Scotland Act 1998, Wales Act 1998 and Northern Ireland Act 1998
set up elected devolved assemblies/parliaments in these countries
what is another example of devolution?
Mayors
What is devolution?
the decentralisation of power
Westminster is where most parliamentary and political power is held
with devolution, the power is spread across the UK to deal with more local, regional issues that are not always recognised and power is broken down
what are the strengths of devolution?
worked well in Scotland and Wales and the number of devolved powers has increased
popular support for devolution has also increased
some people argue that a devolved parliament is what stopped the complete separation of Scotland from the UK in the 2014 Independence Referendum
In NI, the devolved assembly helped bring an end to ‘the Troubles’, despite being problematic
what are the weaknesses of devolution?
devolution had not succeeded everywhere; NI policy disagreements and a scandal over a failed renewable energy scheme meant the Assembly was suspended from Jan 2017 to Jan 2020
support for devolution in England has not increased; 2004 proposal to create a North East regional assembly was rejected by 78% of voters
