Federalism in the United Kingdom aims at constitutional reform to achieve a federal United Kingdom or a British federation, where there is a division of legislative powers between two or more levels of government, so that sovereignty is decentralised between a federal government and autonomous governments in a federal system.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy governed via parliamentary democracy. It comprises the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK also operates a system of devolution from a central UK Parliament, with a UK Government led by a prime minister as head of government, to the devolved legislatures of the Scottish Parliament, Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and Northern Ireland Assembly with first ministers and their own respective governments. In England, only Greater London and the combined authorities, currently have varying degrees of devolved powers, with proposals for an England-wide or regional devolution.
Compared to the current system of devolution, in a true federal system, autonomy as well as devolved powers would be considered constitutionally protected, requiring more than an Act of Parliament to modify or revoke powers. Autonomy could also potentially be applied uniformly across the entire United Kingdom, compared to the varying levels of devolution at present. The Scotland Act 2016 and the Wales Act 2017 made the Scottish Parliament and Senedd permanent parts of the British constitution, requiring a referendum in each respective country to remove the legislatures, although the UK Parliament still retains the sovereign right to adjust devolved powers.
Federalism was first proposed in the late 19th century to address increasing calls for Irish Home Rule, the awarding of autonomy for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The proposals failed and the Irish Free State was formed instead. Since a system of devolution was implemented in the late 20th century, some have proposed that a transition be made towards a federation or confederation, as an effort by unionists to combat separatism.
Current status of the UK
The United Kingdom is an asymmetrically decentralised unitary state and a constitutional monarchy governed via parliamentary democracy. The UK Parliament is composed of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the UK Government is led by the prime minister, Andy Burnham, and the head of state is King Charles III. The UK comprises four countries, one being England, and the other three Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland having devolved governments. A system of devolution is in place in the UK, with powers transferred from the central UK Parliament to the devolved legislatures of the Scottish Parliament, Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and Northern Ireland Assembly, each with first ministers and their own respective governments. The devolved countries do not have the same level of powers, therefore are not symmetrical with each other, and they all operate on a reserved model, where it is only clarified what powers they do not have. In England, only Greater London and the combined authorities, mostly headed by mayors, currently have varying degrees of devolved powers, while there have been proposals for a England-wide parliament or devolution to the regions of England.
The UK Parliament retains the constitutional tradition of parliamentary sovereignty, therefore as devolution and the subsequent establishment of devolved institutions are products of UK statute, the UK Parliament can theoretically reverse devolution. Although the Scotland Act 2016 and the Wales Act 2017 made the Scottish Parliament and Senedd permanent parts of the British constitution, requiring a referendum in each respective country to remove the legislatures, but the UK Parliament still retains the sovereign right to adjust devolved powers. "The UK is a unitary state, not a federation or a confederation," according to Lord David Frost. However, it is arguable that the UK is instead a 'union state', and that it is more politically/nationally diverse than even some federal states.
History of nation devolution
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Irish home rule was a divisive political issue. The First and Second Home Rule Bills failed to pass the UK Parliament. The Third Home Rule Bill was introduced in 1912 by Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, intended to provide home rule in Ireland, with some additional proposals for home rule in Scotland, Wales, and areas of England. The implementation of the Bill was delayed by the outbreak of the First World War. At war's end the UK parliament, responding to Northern Irish Protestant lobbying, passed the Fourth Home Rule Bill which divided Ireland into a six-county Northern Ireland and a twenty-six county Southern Ireland, each with its own parliament and judiciary. The Southern Parliament only met once: London acknowledged the sovereignty of southern Ireland as the Irish Free State, within the British Commonwealth, at the end of 1921. The Northern Ireland Parliament remained until 1972 when it was abolished due to sectarian conflict in the Troubles.
