9. Devolution and local government

Public Law ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Stanton ◽  
Craig Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Legislative Authority ◽  
Recent Addition ◽  
The Uk

Devolution is a recent addition to the UK constitutional law vocabulary. The concept refers to the decentralisation of power from central institutions in London to regional institutions exercising executive and legislative authority in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This chapter explores the principle of devolution, both in terms of its historical development and its constitutional importance. It discusses recent issues and debates relevant to the role that it continues to play in the UK Constitution through the established institutions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. All this is tied together in consideration of a problem scenario which encourages discussion of the powers of the devolved institutions and their relationship with centralised authority at Westminster.

9. Devolution and local government

Public Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 356-408
Author(s):  
John Stanton ◽  
Craig Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Legislative Authority ◽  
The Uk

Devolution refers to the decentralization of power from central institutions in London to regional institutions exercising executive and legislative authority in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This chapter explores the principle of devolution, both in terms of its historical development and its constitutional importance. It discusses recent issues and debates relevant to the role that it continues to play in the UK Constitution through the established institutions in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. All this is tied together in consideration of a problem scenario which encourages discussion of the powers of the devolved institutions and their relationship with centralized authority at Westminster.

4. How the UK is organised

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-99
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
National Security ◽  
Central Government ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Government Power ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

This chapter details how power is allocated in the UK, and its organisation in terms of devolution and regional and local government. Power in the UK is divided into three branches or arms of state: legislature (law-makers), executive (government and administration), and judiciary (courts and judges). Before devolution, the government’s (executive’s) administrative power was centralised and it extended to the whole of the UK, but devolution has made significant changes to the constitution and has brought a substantial rebalancing of power in the government of the UK. Since devolution’s introduction, the power of central government no longer extends to the growing areas of domestic policy that have been devolved to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK government’s remit therefore now covers England and the whole of the UK on non-devolved matters including the conduct of foreign affairs, defence, national security, and oversight of the Civil Service and government agencies.

scholarly journals Local government reform: Community planning and the quality of life in Northern Ireland

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Knox ◽  
Paul Carmichael
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Community Planning ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Legal Power ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Local government in Northern Ireland has undergone a significant reform process in terms of both the number of councils (from twenty-six to eleven) and their functional responsibilities. Councils in Northern Ireland have always been regarded as the ‘poor relation’ of central government or non-departmental public bodies which deliver many of the services performed by local government in other parts of the UK (education, social services, housing). The reforms in Northern Ireland, while devolving relatively minor additional functions, offer councils a significant role in community planning – the legal power to hold central departments to account for services provided by them in local areas. This paper argues that councils can use this power to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants.

Decentralisation and Devolution in the United Kingdom

2016 ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Chris Game
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Government Functions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Working Out

The key to the core of this chapter is in its title. Constitutionally, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is still a unitary state comprising three countries – England, Scotland, Wales – plus the province of Northern Ireland. Since 1998, though, the last three have had their own elected parliaments or assemblies and devolved governments, whose responsibilities naturally include most local government functions and operations. It is arguable, therefore, that in practice nowadays the UK is quasi-federal. England, with 84% of the UK population, doesn't have a separate parliament, but is gradually working out its own form of devolution. The chapter describes all these developments, but its detail is largely reserved for the structure and workings of local government in England – elections and elected councillors, services and functions, and its currently rapidly changing finances – and the impact, particularly on councils' financial and policy discretion, of its having, in population terms, by far the largest scale of local government in Western Europe.

Nation-State, devolution and the parliamentary discourse of minority languages

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Wilson ◽  
Karyn Stapleton
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Natural Right ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Individual Culture ◽  
The Uk ◽  
A Site

Devolution in the UK has engendered debates about which language (or languages) should be the language of parliament in the respective regional institutions. Simultaneously, the European Union, while officially endorsing cultural and linguistic diversity, is moving towards a supranational state which operates alongside devolution and regional autonomies. In this context, the contestation of the language of parliamentary discourse can be seen as a site of power struggle and political negotiation. The present analysis focuses on a specific example of regional parliamentary discourse from Northern Ireland, in which Members debate the desirability of using Ulster-Scots and Irish, alongside English, in official House proceedings. This can be seen to operationalise “language” in specific, but interrelated, argumentative contexts: (a) as a form of agreed and formally recognised communication; (b) as a natural right, reflecting individual culture or heritage; (c) as a legal and formal right; (d) as a political symbol. These themes are discussed in terms of “nationalist” and “sovereign” state arguments, with reference to both the political context of Northern Ireland, and the processes of devolution and supranationalism, in the broader political arena.

