
The delegation and decentralisation of power away from Westminster (a central government) and to NI, Scotland and Wales (a local or regional government) so that they can make decisions and produce policies that will be better for their nation, there have been recent plans to also devolve to local councils
How are devolution and federalism similar but different?
-Power in the UK is delegated but not transferred whereas federalism transfers power from the federal government to state government
-Federalism in the US is more uniform than devolution in the UK - states have different laws, they have the same law making powers overt he same areas - each state makes laws that suit their citizens and cultures - devolved regions of the UK can end up with different laws becuase they’ve been given different powers
-Both devolution and federalism have allowed regions of the two countries to trial new policies - Scotland has free uni tuition for Scottish citizens and wales has an opt out rather than opt in organ donation
What are the origins of devolution? How many people backed independence in wales and Scotland in 1979 and then 1997?
-Since 1970s there was growing discontent with the UK political system
-Revival of nationalism in Scotland and Wales due to Brexit (eg. SNP and Plaid Cymru)
-However in 1979 – only 20% of Welsh backed devolution and 52% Scots (but need 40% of the electorate and only 33% turned to ‘yes’)
-Demands re-emerged during long Conservative governments (1979-97)
-1997 – 74.3% in Scotland and 50.3% in Wales
What is the Additional Member Voting System? Where is it used?
-Used in Scotland and Wales
-Hybrid electoral system - combines FPTP and proportional representation
-Everyone who can vote has two votes each, one vote for their constituency representative and one for the region that their constituency is in
-People vote who they support most in the constituency and the candidate with the most votes wins and is elected (FPTP)
-Additional member system used for regional assembly members - vote for a party - they then use this and the amount of people in the area to determine how many of the remaining seats are given to each party
Pros and cons of the AMV system?
-PROS: Smaller parties have better chance to be in power
-CONS: complex to understand, creates two classes of representatives
What is the Single Transferable Vote System? Where is it used?
-Used in NI and local elections in Scotland
-Proportional representation
-Rank the candidates in order of presence
-Quota - the minimum number of votes someone must acquire to be elected
-Whoever is elected first, their surplus of votes are distributed to second choice of their voters, if the certain number of representatives haven’t been elected, you take the one with the smallest number of votes and redistribute to the second choice of their voters and you keep repeating the cycle of distributing the surplus votes or the candidate with the smallest number of votes votes until you have all of the number of candidates elected
Pros and cons of the STV system?
-PROS: proportional, reduces wasted votes, allows more people to vote for who they wish
-CONS: hard to count votes - complex, can lead to disconnects between the representatives and constituents
What is the number of members in the Scottish Parliament? What is their title?
129 MSPs
What voting system does the Scottish Parliament use?
Additional member system: 73 MSPs elected in FPTP system, 56 MSPs are chosen using proportional representation (reflected share won by the parties) - every 5 years in Scotland act 2012
Who is leader of the govenrment in the Scottish parliament?
-The first minister - leads the party, heads the government and appoints the cabinet
-since 2007, SNP has been governing party
-John Swinney - current first minister
What are the key powers of the Scottish parliament?
-Granted by the Scotland Act 1998
-Taxation powers - income tax rates (Scotland act 2012) and bands, have other specifics taxes and duties like landfill tax
-Health and social policy powers - control over health service, social services, some welfare benefits and abortion law
-Law and home affairs powers - justice, policies, prisons and elections
-Education and culture powers - primary and secondary education, uni education (made tuition fees free for Scottish residents), culture and language, sport, tourism
-Scotland Act 2012 gave Scottish Parliament power to set Scottish rate of income tax higher or lower than the rest of UK
What are the limitations to the powers of the Scottish Parliament?
-reserved powers established in Scotland Act 1998
-Have no control over: UK constitution, defence and national security, foreign policy, employment legislation and nationality and immigration
-Westminster remains sovereign in all matters but had chosen to exercise sovereignty by devolving legislation responsibility
-Westminster could in theory abolish devolved institutions but this cannot be done without an approved referendum
What does the future look like for the Scottish Parliament? (Further devolution or independence etc.)
-SNP entered in 2007 & landslide victory in 2011 Scottish Parliament - independence on agenda
-2014 independence referendum - yes campaign argued that the people of Scotland were best to make decision about their country - keep pound but own constitution - union supported by the 3 main UK parties said independence would damage economy - decided no with 55.3% (mainly working class men) but 44.7% said yes (deprived areas mainly)
-Scotland Act 2016 - control over income tax rates and gave Scottish Parliament 50% of the VAT revenue raised in Scotland - SNP wanted full taxes and spending to be decided by Scotland - would have more powers than sub national governments in Europe
What is the number of members in the Welsh Parliament? What is their title? What is the welsh name for the parliament?
