Some say that devolution has moved the UK away from being a unitary state towards a system that more resembles the federalism of, for instance, the United States or Germany; in effect, a quasi-federalism has appeared to replace the unitary system. However, it is only ‘quasi’ because it has some but not all of the features of a fully federal state. As we’ve seen, federalism is where power is decentralised to smaller units across the country and where sovereignty is shared between them and the central authority. In Germany, for example, the central political institutions share power with 16 states. Many key decisions that affect the lives of ordinary Germans are made by these federal states and not the central government.

Towns and cities across England should be given new powers to drive growth and champion their areas. A survey of Spain: How much is enough?". The Economist. 6 November 2008 . Retrieved 25 August 2010. (subscription required) Devolution refers to the transfer of certain powers from the central UK government to nations and regions within the United Kingdom. It can involve the establishment of legislative assemblies or parliaments and governments or executives within these sub-state territories. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority have worked with partners and key stakeholders to launch a new employment-focused university. This university is due to open in Peterborough with 2,000 students in 2022 and the ambition of having 12,500 by 2030.As in the Northwest Territories, federal responsibilities were transferred to the Yukon government in the 1980s. In 1988 the Minister and the Yukon Government Leader signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing the parties to smooth the progress of devolution of remaining province-like responsibilities to the Yukon Government. Responsibilities transferred since then include fisheries, mine safety, intra-territorial roads, hospitals and community-health care, oil-and-gas and, most recently, natural resources.

Our starting point is a modern system of decision making that does not start from the top – but starts from the people and is grounded in new ways of consulting, participating, and deciding. Fifthly, a new voice and new status, and new powers, for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as valued parts of the United Kingdom. Our recommendations will give the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland a new opportunity to benefit from not only a unique and mutually beneficial combination of self-government and shared government but from a new status we propose each of these nations can enjoy within the United Kingdom. Increased authority of elected Council members over the ensuing period contributed to significant changes in the Yukon Commissioner's role. In 1979, instructions from the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Minister) directed the Commissioner to allow elected members and the Executive Council to make important policy decisions, specifying that his/her actions should normally be based on the advice and taken with the consent of the elected Executive Council.Eg In the USA, this has been seen in a debate between the centralising tendencies of the first half of the twentieth century as the Democrats' programmes sought to increase the power and economic clout of Washington at the expense of the states, as compared with moves towards more decentralisation and states' rights' by Republican presidents such as Richard Nion and Ronald Reagan. Likewise in the UK, there was a lengthy debate during the second half of the last century as to whether devolved powers should be granted to Sotland and Wales. But since these principalities were granted their own legistative and executive powers, there has been a continuing debate - especially in Scotland - as to how much these powers should be increased. Devolution: what is it and what powers would cities get?". Channel 4 News. 14 May 2015 . Retrieved 2019-02-22.

Those who build the present in the image of the past will miss out entirely on the challenges of the future. But recent economic and political failures have left our country ill-equipped for the huge challenges of a fast-changing world – the digital revolution, the medical revolution, and the green revolution – and for the response to climate change, supply chain shortages, global conflict, and automation.But, in what is likely to be Jeremy Hunt’s last pre-election autumn statement, the chancellor unveiled an array of new measures that add up to a substantial further empowerment of local leaders, with devolution set to be both extended to new parts of England and deepened in many places where metro mayors are already in post. The government is extending devolution to new areas – but some big gaps in the map remain The immediate crisis has been caused by the aftermath of Covid, the war in Ukraine, energy price rises, and inflation. Powers to control and administer public land with the right to use, sell or otherwise dispose of such land; and In the United Kingdom, devolved government was created for Northern Ireland in 1921 by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, for Wales and Scotland in September 1997 following simple majority referendums, and in London in May 1998. Between 1998 and 1999, the Scottish Parliament, Senedd (Welsh Parliament), Northern Ireland Assembly and London Assembly were established by law. The Campaign for an English Parliament, which supports English devolution (i.e. the establishment of a separate English parliament or assembly) was formed in 1998. Game, Chris (2016-06-06). "Look to French in great devolution battle". birminghampost . Retrieved 2019-02-22.

Devolution may have become a firm part of the UK constitution, but it comes with its own set of challenges and areas of contention. This is partly down to the piecemeal way in which devolution has been implemented. Four principal challenges that are associated with devolution are: Secondly, at the centre of our reinvigorated democracy is ensuring the right powers are in the right places.

Join Get Revising

The constitution refers to the institutions, rules and principles which structure and define the political system. Devolution is a key feature of the UK constitution: it has meant the establishment of new political, legislative and governmental institutions. Through this it has changed the location of power and decision-making in various ways. Some have also argued that devolution has challenged and stretched some of the principles which have been held to lie at the heart of the UK constitution. In Scotland, we propose economic, social and constitutional innovations that can make the UK work better for the Scottish people and ensure the people of Scotland are more comfortable with a reformed and more equitable United Kingdom. We must stop leaving half the country out of our economy, and we must stop flying on only one wing. Everyone in the South as well as the North loses out from an unbalanced economy, with, congestion, higher housing costs and accelerating inflation in one part of the country, and underemployment, people forced to leave where they grew up for opportunity and often depopulation in another. Tam Dalyell asked: ‘For how long will English constituencies and English Honourable members tolerate… At least 119 Honourable Members from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland exercising an important and probably often decisive, effect on English politics while they themselves have no say in the same matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?’ At face value, this seems undemocratic.