Governing Britain

Governing Britain PDF Author: Philip Norton
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526145464
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
Who governs Britain? Is Parliament sovereign? Who chooses the Prime Minister? And who enforces the rules? The United Kingdom is in the throes of political and constitutional conflict. Tensions between different Westminster and Holyrood, and between the UK and the European Union, are part of a wider picture of constitutional flux. The United Kingdom is one of only three nations that does not have the principal provisions of the organs of state, nor is how they relate to one another and to the citizen embodied in a single document. Devolution and Brexit have given rise to calls for a codified constitution, but the debate has taken place against a background of confusion and uncertainty as to existing constitutional arrangements. We must first understand what already exists and how our constitution works today. This deeply informed and elegantly written book addresses the problems that have arisen in the context of the greatest political crisis our country has faced in decades.

Governing Britain

Governing Britain PDF Author: Philip Norton
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 1526145464
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
Who governs Britain? Is Parliament sovereign? Who chooses the Prime Minister? And who enforces the rules? The United Kingdom is in the throes of political and constitutional conflict. Tensions between different Westminster and Holyrood, and between the UK and the European Union, are part of a wider picture of constitutional flux. The United Kingdom is one of only three nations that does not have the principal provisions of the organs of state, nor is how they relate to one another and to the citizen embodied in a single document. Devolution and Brexit have given rise to calls for a codified constitution, but the debate has taken place against a background of confusion and uncertainty as to existing constitutional arrangements. We must first understand what already exists and how our constitution works today. This deeply informed and elegantly written book addresses the problems that have arisen in the context of the greatest political crisis our country has faced in decades.

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot PDF Author: John Lloyd
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 150954268X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
The Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as £10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.

Devolution

Devolution PDF Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780215530387
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Book Description
Devolution was a major component of the Government's package of proposed constitutional reform for the United Kingdom post 1997. Devolution has fundamentally transformed politics within the devolved territories, but it has also had a significant impact on the make-up and the constitution of the United Kingdom. Fundamental changes in the way Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are governed have not been followed by major changes in the way England is governed. Matters which are the responsibility of devolved Parliaments in the rest of the UK are, in England, determined by the United Kingdom Government and Parliament. This report identifies several changes required to improve the current infrastructure and the procedures and practices of governance in the UK after devolution, in order to facilitate the effective and efficient functioning of the asymmetric system of devolution. Whitehall was not ready for devolution. Departmental responsibility for overseeing the working of the UK's system of government has been divided and unsettled, and the report recommends that a lead department responsible for devolution strategy be identified. The second half of the report identifies two significant constitutional and political issues which have been brought into sharp focus since the onset of devolution in 1999: first, the fact that England remains highly centralised under the authority of the UK Government and Parliament, resulting in the "English Question", a phrase which encapsulates a range of different questions in relation to the governance of England, and, secondly, the increasing concern about the efficacy and application of the Barnett Formula as the means for the allocation of increases and decreases in public funds.

The State of the Nations 2003

The State of the Nations 2003 PDF Author: Robert Hazell
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1845408179
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The State of the Nations 2003 is the third publication of a major research programme into devolution in the United Kingdom, published on behalf of the Constitution Unit at University College London.

The English Question

The English Question PDF Author: Robert Hazell
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719073694
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
This work asks whether England needs to find its own political voice, following devolution to Scotland and Wales. It explains the different formulations of the 'English question', and sets the answers in a historical and constitutional context.

The State of the Nations 2001

The State of the Nations 2001 PDF Author: Alan Trench
Publisher: Imprint Academic
ISBN: 9780907845195
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
The chapters in this book cover the second year of devolution in the UK, bringing together the fruits of a major five-year research programme funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The programme comprises 11 research projects, underpinned by a regular series of monitoring reports, written by teams of experts in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As a volume of record this book is an essential up-to-date text for courses in constitutional law or the UK political system. The contributions cover Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the English regions, intergovernmental relations, The Barnett Formula, Westminster, public attitudes to devolution and the London assembly. This is a unique contemporary record describing all the main developments during the second year of devolution. Book jacket.

Spending Review 2010

Spending Review 2010 PDF Author: Great Britain. Treasury
Publisher: The Stationery Office
ISBN: 9780101794220
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
In 2009-10, public expenditure rose to 48 per cent of GDP whilst income fell to 37 per cent, resulting in the largest deficit in Britain's peacetime history. This Spending Review sets out how the Coalition Government will carry out its deficit reduction plan. Particular focus has been given to reducing welfare costs and wasteful spending. This has enabled the Coalition Government to prioritise the NHS, schools, early years' provision and the capital investments designed to support long term economic growth. Departmental budgets other than health and overseas aid will be cut by an average of 19 per cent over four years. Key areas of Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) in addition to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DELs) for each government department and for the devolved administrations are covered. The Review sets out departmental spending plans for the four years until 2014-15 and further savings and reforms to welfare, environmental levies and public service pensions. The Review protects high value transport maintenance and investment, maintains the science budget, invests in apprenticeships and the low carbon economy and allows universities to increase fees from the 2012-13 academic year. Fundamental reforms will simplify the welfare system and make net savings of �7 billion a year. Social housing will be reformed and social care will receive an additional �2 billion by 2014-15. Public service reform underpins the Review: decentralisation of power; cutting burdens and regulations on front-line staff; improving transparency, efficiency and accountability of local services. Local government will have greater freedom but must work within reduced allocations. Public sector pensions will be reformed in line with Lord Hutton's recommendations. Central government administration costs will be cut by 34 per cent by 2014-15. Government departments will produce business plans later in 2010 detailing reform plans and priorities.

The Codes of the Constitution

The Codes of the Constitution PDF Author: Andrew Blick
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1509904093
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This book describes an astounding feat of constitutional writing and publication. For a number of decades, officials working across different branches of the United Kingdom (UK) constitution have been engaged in a series of separate projects. Taken in their totality, they amount to a vast enterprise. Yet, until now, no-one has fully recognised or critically analysed what has taken place. There has been a proliferation in the UK of publicly available codes, normally lacking a basis in statute, providing official accounts of a variety of different features of UK constitutional rules and principles. They cover institutions ranging from the Cabinet to the Civil Service to the judiciary, and relationships between entities such as central government and the devolved executives; and between the UK executive and the Westminster Parliament. Among them are prominent texts such as the Ministerial Code, the Cabinet Manual, the Guide to Judicial Conduct and the devolution Memorandum of Understanding – as well as more obscure documents that nonetheless contain important stipulations regarding the operation of the system. Similar developments have taken place in countries including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The author explores the history of this phenomenon in the UK, how it functions today here and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, and its implications for the UK constitution.

The Changing Constitution

The Changing Constitution PDF Author: Jeffrey L. Jowell
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199579059
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
This collection of essays by leading experts in British constitutional law covers the main areas of recent reform and anticipates further developments. These are considered against a background of general principles, including constitutionalism, parliamentary sovereignty, membership of the EU, and globalisation.

Comparing Devolved Governance

Comparing Devolved Governance PDF Author: D. Birrell
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230389791
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Examines recent evidence of a growing symmetry in the operation of devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This book makes one of the first systematic and detailed comparisons of the operation of the devolved institutions and machinery of governance. It uses a comparative approach to explore the key workings of government.