60 MSs in the Senned Cymru
What is the voting system used in Welsh parliament?
Additional member system: 40 elected by FPTP and 20 elected by proportional representation - every 5 years in wales act 204
Who is the leader of the government in the welsh parliament?
-The first minister - leader of largest part in assembly, heads govenrment and appoints cabinet
-Eluned Morgan is current first minister
-Labour been in power since 1999 whether in coalition or not
What are the key powers of the Welsh Parliament?
-Taxation powers - welsh rate of income like control over 10p share of income tax, have other specifics taxes and duties like landfill tax
-Health and social policy powers - control over health service and social services
-Law and home affairs powers - elections
-Education and culture powers - primary and secondary education, uni education, culture and language, sport, tourism
-2011 referendum - the assembly gained the power to make primary legislation in 20 devolved policy areas and additional ones have been devolved
What are the limitations to the powers of the welsh parliament?
-Not as extensive powers as the Scottish parliament
-Primary legislative powers
-Due to wales act 2017, moved to a system of reserved powers similar to that in Scotland
-Government of wales act 2006 enabled assembly to ask for further powers if approved in a referendum - 64% voted yes - confirmed that devolution is preferred option for welsh voters - independence support is about 10%
What is the future for the welsh parliament? (Further devolution or independence etc.)
-Silk commission considered the case for the transfer of further powers to the welsh assembly
-Wales act 2014 put into place the silk proposals by devolving to control landfill tax and stamp duty
-Newly devolved matters include assembly and local government elections, fracking, rail franchising, road speed limits
-Welsh govenrment wanted policing and justice to be devolved as silk recommended but Uk government didnt agree
-Wales Act 2017 established the assembly as a permanent feature of the Uk constitution
-Now renamed to welsh parliament
What is the political divide in the Northern Ireland Assembly?
Between unionists (typically Protestants who supported the continued union between GB and NI) and nationalists (wants to improve rights for Catholics and incorporate NI into the RoI)
What is the number of members in the Northern Ireland Assembly? What is their title?
90 MLAs
What is the voting system in the Northern Ireland assembly?
Single Transferable Vote system - proportional representation - every 5 years - main focus of elections is on whether one is a unionist or a nationalist and the main issue is the constitutional status of NI (UK parties tend to not field candidates in these elections)
Who is the leader of the government in the Northern Ireland assembly?
-First minister and deputy first minister - first minister leads largest party in the assembly and deputy leads second largest party - ministerial posts allocated on proportional basis
-Michelle O’Neill is the First Minister and Emma Little-Pengelly is deputy
-The DUP (largest unionist party that originally opposed the agreement) and Sinn Fein (nationalist with links to IRA) share power
What are the key powers of the Northern Ireland assembly?
-Taxation powers - corporation tax
-Health and social policy powers - control over health service, social services and some welfare benefits
-Law and home affairs powers - justice, police, prisons and elections
-Education and culture powers - primary and secondary education, uni education, culture and language, sport, tourism
-1922-72 - only part of uk to have its ow parliament where the secretary of state for Northern Ireland had significant policy making powers - devolution designed so that unionist and nationalist parties share power
What document set out devolution in Northern Ireland? What type of devolution?
-1998 - Good Friday Agreement (the Belfast Agreement) - power sharing devotion - special arrangements ensure both communities in a divided society are represented
What are limitations to the powers of the Northern Ireland assembly?
-No major tax raising powers but corporations tax was devolved in 2015
-Sometimes there is conflict between the DUP and Sinn Fein which limits their ability to execute their power e.g. 2017 where Sinn Fein refused to appoint a deputy first minister and the assembly collapsed
What is the future for the Northern Ireland assembly? (Further devolution or independence etc.)
-Devolution is still the preferred constitutional choice of a majority of voters - 2015 - 50% want devoluton in UK, 27% want united ireland and 25% want direct rule in the UK
-Assembly collapsed in 2017 when Sinn Fein refused to appoint a deputy - possibility for greater cooperation??
What 3 key acts devolved power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland most recently?
- Scotland Act 2016, - more control over income tax, gave air passenger duty, control over welfare benefits like the DIsability Living Allowance alongside other powers - not enough for SNP
- Wales Act 2017, this featured proposals made in Silk Report - specified matters reserved to Westminster but all other areas were devolved e.g. welsh rate of income tax, fracking, setting road speed limits, but NO policing and justice
- Good Friday Agreement 1998 (NI), no major tax rising powers until corporation tax was devolved in 2015 - established power sharing devolution with both unionists and nationalists - first minister and deputy are from different parties and some legislative matter must have cross party support
Why is Scotland a parliament?
