Recent events in Northern Ireland – in particular the resignation of First Minister Paul Givan on 3 February 2022 – have highlighted once more the precarity of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing arrangements and the exceptional nature of the … [Read more...] about Northern Ireland’s precarious place in the molten constitution
In our ever changing political and constitutional landscape, England has remained an often-forgotten anomaly. In the past two decades, constitutional reforms have seen Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all gain significant autonomous … [Read more...] about Ending England’s democratic deficit
In 1967, Winnie Ewing uttered the immortal words ‘stop the world, Scotland wants to get on’ and helped thrust the SNP into centre-stage of Scottish politics. Decades later, it is clear that Scotland has indeed gotten on in the world. More than two … [Read more...] about ‘Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on’: devolution and Scotland’s role in the world
Respect and Co-operation: Building a Stronger Union for the 21st century is the title of a recent report from the House of Lords Constitution Committee, which I chaired while it considered this important topic. The words in the report’s title are … [Read more...] about Respect and co-operation: building a stronger Union for the twenty-first century
Introduction and history In spite of high-profile meetings with world leaders, Nicola Sturgeon has largely been excluded from the formal decision-making processes at COP26. This contradiction is reflected elsewhere: the Scottish government … [Read more...] about The politics of Scotland’s autonomous foreign policy
Professor Andrew Blick is joined by Aileen McHarg, Professor of Public Law and Human Rights at Durham Law School and member of the UK Constitution Monitoring Group (UKCMG). In a wide-ranging conversation, they discuss many of themes and findings … [Read more...] about In conversation with Aileen McHarg
Glyndwr Cennydd Jones discusses the new book Whose Wales? by Gwynoro Jones and Alun Gibbard, which is available to read here. Debates regarding Home Rule, self-governance, or even independence for Wales, have inspired and enraged for well over a … [Read more...] about Whose Wales? The battle for Welsh devolution and nationhood, 1880 to 2020
Since Scotland’s votes were counted a month ago, there has been much debate about whether the results constituted a ‘mandate’ for an independence referendum. Some debated the significance, or lack of it, of the absence of a single party majority for … [Read more...] about The UK government and a second Scottish independence referendum: an unsustainable paradox?
The future of the UK Union is of increasing salience for British policy-makers. Against the backdrop of the twin crises of Brexit and coronavirus, speculation about its break-up has become widespread. With support for Scottish independence … [Read more...] about Union at the Crossroads: Why the British state must overhaul its approach to devolution
Philip Rycroft is former Permanent Secretary (2017-2019) at DExEU. From June 2015 to March 2019 he was head of the UK Governance Group in the Cabinet Office, with responsibility for advising ministers on all aspects of the constitution and … [Read more...] about The Dunlop Review: implications for the Union?
England has one of the most centralised systems of government in the world. And yet, ever since 1997, every government has promised more devolution. This blog looks back at what has actually happened and summarises the present unsatisfactory state of … [Read more...] about English devolution (and the mystery of the disappearing speech)
The Union of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is increasingly unstable. The last several years of UK politics have seen growing support for Scottish independence and relations between the four governments of the UK are increasingly … [Read more...] about Starmer’s Labour and devolution: what have we learned so far?
