devolution – Page 4 – Slugger O'Toole

Gordon Brown’s plan for a constitutional convention is likely to be stillborn, but his ideas for closing the yawning UK wealth gap deserve attention

Brian Walker on November 10, 2016, 10:26 am

| Readers 373

A more federal UK is needed to create a more economically equal state and buttress the Union’s survival, says the former prime minister Gordon Brown. New research starkly exposes the wealth gap between London and the regions more clearly than ever. The Northern Powerhouse plan for the north of England only scratches the surface and Brexit adds to the strains of Union cohesion. This is the gap that goes long way to a long way to explain the Brexit demand …

English nationalism drove Brexit and now supercharges the Tories. What about the UK?

Mick Fealty on October 5, 2016, 2:41 pm

| Readers 1121

Interesting presentation from Richard Wynne Jones at an event in Birmingham yesterday on how English nationalism is driving UK politics… He said: “We are entering a new era in UK politics in which the traditional textbook understanding of the nature of the UK is basically wrong – and actually England [and] Englishness is coming into play in ways which we haven’t seen before.” Prof Jones said there is now a “great deal of unhappiness as to how England is treated within …

Theresa May’s new assurances on the border and consultation raise more questions than provide answers

Brian Walker on September 30, 2016, 6:13 pm

| Readers 2121

In advance of the Conservative party conference and with speculation running about a hard Brexit, Theresa May has given an interview to BBC Scotland and BBC Northern Ireland to try to assure their governments that they won’t be ignored in formulating the UK Brexit strategy. This is in spite of the UK government’s insistence in court that Brexit is a matter reserved to Westminster and there is no legal requirement to consult them. Politics however is a different matter. I …

An Irish “conversation” is one thing, but what role for Stormont in the British conversation?

Brian Walker on September 29, 2016, 8:38 am

| Readers 809

The Institute for Government is a think tank that works closely with government. It reports that turf wars are already costing tens of millions. Its expert on devolution Akash Paun blogs that Holyrood, Cardiff Bay and Stormont should get their act together to pool their influence at the centre. Following exchanges over an Irish “conversation,” is Stormont up to it where it matters most? It is unlikely the UK’s four governments will come together as equal partners, with parity of …

Brexit: how it would play differently for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Brian Walker on May 27, 2016, 11:00 am

| Readers 2837

Northern Ireland is the only area where the Brexit referendum campaign barely figured in the recent devolved elections. The Constitution Unit of UCL where I’m an Hon Fellow hasn’t forgotten us and devolution generally. The Unit has just published a report based on a seminar that brought academics together from the three devolved areas to discuss how they’d be affected. It’s well worth reading as much for what they have in common as what makes each of them distinctive. The …

Scotland Bill, and the perils of building legislation via pressured negotiation…

Mick Fealty on November 23, 2015, 6:39 pm

| Readers 316

UNFITTED SOLUTIONS: One thing we may see happening more often in UK politics has long been a feature in Irish politics where referendums are constitutionally de rigueur, and that is the problem of what happens when the contagious politics of the big idea meets small politics of administration.

Is it time to reduce the number of our MLAs?

David McCann on November 22, 2015, 11:20 pm

| Readers 1452

CUTTING THE MLAS: Tomorrow the Assembly will debate this motion brought forward by the Alliance party. The party claims that if this measure is introduced by the next election that it could see a saving of £11 million over the course of the next assembly term.

State of the State: “Northern Ireland appears to be pausing at a junction.”

David McCann on October 15, 2015, 7:22 pm

| Readers 1589

Deloitte released its State of the State report today which examines the structure and levels of government across the UK. The 42 page report outlines public spending levels and the impact of cuts across the country in the last financial year. Whilst the report does look at the UK as a whole (I would encourage you to look through the report) it does devote some pages to Northern Ireland’s economic performance and the challenges we face. Being the public service …

Reeling in the years: Collapse of devolution throughout the years

David McCann on September 10, 2015, 8:10 pm

| Readers 1350

The collapse of devolution has happened before in Northern Ireland and whilst we await the pending demise of the current Executive I thought it’d be interesting courtesy of AP to take a trip down memory lane to see other collapses in the past. Direct rule introduced in March 1972. Here is the outgoing Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner protesting the British governments security policies. Brian Faulkner following the UWC Strike in May 1974. The first power-sharing coalition between the Official Unionists, …

Should the Scottish Parliament and the Assemblies in Cardiff and Belfast control ” their” BBC?