The Scotland Act 1978 became law on 31 July 1978, requiring 40% of the Scottish electorate to support the formation of an assembly. Although 52% of those who voted supported an assembly, this amounted to 33% of the total electorate and so an assembly was not formed. In 1997 a referendum was held in Scotland on a Scottish parliament which was supported by 74.3% of Scots. In 1998 the Scotland Bill was introduced in the UK Parliament and became law as the Scotland Act 1998 later that year. The Scottish parliamentary elections were held in 1999 and were followed by the re-establishment of the Scottish parliament. In Wales, a referendum on a Welsh assembly was held, also in 1997, and resulted in a 50.3% majority in favour. The Government of Wales Act was passed in the UK parliament in 1998 and the National Assembly for Wales was formed in 1999 in Cardiff. The National Assembly for Wales was renamed as the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, with the Presiding Officer, Elin Jones, saying that its renaming represented the increased powers and responsibilities of the Senedd.
In 2014, Scotland voted to remain in the UK, though a plurality of Scots wanted greater autonomy within the UK. This culminated in the Scotland Act of 2016 which declared that Scotland's devolved institutions were permanent, and granted the Scottish Parliament and government powers over taxation and welfare.
The Wales Act 2017 defined the National Assembly and devolved institutions to be a permanent component of the UK constitution, and any abolition of such institutions would require a referendum. The act also changed the model of operation of the devolved institutions from a "conferred powers model" to a "reserved powers model". The Assembly was given the power to decide its own name and voting system of members.
Proposals for an English Parliament
There have been proposals for the establishment of a single Devolved English Parliament to govern the affairs of England as a whole. This has been supported by groups such as English Commonwealth, the English Democrats and Campaign for an English Parliament, as well as the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru who have both expressed support for greater autonomy for all four nations while ultimately striving for a dissolution of the Union. Without its own devolved Parliament, England continues to be governed and legislated for by the UK Government and UK Parliament which gives rise to the West Lothian question. The question concerns the fact that, on devolved matters, Scottish MPs continue to help make laws that apply to England alone, although no English MPs can make laws on those same matters for Scotland. Since the 2014 Scottish independence referendum there has been a wider debate about the UK adopting a federal system with each of the four Home Nations having its own, equal devolved legislatures and law-making powers.
In September 2011 it was announced that the British government was to set up a commission to examine the West Lothian question. In January 2012 it was announced that this six-member commission would be named the Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, would be chaired by former Clerk of the House of Commons, Sir William McKay, and would have one member from each of the devolved countries. The McKay Commission reported in March 2013.BBC News, England-only laws 'need majority from English MPs' , 25 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013 Following the election of a Conservative majority government in the 2015 general election, new parliamentary procedures and a Legislative Grand Committee were enacted to bring it into effect. The measures were subsequently abolished in 2021.
Federation proposals
19th and 20th centuries Federalism was proposed in the 1870s by Isaac Butt and his Home Rule party. Federalism was also proposed by Joseph Chamberlain in the mid-1880s. It gained significant support during the constitutional and home rule crisis in Ireland in particular.
A UK federation government was proposed in 1912 by Winston Churchill, Member of Parliament for Dundee, which also included proposals for English regions governed by a regional parliament as part of a UK federation. Potential areas included Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Midlands and London.
David Lloyd George campaigned for Welsh devolution, beginning with the devolution of the Church in Wales which finally came about in 1920. Lloyd George felt that disestablishment, land reform and other forms of Welsh devolution could only be achieved if Wales formed its own government within a federal imperial system. Lloyd George's Government of 1918 also gave considerable thought to a federal government to relieve tensions in Ireland, particularly in combination with conscription for the First World War.
In 1977, Tam Dalyell, then MP for West Lothian, raised the "West Lothian question" on the issue of an English parliament during a debate on devolution of powers to Scotland and Wales.
21st century timeline
David Melding In September 2013, Conservative MS for South Wales Central, David Melding produced a book for the Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) discussing federalism. He suggested that parliaments in a federal UK should all be sovereign and that a balance of powers between a central parliament and the national parliaments would emerge following a new "Act of Union". He suggests that disputes could be resolved in the Supreme Court.
Liberal Democrats Since March 2014, the Liberal Democrats have been committed to a policy of UK federalism. Their proposal for a federal UK originally included:
Transferring additional powers to the Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament to have equal devolution to the Scottish Parliament A need dependent equitable distribution of resources between different parts of the UK A Declaration of Rights document Election to the House of Commons via Single Transferable Vote Replacing the House of Lords with an upper house and a more democratic mandate