Devolution

• Devolution in England is a mixed picture with regional devolution, city regions with elected mayors, and the creation of the Greater London Authority with a directly elected mayor and assembly
• The idea of 'English Votes for English Laws' (EVEL) was introduced in 2015 to address the 'West Lothian Question' of Scottish MPs voting on matters that only affect England
• EVEL


  Parliamentary procedure where English (and Welsh) MPs get a vote and can veto parts of legislation that only impact England (and Wales), but the full House of Commons still has a final vote
• EVEL creates a two-tier system of MPs, with Scottish MPs having less influence on laws that only affect England
• The impact of EVEL has been limited so far as the Conservative government does not rely on Scottish MPs, but could become a bigger issue with a Labour government
• Scottish Parliament


  • Created in 1998 with 129 members, 73 elected by first-past-the-post and 56 by proportional representation
  • Has primary legislative and tax-varying powers
  • Has led to coalition governments, currently a minority SNP government
• The Scottish Parliament has considerable powers, including over health, social services, environment, education, law and home affairs, which have expanded over time
• The Scottish Parliament cannot be abolished without Scotland's consent through a referendum
• The Barnett formula is used to calculate higher public spending per head in Scotland compared to England
• There remains a push for Scottish independence despite devolution, with the SNP confident of strong results in the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections
• The Scottish parliament has the greatest level of power of any of the devolved bodies, yet there is still a demand for independence
• Barnett formula


  Used to calculate the amount of public spending per head in the different parts of the UK, giving more money to Scotland than England
• The Welsh assembly started on fairly shaky grounds but has grown and developed its powers, becoming the Welsh parliament
• The Welsh parliament has 60 members, 40 elected on first-past-the-post and 20 selected using proportional representation
• Labour has been the dominant power in the Welsh parliament since 1999
• The Welsh parliament has control over 10p of income tax, the NHS, social services, environment, agriculture, economic development, local government, housing, planning, transport, and education
• The Welsh parliament wanted control over law and order like the Scottish parliament, but the UK government said no
• The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive was created following the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 to end communal conflict and establish power-sharing
• The Northern Ireland Assembly is made up of 108 members elected by single transferable vote, with the Executive led by the leader of the biggest party and the deputy first minister from the second biggest party
• The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive stopped functioning in 2017 and went through a period of direct rule from Westminster before restarting in 2020
• The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive have control over corporation tax, health, social policy, agriculture, environment, economic development, local government, housing, planning, transport, schools, and university education
• During the period of direct rule, same-sex marriage was legalised and abortion laws were liberalised in Northern Ireland
• The future of devolution in Northern Ireland will depend on the attitudes of the unionist and nationalist communities, which have seen a shift towards the more extreme parties
• The impact of devolution in England is variable and difficult to pin down, with English votes for English laws not being properly sorted out
• Devolution was intended to play down or reverse demand for Scottish independence, but has had the opposite effect, with Scotland potentially moving towards devo max or independence
• Boris Johnson has criticised devolution, claiming it was a terrible idea and could lead to the breakup of the UK, though he later clarified this was aimed at the SNP rather than the system as a whole