-Scotland is seen to have more power
-the rise of the SNP and the Scottish independence referendum of 2014
-The fact that the Scottish independence was lost at such a small margin, the government knew that the SNP would demand a second referendum and therefore to limit this, decided that further devolution would calm down talks of leaving the UK
-The SNP have controlled the Scottish assembly since 2007 and have had landslides since 2011 - public is also fiercely nationalistic
-It also has more power than the other devolved assemblies because of the sheer number of times that further powers have been devolved
Why are politics and government in NI very different from the rest of the UK?
-due to the Troubles, a fight between nationalists who wanted NI to be part of the RoI and the unionists who wanted NI to remain in the UK
-Sinn Fein has close ties with IRA, the ‘terrorist’ organisation who were strong nationalists, with the UK gov being on the side with the unionists
-fighting lasted around 30 years - 3500 casualties, 52% were civilians, 32% were members of the British security forces, and 16% were members of paramilitary groups
-Blair helped created 1998 Good Friday Agreement - established peace and cooperation
-However, this does result in many issues such as the Assembly collapsing 2017-2020
What is the West Lothian Question?
-the perceived imbalance between the voting rights in the House of Commons of MPs from Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland constituencies and those of MPs from English constituencies following devolution - but England doesnt have its own separate Parliament meaning that decisions affecting only England can be voted by representatives who dont represent England but England cant vote on issues that affect Wales, Scotland or NI directly
-it has been so called since Tam Dalyell, the former MP for West Lothian, famously raised this question during a debate on devolution to Scotland and Wales in 1977
What was created as a result of the West Lothian question?
EVEL - English votes for English laws
Where are local governments on the hierarchy of governments in the UK? Are they elected or not?
-Local government/authorities/councils are the lowest level of government in the UK
-they’re election and are the only elected branch of government besides the central government
How many local authorities exist in total?
-317 authorities that are made up of metropolitan districts, local councils
What do local governments do and spend money on?
-Local governments are responsibility for many services used by citizens on a day to day basis - they deal with local issues that the central government have no time for
-spend money on: Schools, police, road maintenance, social services, housing, fire services
How many people vote in local government elections?
Fewer than 1/3rd
Reasons why England should have local governments?
-Any devolved democracy must have sub national elements below the national government to embed the idea that there are alternative positions of power in the constitution
-other elected units are a counter balance to the power of the central government - or else everyone would answer to the central power
-Local councils allow people to have a local democratic level that they don’t expect the central government to change, such as street lights etc. -they allow people who are fiercely proud of their local culture to feel represented in it
Should local governments be written into the English constitution?
-Yes but they cant as there isn’t a written constitution, makes it harder to rearrange issues about power sharing which makes it hard to write laws that are supported by all people in all places
Reasons why local governments dont work?
-England is incoherent & fragmented
-We have a power hoarding system - many nationalists who want central government to reign supreme
-Unwritten constitution means that they know their powers but we dont, so if they try to form a written one, W,S or NI may demand more power which the English wouldnt want as it would reveal to the public what the political establishment wouldnt want to do
-Mayors concentrate power (corruption) e.g. Mayor of London but that means the media can understand them better so get more scrutiny
Would local governments take power away from the central government?
Yes
Is there a possibility that we could get rid of local governments?
-Yes and no
-We could have local governments and give them more power but this could cause issues between government lines such as overpopulation is one area
-However, we shouldn’t because we need decisions from small areas to give to the central government
Reasons why England should have its own devolved parliament?
-It would logically complete devolution within the UK - answering the West Lothian question
-It would create a more coherent system of devolution, with a federal UK Parliament and governments
-It would give political and institutional expression to English identity and interests
-Decisions would be closer to the people and would reduce the dominance of London - reduce Londons control of politics and the media and create decentralisation
-Would create an alternative electoral system to be used - as is the case in the UK and resolve the issue of electoral reform that the Lib Dems and smaller parties want
-Would reduce burden of Westminster - could focus on foreign policy, defence etc.
Reasons why England should not have its own devolved parliament?
-It would create an additional layer of government and create tensions between the UK government and an English one
-‘Devolution all round’ would not create an equal system - England is bigger than the other nations of the Union - Population of England 59mill, compared to total of 10mill
-There is only limited support in England for an English parliament - 2004 referendum rejected an assembly in the northeast by 78%
-EVEL failed but showed there are other ways of solving the West Lothian question
-It would raise the question of the purpose and role of UK government
-Would create racist nationalism?? - strain relations with the other regions & destabilise the union
Reasons why England should have directly election regional assemblies with limited executive functions?
