The politics of devolution

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	Time: 8 hours Level: Intermediate

	Introduction Introduction Resource This unit, which contains material from the current Open University second level Politics course DD203 Power, Equality and Dissent, is pitched at the intermediate level. It should take you about 8 hours...

	The politics of devolution 1 The politics of devoloution: introduction Resource This unit examines the politics of devolution and the relationships between the various nations that constitute the UK. It does so by examining the transformation of the UK from a centralised unitary...

	2 The making of the UK 2.1 England Resource England played a dominant role in the medieval history of Britain, and the history of the UK is undoubtedly the history of the political and cultural domination of the English nation over those of Scotland,... 2.2 Scotland Resource Having enjoyed political independence until 1707, the survival of many of Scotland's institutions – notably its systems of law, religion and education – after Union with England contributed to the preservation... 2.3 Wales Resource In 1282, Edward I conquered Wales and the Statute of Rhuddlan (or Statute of Wales, 1284) established English rule. Rather than involve the assimilation of the Welsh by the English the conquest saw ‘a... 2.4 Northern Ireland Resource Ireland was long considered a de facto province of England, a colonial possession dominated politically and militarily by its more powerful neighbour to the east. The English divided Ireland into counties... 2.5 Summary of Section 1 Resource England, Scotland and Wales are nations.

	3 Nation, state and nation-state 3.1 What makes a nation, a state or a nation-state? Resource Why do England, Scotland and Wales take part in the Six Nations rugby championship alongside Italy, Ireland and France? Are they all ‘nations’? What do we mean by calling them ‘nations’? The nation has... 3.2 Sub-state forms of nationalism Resource The advancement of democracy in contemporary Western nation-states and the intensification of globalisation processes have encouraged the re-emergence of nationalist movements representing oppressed or...

	4 Defining centre and periphery 4.1 National identities and UK politics Resource Why do British people speak ‘English’ and not ‘British’? Why is it easier to travel from London to any British city than to travel from Bedford to Leamington Spa? Why are the National Gallery, the British...

	5 Governance beyond Westminster: the politics of devolution 5.1 The UK model of devolution Resource In its programme of devolution, the Labour government had to decide whether to adopt a symmetric decentralisation model, which would confer an equal degree of devolution to the UK's constituent nations,... 5.2 Devolution in Scotland Resource Scotland has endured a long and complicated process towards self-determination. In a 1979 referendum, the Scots voted in favour of the Labour government proposals to establish a Scottish Parliament, but,... 5.3 How devolution in Scotland differs from devolution in Wales Resource Devolution for Wales, rejected by the Welsh in a 1979 referendum, was also part of the constitutional reform package of the Labour government. However, in September 1997, the Welsh voted for the establishment... 5.4 Devolution in Northern Ireland: a particular case Resource Devolution in Northern Ireland has been an integral part of the post-1994 peace process, which aims to share power between the two divergent communities, the Unionist-Protestant majority and the Republican-Catholic... 5.5 Devolution in outline Resource Through devolution, Westminster has devolved the following functions to the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and (once it is finally up and running) the Northern Ireland Assembly (Hazell,... 5.6 Summary of Section 5 Resource In 1997, the newly elected Labour government set in motion the asymmetric decentralisation of the UK by granting differing degrees of political autonomy to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

	6 Elected regional assemblies in England 6.1 London Resource London's population and economic size are those of a region. As such it contains various peripheries within itself. Further to this, there are some issues, mainly economic planning and transport, which... 6.2 English regions Resource At present, regional government in England is divided between local government and central government agencies. Eight English regions have a tripartite structure with responsibilities and powers divided... 6.3 What is the main requirement for regional government? Is it a shared identity? Resource If we compare the UK with other Western democracies such as Spain, Italy or Germany – all endowed with decentralised structures allowing various degrees of political autonomy for their regions – we discover... 6.4 Summary of Section 6 Resource The Labour government introduced a Greater London Authority (Referendum) Bill in 1997. The referendum took place in 1998. A Mayor and Assembly for London were first elected in 2000.

	7 When was Britain? 7.1 History Resource So far, I have provided a brief historical background for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, one that accounts for their distinctive identities and for the origins of their differing role within... 7.2 On Britishness Resource Earlier in this unit I considered how Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland came to be included in the UK. That incorporation was often not free from conflict, resistance, war and military intervention.... 7.3 Summary of Section 7 Resource The historian Linda Colley locates the birth of ‘Britain’ after 1707. She mentions three main factors that contributed to establishing the British nation: war, religion and the prospect of material advantage....

	8 Governance beyond the UK: The EU 8 Governance beyond the UK: The EU Resource One of the elements invoked in favour of regional devolution involves the significance of regions within the European Union. While some refer to the principle of subsidiarity (governing, when possible,...

	References and Acknowledgements References Resource Acknowledgements Resource