scholarly journals CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION: How Nationalist Parties in Regional Government are bringing Change to the UK Constitution

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcom Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Critical Mass ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Plaid Cymru ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

This paper will examine the dynamics of devolution in the United Kingdom since the 2007 elections to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales which resulted in the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru entering government for the first time in their history. It will analyse the impact that their participation in governance at this level has had upon their stated goals of constitutional change. In particular it will examine the methods employed by these parties in order to advance these constitutional goals – specifically the role of consultation and referendum in creating the pressure for change. It will argue that both have been key drivers for constitutional change and have created what has become a critical mass regarding the constitutional debate in the UK.

scholarly journals Europe’s Secessionist Movements and Covid-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Jonathan Parker
Keyword(s):  
State Level ◽  
Territorial Disputes ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Regional Autonomy ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Secessionist Movement

Abstract For three European states in particular, the Covid-19 pandemic has served to catalyze pre-existing territorial disputes. While the United Kingdom, Spain, and Belgium have all had very different responses to the pandemic, in all three cases the actions of central and regional government have put existing structures of regional autonomy under strain. In Spain, the pandemic response has become intertwined with the Catalan independence debate (especially in disputes between pro-independence parties), and elsewhere in the country it has cemented co-operative relationships between moderate nationalists and the statewide left. In Belgium, the pandemic has accentuated territorial disputes and further complicated government formation. And in the UK diverging responses to the pandemic have helped boost nationalist movements in the devolved nations; particularly the cause of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and their ambitions to create an independent Scottish state. While the year has been highly significant for secessionist movements in all three states, only in the UK does a decisive shift towards state-breakup seem to have occurred. The article argues that whether or not a secessionist movement benefits from the pandemic is highly contingent on contextual factors, including the performance of state-level governments in responding to the pandemic and the relative autonomy of regional governments during the response.

To bee or not to beet with neonicotinoids

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Lynda M. Warren
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Beet ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Standards ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Precautionary Approach ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Commercial Sugar ◽  
The Uk ◽  
First Time

In January 2021 the UK government granted an application for authorisation to use thiamethoxam, a neonicotinoid pesticide, to protect commercial sugar beet crops from attack by viruses transmitted by aphids. This was the first time such an authorisation had been granted in the United Kingdom (UK) and there were concerns that it signalled a weakening of environmental standards now that the UK was no longer part of the European Union. In fact, similar authorisations had been granted by several European Member States in the last 2 years, despite the ban on the use of neonicotinoids introduced in 2018. Nevertheless, the reasons for granting the authorisation do suggest that the balance between adopting a precautionary approach to environmental protection and taking emergency action to protect economic interests may have shifted. It was acknowledged that the proposed mitigation to safeguard bees and other wildlife was not entirely satisfactory. In the end, due to unforeseen weather conditions it meant that the pesticide is not necessary, which in itself demonstrates that short-term emergency measures are unsuitable for dealing with the problem. If the sugar beet industry is to continue to prosper in the UK, it will need to be managed in a way that provides resistance to virus infection without the use of controversial chemicals.

scholarly journals Migration infrastructures and the production of migrants’ irregularity in Japan and the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nando Sigona ◽  
Jotaro Kato ◽  
Irina Kuznetsova
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Legal Violence ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Access And Quality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe article examines the migration infrastructures and pathways through which migrants move into, through and out of irregular status in Japan and the UK and how these infrastructures uniquely shape their migrant experiences of irregularity at key stages of their migration projects.Our analysis brings together two bodies of migration scholarship, namely critical work on the social and legal production of illegality and the impact of legal violence on the lives of immigrants with precarious legal status, and on the role of migration infrastructures in shaping mobility pathways.Drawing upon in-depth qualitative interviews with irregular and precarious migrants in Japan and the UK collected over a ten-year period, this article develops a three-pronged analysis of the infrastructures of irregularity, focusing on infrastructures of entry, settlement and exit, casting a comparative light on the mechanisms that produce precarious and expendable migrant lives in relation to access to labour and labour conditions, access and quality of housing and law enforcement, and how migrants adapt, cope, resist or eventually are overpowered by them.

