Two noteworthy things happened in Milton Keynes on Monday morning. Ed Miliband chaired the first meeting of Labour’s English Regional Shadow Cabinet – comprising mainly leaders of councils and combined…
And so it has arrived: draft legislation on further powers for the Scottish parliament, published before Burns Night (January 25), in accordance with the timetable set out in the wake of “The Vow”. As…
William Hague has made a big show of setting out a plan for English votes for English laws in a document published on December 16. The trouble is, his plan isn’t up to much. As one MP put it, his proposal…
Will the Scots be satisfied with the package of new powers that has been put before them? The Smith Commission, which was tasked with coming up with a new settlement following the September referendum…
The new proposals for extending more powers to Scotland by the Smith Commission are radical: devolving extensive tax and welfare powers will make Scotland one of the most autonomous regions in western…
Greater Manchester is to get its own directly elected mayor to preside over regional issues. The new mayor will have powers over transport, housing, planning and policing in a devolution deal worth more…
The group charged with delivering more devolution to Scotland is to draw up the most significant programme of constitutional change for the UK since 1998 this November. Already the period when citizens…
Political scientist Michael Keating, one of the stalwarts of our Scotland Decides ’14 referendum panel, offers a fascinating view of where the constitutional pieces will land after Scotland’s No vote…
As the UK heads towards its next phase of devolution, it should look to Spain for an example of how to do it badly. In its attempt to please everyone as it drew up its 1978 constitution, Spain ended up…
One of the unfortunate things about the independence referendum debate is that it did not help us clarify the most likely outcome: the offer of more powers commonly known as devo max. For some, this refers…
So no rabbit then. But plenty of friends. Probably too many, if truth be told; and maybe too many promises, too. The six-part plan unveiled by Ed Miliband in his Labour conference speech is at least one…
Devolving power to English regions and cities could offer a real chance to introduce more local oversight of the way academies and free schools are being managed. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have…
Anyone listening to the Scottish Independence debate may wish to have a care for the English regions. Take the West Midlands, equal to the population of Scotland, cradle of the industrial revolution and…
This week Tom Galbraith, better known as former House of Lords leader Lord Strathclyde, finally published his proposals for how Holyrood should be reformed if Scotland votes no in September. Immediately…
The UK government has agreed to extend protected minority status to the Cornish – a status already granted to Scots, Welsh and Irish. This will require the government and public bodies to factor in the…
Here’s a question: what do Cornwall, Scotland, Venice and Sardinia have in common? The answer: they all have vocal political movements calling for either independence from their nation states or at least…
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has released a report on the human rights situation in Ukraine. It outlines the main areas of concern and needs for action, and sets out a framework…