The House of Commons and devolution

Evans, Adam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4150-1517 2022. The House of Commons and devolution. Public Law 2022 (Oct) , pp. 616-633.

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Abstract

ew Labour’s devolution programme represented a major reform to the working of the UK’s constitution. While devolution has a longer pre-history than is sometimes appreciated, including in the form of the 1921–72 Stormont model of devolved governance in Northern Ireland, the post-1997 reforms were nonetheless a remarkable constitutional moment. However, there has been little attention paid to the collective implications of devolution for the House of Commons. This article attempts to provide a stock-take on devolution so far as it has impacted Westminster since 1999. Its main argument is that the defining feature of the relationship between devolution and the House of Commons has been asymmetry. As has been long acknowledged, devolution has been an inherently asymmetric process, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each enjoying distinctive devolution dispensations. It should, therefore, not be surprising that this asymmetry has spilled over into the relationship between devolution and the UK Parliament. The impact of devolution on the House of Commons, and Westminster’s scope for influence within the devolved nations post-devolution, defies a one-size fits all description. Instead, we need to take a four nations approach to understanding the full implications of devolution for the House of Commons.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Department of Politics and International Relations (POLIR) Wales Governance Centre (WGCES)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain K Law > KD England and Wales
Publisher:	Sweet and Maxwell
ISSN:	0033-3565
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 September 2022
Date of Acceptance:	29 April 2022
Last Modified:	13 Nov 2024 07:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/152516

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