Territory, power and statecraft: understanding English devolution

Abstract

In recent decades, the devolution of power to subnational regional authorities has formed a key element of what has been termed the 'unravelling' or 'unbundling' of the state in many parts of the world. Even in the United Kingdom, with its distinctive global reputation as a power-hoarding majoritarian democracy, the devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since 1998 can be located within this broader devolutionary dynamic. In recent years, this process has focused on 'the English question' and a reform agenda that claimed to offer a 'devolution revolution'. This paper offers the first research-led analysis of the scope, scale and implications of these post-2015 reforms to English governance. It utilizes Jim Bulpitt's statecraft approach to explore the changing nature of centre-periphery relationships within England. The main conclusion has been that a 'rhetoric-reality gap' currently exists and a 'devolution revolution' has not occurred.

Political devolution and employment relations in Great Britain: the case of the Living Wage

“…We believe that our study of the Living Wage, while small in scale, serves as a partial corrective to this orthodoxy. The findings indicate that not even the British state is unitary and point to the distinctive policies developed within devolved government, part of a global trend towards ‘unbundling’, the strengthening of subnational levels of government (Ayres et al ., 2018). The findings also attest to the significance of political parties and highlight the emergence of a new social democratic politics of the labour market of which the Living Wage forms a part.…”

Regional assemblage and the spatial reorganisation of health and care: the case of devolution in Greater Manchester, England

“…The largely secretive agreement set a precedent for a patchwork of subsequent deal‐based devolution settlements across England, heavily steered by central government with an absence of a solid constitutional basis or public debate (Ayres et al . ).…”

“…This gave the region new, if highly constrained, controls over issues such as transport, housing and planning, conditional on an elected Metro Mayor and privileging agglomerative urban economic growth (Haughton et al 2016). The largely secretive agreement set a precedent for a patchwork of subsequent deal-based devolution settlements across England, heavily steered by central government with an absence of a solid constitutional basis or public debate (Ayres et al 2018).…”

The impact of Brexit on English local government

“…While there have been efforts to devolve powers locally, aimed primarily at English city-regions, these attempts are confined to a relatively small number of areas. This devolution agenda has also been criticised for being led from the top-down, lacking adequate consultation and citizen engagement, lacking policy ambition, and failing to give devolved areas the necessary resources (for example Ayres, Flinders and Sandford, 2018). This centralisation is compounded by the financial situation of local authorities, who are highly dependent on central government grants.…”