The gap in economic performance between London and the regions is large and will not be closed by devolving limited powers to city regions and Celtic nations that will adopt conventional economic policies, argues Professor Karel Williams. “It is time for you to take control of your own affairs….we will hand power from the […]
Policing marches and parades in Scotland: taking racism seriously?
From Easter to autumn, there are loyalist order and Irish Republican parades across Scotland. Stephen Ashe explores the policing of these processions, focusing on racism and sectarianism. In 2013, I was part of a research team commissioned by the Scottish Government to carry out research into the impact of public processions. In 2012, 34% of […]
’Federalismo’: lessons from devolution in Italy
When it comes to devolution, be careful what you wish for. Angelo Salento explains how it went wrong in Italy. We Italians tend to be believe our politics and history are unique. But there is a clear parallel between Italy’s experience of devolution and the description by Carol Craig of what happened in the Scottish […]
Framing DevoManc
Just how good a deal is DevoManc? David Walker expresses scepticism. Here are two ways of framing DevoManc. The first is (somewhat breathless) localist enthusiasm. A principal city-region is being offered new power to shape spending and services in health and social care, infrastructure and transport. As important as substance is the theatre: a group […]
Against Ad Hocery: UK Devolution and the Need for Consultation, Consensus and Consideration
Last month the Political and Constitutional Reforms Committee published a report on the future of devolution, in the wake of the Scottish Referendum. Here Dave Richards and Martin Smith pick the report apart and look at the implications for devolution in the UK. The newly published report on the Future of Devolution after the Scottish […]
What health and social care can learn from UK devolution
Greater Manchester has announced its plans for health and social care devolution and its oversight of providers. Joy Furnival examines health and social care oversight functions across the UK and asks what Greater Manchester can learn from these. Devolution and integration of health and social care in Greater Manchester (GM) is the first of its […]
After the ‘No’: Constitutional Reform must not be by the Elites for the Elites
The constitutional debate unleashed by the Scottish Independence Referendum has revealed many of the contradictions and problems of the British political system. The result effectively undermines the notion of the Westminster model and the underlying principle of Parliamentary (in realty Executive) Sovereignty. The Westminster model is based on an idea of indivisible sovereignty, accompanied by […]
After the ‘No’: Dynamics of Scottish Nationalism?
This is the first of what will hopefully be a series of short posts examining various constitutional, policy and political consequences of the ‘No’ vote in the Scottish referendum. Where will the SNP go now? They can hardly go for “business as usual” approach, now independence is off the agenda for an unspecified period. There are […]
Polling Observatory Scottish referendum special: who is ahead, and how close is it?
This is a Scottish independence special of a regular series of posts that reports on the state of support for the parties in Westminster as measured by opinion polls. By pooling together all the available polling evidence the impact of the random variation each individual survey inevitably produces can be reduced. Most of the short […]
Polling Observatory 40: Treading water as Scotland’s big moment approaches
This is the fortieth in a series of posts by Dr Robert Ford, Dr Will Jennings, Dr Mark Pickup and Prof Christopher Wlezien that report on the state of the parties in the UK as measured by opinion polls. By pooling together all the available polling evidence, the impact of the random variation that each individual survey inevitably produces can […]