1.3 role & powers of devolved bodies.
Impact of devolution on the UK
Devolution in England –
*Regional devolution & EVEL see previous notes.
Scotland –
Scotland Act 1998 – established Scottish parliament & executive – devolved some
primary legislative powers from Westminster to Scotland:
- Local govt
- Housing
- Environment
- Law & order
- Education
- Health
- Income tax-varying powers of 3p in the pound.
Powers not devolved to Scotland – foreign policy, defence & immigration. If Scotland
had control over these then it would essentially be a nation state.
Scotland Act 2012 more power to Holyrood:
- Varying rate of income tax by up to 10p in the pound.
- Scottish govt can borrow up to £5bn.
Smith Commission established – its recommendations formed basis of Scotland Act
2016 – more reserved powers to Scotland over a range of domestic areas:
- Determining abortion laws
- Deciding air passenger duty
- Determining speed limits.
Implication that Scotland enjoys more than just devolved powers & UK is closer to
becoming quasi-federal state, with Westminster unable to abolish its parliament &
executive by an Act.
Devolution has given S control over several important areas of domestic policy –
major strength of devolution as allows S to legislate directly on issues that concerns
itself.
- E.g., in 2016 NHS Health Scotland estimated that sales of alcohol per week per
adult were 17% higher than in Wales or England.
- So, in 2018 they introduced a minimum alcohol price of 50p per unit to
discourage excessive drinking.
, Can develop own approach to domestic questions like health, education &
democracy:
- First part of UK to ban smoking in public places in 2006.
- Free university
- Voting age reduced to 16 for local elections, referendums & elections to Scottish
parliament.
- Medical prescriptions free since 2011.
Covid pandemic highlights the ways devolution has encouraged a separate identity
among constituent parts of the UK.
- Devolved govts determined how families, schools, shops & care homes should
respond to the crisis, they have increasingly become the govts the public most
identify with.
As decisions at westminster become less relevant in Scotland, people’s commitment
to the union is likely to weaken.
Still considerable support for union, esp. in northeast & England-facing lowlands.
SNP support in elections significantly increased since 2003 –
- 2003 – 27 SNP MSPs // 50 Labour
- 2021 – 64 SNP MSPs // 22 Labour
Collapse of support for Labour in Scotland & growth of SNP support - suggest the
Union is vulnerable.
- SNP won 48 of 59 Scottish seats at Westminster in 2019 general election. And 64
of the 129 seats at Holyrood in 2021 election.
- Scotland also voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the EU - 62% yes.
- Demands for a second referendum remain strong since SNP argued that the post-
Brexit UK is very different from the one that they voted for in 2014.
- In 2022, Nicola Sturgeon announced that she wanted a second independence
referendum in 2023. However, UK Supreme Court rejected this.
Wales –
Labour has very firm roots in English speaking South Wales & Plaid Cymru has
generally won most of its support in the Welsh speaking parts of North Wales - So
Welsh nationalism has not been able to make the same progress as Scottish
nationalism.
2019 – plaid Cymru – 4 seats. 9.9% of vote in Wales.
Its support has remained relatively even & rarely achieved more than 10% of the
popular vote in Wales.
1997 referendum - offered less powers than Scotland.
- Government of Wales Act established Welsh National Assembly & Welsh
Executive, but Wales was not granted any primary legislative authority.
- Instead, they were given administrative powers in areas like education, health,
transport & agriculture.
- Wales was just given power to decide how to implement acts of Parliament.
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