-Would bring decision making closer to the people and address the differing interests of the English regions
-Areas such as Cornwall, Yorkshire and the northeast already have a strong sense of regional identity
-Regional assemblies could act as catalysts for economic and cultural regeneration
-Would be England’s equivalent of a Parliament, therefore balanced devolution in the Union
Reasons why England should not have directly election regional assemblies with limited executive functions?
-Few areas of England have a strong sense of regional identity
-There would be tensions between regional and local government
-It would break up England and fail to provide expression for England’s interests and identity
-There is little public support
-Would undermine central government
What are the benefits of devolution?
-gives more power to the people - represents local issues better - e.g. higher tax rate in Scotland due to a left-leaning population
-it allows for their to be power away from central government - avoids the possibility of corruption
-promotes political innovation - allows different parts of the UK to experiment with policies e.g. Scotland banning smoking in public areas before it was rolled out across the UK
-reduces the work of the UK Parliament as it allows regional governments to manage local issues
-Can strengthen union by providing some independence - e.g. Cameron’s promise to devolve more powers during indyref
-Popular with voters - Referendums on devolution (Wales 1997-2011)
-Vital for peace in Northern Ireland - Part of the Good Friday Agreement
How has devolution impacted the government of the UK?
-It has led the government to transfer more powers to some English local authorities via combined authorities and metro mayors
-has forced the government to grant the devolved assemblies temporary constitutional powers e.g. referendums to Scotland for the referendum 2014
-it has created tensions between the UK government and the devolved administrations
-led to the West Lothian question and talks of English devolution - led to creation of EVEL (failure)
-meant that parliament is not fully sovereign - many areas of government are now the responsibility of devolved assemblies - OR devolved assemblies have their powers delegated not inalienably transferred - no threat to sovereignty
What is quasi federalism?
where a central government has devolved some of its powers to sub national governments but still overrides it - the state would find it difficult to abolish the sub national tier of government and to make domestic policy for some parts of the state
Why is the UK considered quasi federal?
-Westminster has limited parliamentary sovereignty over some legal areas
-Westminster has devolved some policies and these differ considerable e.g. health and education
-Devolution is now the UKs constitutional landscape e.g. Westminster has agreed with Scotland that devolution can only be overturned by a referendum
-Local governments are an example of devolved powers
Reasons why the UK should become entirely federal?
-it would create a coherent constitutional settlement for the UK - would establish a clear relationship between the UK government and the governments of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
-it would resolve some of the anomalies (e.g. the West Lothian Question) that have arisen under the current ad hoc approach to devolution
-The status of the Westminster Parliament would be clarified: it would be a federal parliament dealing with issues such as border control, defence and foreign affairs.
-The House of Lords could be reformed, to become a chamber representing the component nations of the Uk, or abolished
Reasons why the UK should not become entirely federal?
-Federalism works best in states in which there is not a dominant nation or region (e.g. the USA or Germany) - it is unsuitable for the UK where England makes up four-fifths of the population
-An English parliament would rival the Westminster Parliament, particularly if different parties were in government in England and the UK, and English MPs could still be a majority at Westminster
-Measures to reduce the dominance of England would be problematic and unpopular
-Disputes over funding occur in federal states: creating a federal UK would not resolve difficult issues such as equity of funding
-no demand for a federal UK - devolution is the preferred constitutional position for voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
What does Labour want to do to local governments?
They want to devolve further and have created a white paper for this
What are examples that show that the UK is quasi federal?
-England: Prescription charges, All other nations: abolished prescription charge in 2007 (W), 2010 (NI), 2011 (S)
-England: tuition fees, Scotland: no tuition fees for Scottish students at Scottish universities, Wales: tuition fees grant for students from wales studying in wales or the rest of the UK, NI: lower tuition fees for northern Irish universities
How many constituencies are there in England? How many in the other nations combined?
England - 543 constituencies
Rest of UK - 107 constituencies
Unitary
The central government has ultimate power over all local governments and devolved governments derive their power from it
What are the arguments that the UK is becoming increasingly federal?
-Scotland, NI and Wales can make laws independently and have different policy from the rest of the UK - their national pride also reflects how a federal state usually is
-Different regions have varying devolution powers e.g. Scotland
-Westminster doesn’t involve with devolved powers - respects their devolved powers
-SC solves disputes between devolved assemblies and UK Parliament
-Devolution comes from Westminster, there is no codified constitution saying that this is the case so could it be repealed - but there’s an agreement with Scot’s that if there be the need to less devolution, there must be a referendum to allow this