The duties of impartiality, disclosure, and confidentiality: lessons from a London-seated arbitration

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Yee Ching Leung ◽  
Alex Chun Hei Chan
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Important Case ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
International Arbitration ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
First Time

Abstract Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd [2020] UKSC 48 is an important case not only to the UK but also to the international arbitration community for several reasons: first, it examines indispensable duties in international arbitration and for the first time recognises and explicates upon the duty of disclosure at the highest court of the United Kingdom; secondly, it addresses and clarifies key concepts in international arbitration; thirdly, it confirms the objective nature of the test of justifiable doubts which has wider implications for other arbitral forums; fourthly, it illustrates how the duties of impartiality, disclosure, and confidentiality interact with and affect each other and how the key concepts should be applied to this interaction; and finally, it lays down useful guidance for arbitrators. For these reasons, this case deserves close and careful examination. This article aims to explain the significance of the aforesaid and suggests that, in addition to what has been addressed, further judicial explanations are warranted in what other aspects.

scholarly journals Domestic and international mobility trends in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of facebook data

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry E. R. Shepherd ◽  
Florence S. Atherden ◽  
Ho Man Theophilus Chan ◽  
Alexandra Loveridge ◽  
Andrew J. Tatem
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
International Mobility ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Since early March 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic across the United Kingdom has led to a range of social distancing policies, which resulted in changes to mobility across different regions. An understanding of how these policies impacted travel patterns over time and at different spatial scales is important for designing effective strategies, future pandemic planning and in providing broader insights on the population geography of the country. Crowd level data on mobile phone usage can be used as a proxy for population mobility patterns and provide a way of quantifying in near-real time the impact of social distancing measures on changes in mobility. Methods Here we explore patterns of change in densities, domestic and international flows and co-location of Facebook users in the UK from March 2020 to March 2021. Results We find substantial heterogeneities across time and region, with large changes observed compared to pre-pademic patterns. The impacts of periods of lockdown on distances travelled and flow volumes are evident, with each showing variations, but some significant reductions in co-location rates. Clear differences in multiple metrics of mobility are seen in central London compared to the rest of the UK, with each of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland showing significant deviations from England at times. Moreover, the impacts of rapid changes in rules on international travel to and from the UK are seen in substantial fluctuations in traveller volumes by destination. Conclusions While questions remain about the representativeness of the Facebook data, previous studies have shown strong correspondence with census-based data and alternative mobility measures, suggesting that findings here are valuable for guiding strategies.

After the Scottish Independence Referendum

2019 ◽  
pp. 275-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Tierney
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Constitutional Change ◽  
National Party ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Independence ◽  
Independent Country

This chapter examines the independence referendum in Scotland, held on September 18, 2014, and its implications for the federal direction of the United Kingdom. The referendum saw 55 percent of Scots say “No” to the question: “Should Scotland be an Independent Country?”. Despite this result, the referendum has sparked a further process of decentralization. The chapter first describes the context that led to the Scottish independence referendum, focusing in particular on the success of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the parliamentary elections of May 2011 and why the referendum emerged from—and was organized within—the normal contours of constitutional democracy. It then considers the period of constitutional engagement and the outcome of the referendum before concluding with an analysis of some of the lessons that can be drawn from it with regard to constitutional change and the issue of secession.

37. Sentencing

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Ashworth ◽  
Julian V. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Sentencing Guidelines ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Political Criticism ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Sentencing represents the apex of the criminal process and is the most public stage of the criminal justice system. Controversial sentences attract widespread media coverage, intense public interest, and much public and political criticism. This chapter explores sentencing in the United Kingdom, and draws some conclusions with relevance to other common law jurisdictions. Sentencing has changed greatly in recent years, notably through the introduction of sentencing guidelines in England and Wales, and more recently, Scotland. However, there are still doubts about the fairness and consistency of sentencing practice, not least in the use of imprisonment. Among the key issues to be examined in this chapter are the tendency towards net-widening, the effects of race and gender, the impact of pleading guilty, the use of indeterminate sentences, the rise of mandatory sentences, and the role of the victim in the sentencing process. The chapter begins by outlining the methods by which cases come before the courts for sentencing. It then summarizes the specific sentences available to courts and examines current sentencing patterns, before turning to a more detailed exploration of sentencing guidelines, and of the key issues identified above. The chapter addresses two critical questions: What is sentencing (namely who exerts the power to punish)? Does sentencing in the UK measure up to appropriate standards of fairness and consistency?

scholarly journals Regional responses of surface ozone in Europe to the location of high-latitude blocks and subtropical ridges

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Ordóñez ◽  
David Barriopedro ◽  
Ricardo García-Herrera ◽  
Pedro M. Sousa ◽  
Jordan L. Schnell
Keyword(s):  
High Latitude ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Zonal Flow ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Anticyclonic Circulation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