9. Governing from Below

2021 ◽  
pp. 246-269
Author(s):  
Peter John
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Complex Pattern ◽  
British Politics ◽  
General Stability ◽  
The Uk

This chapter studies a key aspect of delegation in British politics: decentralization and local/national self-government. It deals with local government in England, and government in the devolved territories/nations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Decentralization in British politics has formed into a complex pattern, where there are different dynamics in the various territories: relative centralization in England, power-sharing in Northern Ireland, pragmatic devolution in Wales, and then a strong push towards independence in Scotland. For a question about how centralized or decentralized British politics is, the answer would need to be based on where a person lives, with England rehearsing the conventional arguments about constitutional centralization and the rest of the country increasing decentralization, if not a form of federalism. The chapter then assesses the question of the rationale and general stability of the system, with respect to the integrity of the UK as a whole.

4. How the UK is organised

2019 ◽  
pp. 69-96
Author(s):  
Anne Dennett
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
National Security ◽  
Central Government ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Government Power ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

This chapter details how power is allocated in the UK, and its organisation in terms of devolution and regional and local government. Power in the UK is divided into three branches or arms of state: legislature (law-makers), executive (government and administration), and judiciary (courts and judges). Before devolution, the government's (executive's) administrative power was centralised and it extended to the whole of the UK, but devolution has made significant changes to the constitution and has brought a substantial rebalancing of power in the government of the UK. Since devolution's introduction, the power of central government no longer extends to the growing areas of domestic policy that have been devolved to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK government's remit therefore now covers England and the whole of the UK on non-devolved matters including the conduct of foreign affairs, defence, national security, and oversight of the Civil Service and government agencies.

11. Devolution and local government

UK Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 249-273
Author(s):  
Andrew Blick
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

This chapter turns to the forms of government that cover specific areas within the UK. These territories fall into two general categories: devolved and local government. The chapter introduces the general roles of these tiers of government, their powers, their responsibilities and how they function. It introduces a number of theoretical perspectives to these subjects. It looks at the balance of power between the various systems that exist. It offers examples as to how that balance of power works in reality. The chapter also considers the mechanisms for regulating interventions by the UK Parliament into devolved spheres of operation; the process of expansion of Welsh devolution over time; the devolution of responsibility for police and justice in Northern Ireland; devolution to local government in England; and innovatory approaches in Scotland. The chapter provides an assessment of devolution and local government and gives some historical context as well. Finally, the chapter looks at the relationship between Brexit and devolution.

scholarly journals Brexit and Territorial Preferences: Evidence from Scotland and Northern Ireland

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-211
Author(s):  
Lesley-Ann Daniels ◽  
Alexander Kuo
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Religious Background ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Has the UK referendum to leave the EU (Brexit) affected territorial preferences within the UK? We draw on comparative theories of such preferences to address this question, as Brexit can be seen as a shock to a political unit. We test hypotheses in two key regions, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with original surveys fielded at a unique time (September 2019). We randomize making salient different Brexit scenarios and measure support for Scottish independence and unification with Ireland within each region. We find in Scotland the prospect of leaving the EU increases support for independence. This effect is pronounced among those who support the UK remaining in the EU. In Northern Ireland, religious background correlates highly with territorial views, and we find little evidence of Brexit or border-scenario effects. Our results contribute to the literature on decentralization processes and the EU, and provide evidence of when negative shocks affect such preferences.

Introduction: How the British-exit is Impacting the European Union?

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-149
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
International Studies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Uk

This special issue of International Studies focuses on ‘how the British-exit is impacting the European Union’. This introduction is a review of the context, costs and institutional repercussions, as well as the very recent the UK/European Union trade deal and implications for customs borders. Eight articles then detail consequences for European Union policies and important trading relationships: Immigration, Citizenship, Gender, Northern Ireland, Trade and impacts on India, Canada and Japan.

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