Devolution

Devolution. What is it? In the UK, devolution generally refers to the grant of power to separate institutions (to the UK Parliament and UK Government) in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since the late-1990s. Powers have also been granted to regional governments in England recently, but this is not always called devolution (the powers are quite limited). How does it work? The devolved institutions did not get their powers on their own or even just because referendums were held: all the powers of the devolved legislatures have been granted by the UK Parliament (which can also take them away). The Scotland Act 1998, Government of Wales Act 2006 and Northern Ireland Act 1999 each set out a list of reserved matters which their devolved legislature cannot make laws relating to; this list is slightly different in each Act. The Acts also say that the devolved legislatures cannot make laws contrary to the Human Rights Act 1998, among other limitations, but outside of these, they essentially have free rein. Where is it? Scottish Parliament (120 MSPs) and Scottish Government; Senedd Cymru (60 MSs) and Welsh Government; Northern Ireland Assembly (90 MLAs) and Northern Ireland Executive.
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: partially devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Home: partially devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland and (almost) totally not devolved to Wales. Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Defence, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and International Trade: (almost) totally devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Examples: During the COVID-19 pandemic, different rules sometimes applied depending on which country you were in because of devolution: for example, in late-2020, Wales had an extra “firebreak” lockdown; In 2015 in Scotland and 2020 in Wales, the voting age for devolved and local elections was lowered to 16; In 2017, a new 9-1 grading system for GCSEs was introduced in England, but this was not adopted anywhere else.
Devolution to Scotland. 1707: The Parliaments of Scotland and England are merged into the Parliament of Great Britain, located in London. 1979: A referendum takes place, but an Assembly is not established as the required 40% of the Scottish electorate did not vote in favour. 1997–1998: Scotland votes in favour of establishing a Parliament and giving it the power to vary income tax rates by 10pp. 2012, 2014 and 2016: The Scotland Act 2012 devolves more functions, mainly over income tax. Scotland rejects independence in 2014. The Scotland Act 2016 sees more functions devolved, including over elections, taxation and work and pensions. Referendums: 1979: 64% turnout, 52% voted yes and 48% voted no; 1997: 60% turnout, 74% voted yes and 26% voted no; 1997: 60% turnout, 63% voted yes and 37% voted no; 2014: 85% turnout, 45% voted yes and 55% voted no. First Ministers: Donald Dewar (Labour) (1999–2000); Henry McLeish (Labour) (2000–2001); Jack McConnell (Labour) (2001–2007); Alex Salmond (SNP) (2007–2014); Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) (2014–2022); Humza Yousaf (SNP) (2022–).
Devolution to Northern Ireland. 1920: The Government of Ireland Act 1920 establishes a Parliament. 1972–1973: The Parliament is prorogued in 1972 and abolished in 1973, after the ‘border poll’. 1998–1999: Talks result in the landmark Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, which is put to a successful referendum in 1998. The Assembly and Executive are established in 1999. 2002–2010: The Assembly is suspended when unionist parties withdraw. The St Andrews Agreement sees devolution restored in 2007 and policing and justice devolved in 2010. 2017–2020: The Assembly is suspended when Sinn Féin withdraw. 2022–: The Assembly is suspended when the DUP withdraw. Referendums: 1973: 59% turnout, 1% voted yes and 99% voted no; 1998: 81% turnout, 71% voted yes and 29% voted no. First Ministers: David Trimble (UUP) (1998–2002); Ian Paisley (DUP) (2007–2008); Peter Robinson (DUP) (2008–2016); Arlene Foster (DUP) (2016–2017, 2020–2021); Paul Givan (DUP) (2021–2022). deputy First Ministers: Seamus Mallon (SDLP) (1998–2001); Mark Durkan (SDLP) (2001–2002); Martin McGuinness (SF) (2007–2017); Michelle O’Neill (SF) (2020–2021).
Devolution since 2016. Since around 2016, there have been developments which suggest a sea change as far as devolution is concerned. The Sewel Convention: The Sewel convention is a constitutional convention that the UK Parliament will not normally legislate over devolved matters without the consent of the devolved legislature concerned. It has been said that the Sewel convention “largely operated with remarkably little controversy” until 2016, but was “broken by Brexit”. In 2020, all three devolved legislatures withheld legislative consent for a bill to implement Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, but the UK Parliament still made it law. Brexit: The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2018 appeared to give the devolved governments very little of the UK’s new powers after Brexit. And the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 was deemed a “significant recentralisation of power” in the UK Government and UK Parliament. Northern Ireland: Despite working well in the past, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been hit with two more suspensions since 2016. “Muscular unionism”: The UK Government appears to have less respect for devolution than it had before. It is reported that Boris Johnson called Scottish devolution a “disaster” and that Liz Truss never phoned the First Ministers of Scotland or Wales. Meanwhile, the devolved institutions played a major role during the COVID-19 pandemic, meanwhile demands for Scottish independence remain…