Abstract. This paper analyses for the first time the impact of high-latitude blocks and subtropical ridges on near-surface ozone in Europe during a 15-year period. For this purpose, a catalogue of blocks and ridges over the Euro-Atlantic region is used together with a gridded dataset of maximum daily 8-hour running average ozone (MDA8 O3) covering the period 1998–2012. The response of ozone to the location of blocks and ridges with centres in three longitudinal sectors (Atlantic, ATL, 30º–0º W; European, EUR, 0º–30º E; Russian, RUS, 30º–60º E) is examined. The impact of blocks on ozone is regionally and seasonally dependent. In particular, blocks within the EUR sector yield positive ozone anomalies of ~ 5–10 ppb over large parts of central Europe in spring and northern Europe in summer. Over 20 % and 30 % of the days with blocks in that sector register exceedances of the 90th percentile of the seasonal ozone distribution at many European locations during spring and summer, respectively. The impacts of ridges during those seasons are subtle and more sensitive to their specific location, although they can trigger ozone anomalies of ~ 5–10 ppb in Italy and the surrounding countries in summer, eventually exceeding European air quality targets. During winter, surface ozone in the northwest of Europe presents completely opposite responses to blocks and ridges. The anticyclonic circulation associated with winter EUR blocking, and to a lesser extent with ATL blocking, yields negative ozone anomalies between −5 ppb and −10 ppb over the UK, Northern France and the Benelux. Conversely, the enhanced zonal flow around 50˚–60˚ N during the occurrence of ATL ridges favours the arrival of background air masses from the Atlantic and the ventilation of the boundary layer, producing positive ozone anomalies above 5 ppb in an area spanning from the British Isles to Germany. This work provides the first quantitative assessments of the remarkable but distinct impacts that the anticyclonic circulation and the diversion of the zonal flow associated with blocks and ridges exert on surface ozone in Europe. The findings reported here can be exploited in the future to evaluate the modelled responses of ozone to circulation changes within chemical transport models (CTMs) and chemistry-climate models (CCMs).

scholarly journals The Potential Impact of Climate Change on Oat Lodging in the UK and Republic of Ireland

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammadreza Mohammadi ◽  
John Finnan ◽  
Chris Baker ◽  
Mark Sterling
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Republic Of Ireland ◽  
Growing Period ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Double Exponential ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

This paper examines the impact that climate change may have on the lodging of oats in the Republic of Ireland and the UK. Through the consideration of a novel lodging model representing the motion of an oat plant due to the interaction of wind and rain and integrating future predictions of wind and rainfall due to climate change, appropriate conclusions have been made. In order to provide meteorological data for the lodging model, wind and rainfall inputs are analysed using 30 years’ time series corresponding to peak lodging months (June and July) from 38 meteorological stations in the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic, which enables the relevant probability density functions (PDFs) to be established. Moreover, climate data for the next six decades in the British Isles produced by UK climate change projections (UKCP18) are analysed, and future wind and rainfall PDFs are obtained. It is observed that the predicted changes likely to occur during the key growing period (June to July) in the next 30 years are in keeping with variations, which can occur due to different husbandry treatments/plant varieties. In addition, the utility of a double exponential function for representing the rainfall probability has been observed with appropriate values for the constants given.

scholarly journals Re-calculating the cost of coccidiosis in chickens

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damer P. Blake ◽  
Jolene Knox ◽  
Ben Dehaeck ◽  
Ben Huntington ◽  
Thilak Rathinam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Egg Production ◽  
The United States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Chicken Population ◽  
Global Cost ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Significant Disease

Abstract Coccidiosis, caused by Eimeria species parasites, has long been recognised as an economically significant disease of chickens. As the global chicken population continues to grow, and its contribution to food security intensifies, it is increasingly important to assess the impact of diseases that compromise chicken productivity and welfare. In 1999, Williams published one of the most comprehensive estimates for the cost of coccidiosis in chickens, featuring a compartmentalised model for the costs of prophylaxis, treatment and losses, indicating a total cost in excess of £38 million in the United Kingdom (UK) in 1995. In the 25 years since this analysis the global chicken population has doubled and systems of chicken meat and egg production have advanced through improved nutrition, husbandry and selective breeding of chickens, and wider use of anticoccidial vaccines. Using data from industry representatives including veterinarians, farmers, production and health experts, we have updated the Williams model and estimate that coccidiosis in chickens cost the UK £99.2 million in 2016 (range £73.0–£125.5 million). Applying the model to data from Brazil, Egypt, Guatemala, India, New Zealand, Nigeria and the United States resulted in estimates that, when extrapolated by geographical region, indicate a global cost of ~ £10.4 billion at 2016 prices (£7.7–£13.0 billion), equivalent to £0.16/chicken produced. Understanding the economic costs of livestock diseases can be advantageous, providing baselines to evaluate the impact of different husbandry systems and interventions. The updated cost of coccidiosis in chickens will inform debates on the value of chemoprophylaxis and development of novel anticoccidial vaccines.

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