Brian Walker on August 5, 2015, 4:51 pm

| Readers 554

The three wee Celts in the precariously devolved UK have got together – convened wouldn’t you know it – by the Scots, to agitate for a bigger slice of the BBC licence fee during the coming round of the BBC Charter review. Northern Ireland’s culture minister Caral Ni Chuilin declares: “The BBC must continue to embrace and further develop its commitment to its public obligations and the occasion of the charter renewal must be seen as an opportunity to deliver …

Abortion law is pawn in a Tory-SNP power game

Brian Walker on July 25, 2015, 10:12 am

| Readers 642

The Herald reports that the Conservatives are thinking about devolving abortion law to Scotland where a strong Catholic lobby is opposed to the 1967 Act. What the point of doing it unless the aim is to repeal it? Not necessarily apparently. It’s really about the power game between Westminster and Holyrood, not about little matters such as rights, ethics, women and embryos. Earlier this year, the Scottish Government quietly dropped a demand for new powers over abortion, saying it had other …

Nationalist Parties need to shift away from the “blame the Tories” narrative and embrace the Welfare Reform debate

David McCann on May 30, 2015, 1:55 pm

| Readers 2406

Nationalism needs a new economic narrative and if you didn’t believe that before, the complete debacle over Welfare Reform is proof positive of the inability to construct a proper narrative on our current economic situation or a long term strategy for fiscal rectitude and a prosperous economy. We are faced at the moment with a budgetary crisis that puts our very institutions in jeopardy. After all the stop/starts, false dawns and talks about talks, we seemingly had broken the pattern …

Calm down, Alex Salmond is not Attila the Hun

Brian Walker on March 7, 2015, 6:17 pm

| Readers 744

The appeals to Labour to put the Union first and spurn an SNP deal coming from Tory warhorses John Major and Ken Baker sound very statesmanlike. But what do they really mean, with Labour just ahead of the Tories in the forecasts? First, based on all the predictions of main party scores and an SNP landslide, Labour could not form a minority government without some form of SNP support. The Conservatives are stubbornly behind in the polls even though they’re running …

Cartoon – Spencer on Tuesday

Brian Spencer on December 9, 2014, 9:40 am

| Readers 657

George Osborne set corporation tax on the condition that talks be resolved and fiscal responsibility be shown. A ‘Peace Fund’ sweetener is on the table too. Sinn Fein has counter-conditioned with a “shopping list” of demands. Here’s this weeks cartoon offering in response to events. Thanks to the Firemen for photoshop work. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

Corporation Tax: Picking The Wrong Fight

Kris Nixon (Belfast Barman) on December 1, 2014, 4:43 pm

| Readers 1044

You might notice from time to time that Foster, DETI, OFMDFM et al. have a penchant for announcing jobs…except they tend to announce a certain kind of job; big jobs, high paying jobs, important jobs, graduate jobs. It’s tough to picture the big wigs rolling down the hill to announce a greengrocers expansion or for the opening of a pub (although perhaps that’s another matter entirely). The digital media, financial and media jobs are without a doubt greater net contributors …

Has Sturgeon thrown a spanner in the works over Corporation Tax?

David McCann on November 30, 2014, 5:02 pm

| Readers 1601

There is increasing speculation that the Chancellor, George Osbourne is to announce that Corporation Tax powers will be devolved to Northern Ireland. All of the main parties here support the move, so you would think it would be relatively simple to do it. However, the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Stugeon might have just thrown a spanner in the works for that plan as she told SKY News this morning .@NicolaSturgeon: if Northern Ireland gets power over Corporation Tax then these …

Devo Max with corporate tax cut ” disastrous” for NI

Brian Walker on November 21, 2014, 1:54 pm

| Readers 622

This powerful case against the SNP’s Devo Max plans including a 3% cut in corporation tax is made in the academic website The Conversation by Arthur Midwinter Associate Professor, Institute of Public Sector Accounting Research at University of Edinburgh and a former adviser to the former Labour leader in the Scottish Parliament Johann Lamont. It is difficult to see how “devo max” could be workable in the UK system. The aim should be to achieve maximum devolution and accountability while …

Corporation tax powers huge test for Stormont

Brian Walker on November 20, 2014, 9:01 pm

| Readers 701

The word is out that the government will grant Stormont control over corporation tax when the Chancellor makes his Autumn Statement on 3 December. Peter Robinson is talking with the confidence of a done deal. David Cameron gave a broad hint this morning as he was grilled by all the select committees chairs in the Commons Liaison Committee this morning on his current thinking on more devolution powers. Laurence Robertson, the Conservative chair of the Northern Ireland committee. Q: What …

Barnett formula bonus won’t last

Brian Walker on November 18, 2014, 12:13 pm

| Readers 502

The present and future cuts may seem tough – and they are – but here I belatedly post the good news from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), s that they could be much worse, were it not for a” flaw “ in the Barnett formula for allocating the block grant. The calculations presented in this paper suggest that these flaws have resulted in Scotland receiving around £400 million more and Northern Ireland around £130 million more in funding this …