Devolution in Scotland and Wales PDF

Chapiter 2 devolution in Scotland and Wales Introduction and definition Devolution: transfer of some political power from the UK Parliament to Assemblies or Parliament in the home nation You have UK parliament and one for each home nation. Is it the transfer of all sorts of political power? I...

Chapiter 2 devolution in Scotland and Wales Introduction and definition Devolution: transfer of some political power from the UK Parliament to Assemblies or Parliament in the home nation You have UK parliament and one for each home nation. Is it the transfer of all sorts of political power? Independence means full power over everything. When devolution only means the surrender of some powers to local authorities by a central government. They have some / few powers but not big ones. Eg Scotland: Scottish parliament: police health education, it’s not the British parliament that makes decision, (microeconomy) Devolved powers= education / health / business / employment / environmental policy / transport / police forces But there is no such thing as the Scottish army. Welsh ministry of foreign affairs, Scottish home office. They are BRITSH. Decisions about foreign policy war, immigration are made in Westminster LONDON = reserved powers Consequently, devolution means partial autonomy within the Union. The British parliament makes decisions for the whole of the UK, other topics are made by other parliament than the British one in the home nation one. 3 parliament in the home nation: We call their PM: First minister Scottish parliament (Holyrood, Edinburgh) [FM-John Swinney] Welsh parliament (The Senedd, Cardiff ) [FM-Eluned Morgan] Northern Ireland parliament (Stormont, Belfast) [??????] There is no English parliament or assemblies, it’s the British parliament. British parliament (Westminster, London) [PM-Keir Starmer] Scottish and Welsh nationality.  Scottish Welsh The situation in Scotland is quite different. - Under English control since the 13th - 1296: King Edward I of England Century. tried to invade Scotland. They tried a few They use prince of Wales : correspond au times. But they resisted, and Scottish nom de l’héritier du trône. knight William Wallace led the war of - In 1536, Wales was absorbed into independence. William got tortured and his English. → Kingdome (act of union). They torture contributed to a surge of joined the union by force nationalism. But Anglo-Scottish [treaty of Cultural nationalism: people want to Perpetual peace] was signed in 1502. promote the Welsh nationality, culture, - 1603: King James of Scotland also language. But they don’t want to be became the king of England. About independent as well. Nationalism cultural families’ arrangements. You had 1 king for but less politic. 2 countries. PLAID CYMRUS: founded in 1925 but - Late 17th, Scotland tried to become a developed as a political in the 60s / more colonial empire. They tried to colonized interested in preserving Welsh culture and Panama. It did not go well. To prevent language / usually Europhiles and left bankruptcy and for trading opportunities leaning. within the British empire. - 1707, [a head over heart decision]. They choose to join the union because of the failure, it’s the choice of the Scottish parliament. - 1960, oil began to be exploited in the North Sea. It’s a huge source of wealth. It was a boon (a great opportunity) for the Scottish national party (SNP, founded in 1934 but gained momentum in the 70s / left-wing / Europhiles) 1) Growing autonomy But a gradual process The devolution is thought to keep the UK together and prevent the possible breakup of the UK. 1979: a 1st referendum on devolution was held in Scotland and Wales. But there was not enough support for devolution at the time. It did not work. After the referendum there were still no home nation assemblies. the conservatives were in office from 1979-1997 in the uk. They were not wanted in Scotland. Scottish never voted for them. So, they wanted their own parliament. = democratic deficit, which resulted in a campaign for new Scottish parliament. They felt their voices were not heard enough and did not matter. In the UK, they voted for a referendum. 1997: tony Blair’s labor party swept power. They finally won the election to the British parliament. He became the uk PM. He is especially important for Scotland because he imposes a new referendum in Scotland, in 1997, for the devolution. ➔ “Should there be a Scottish/Welsh parliament” For Scotland you have a turnout of 63,7% voted for a Scottish parliament. It was a big victory for the Scottish parliament. In Wales, the turnout was about 50,1% and only 50,3% voted for it. On this date in 1997, devolved institution was created. There are 2 problems with devolution Scottish and Welsh FM can vote on matters affecting the England in Westminster. English MP cannot vote on matter affecting Scotland and Wales  the West Lothian question solution? David Cameron proposed a system of English voted for English laws, which meant that in the UK parliament, bills that would only concern England would be debated and voted be English MPs only. ➔ idea of a fair system for England. But it did not last. 2nd pb Devolution is not independence, and some people want more. 2) The independence referendum It took place in 2014. It’s a referendum about the Scottish independence.  The referendum on self-determination for Scotland. A fight between 2 men - UK David Cameron he was against the Scottish independence. - the Scottish FM Alex Salmond It was very important for people to be independent and more specifically from England. This campaign consisted of hope and patriotism. JK Rowling. She doesn’t want the breakup of the 2 union. The NO campaign was about safety, mutual benefits, and corporation. Independence had not been thought through. There were many questions that had no answers. What would happen to pensions, asocial benefits and currency? They wanted to adopt the euro. But at this time the UK was still in the EU, so what would happen? Scotland did not want to be removed from the EU. They want to stay in the EU, that’s why they voted against it. The North Sea began to disappear, biggest resources, but what could happen if there were none anymore. What about the British market? do you still managed to send to England or from England. The results were NO. They stayed in the UK. Many people wanted to live but were afraid of economics issues “head over heart decision” but that’s not because of that, that there’s no nationalism anymore. 2016 new referendum in the UK. It was about Brexit, if they wanted to leave the EU. Decision of the UK supreme court: the Scottish parliament does not have the power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence. 2024: election for the British parliament. SNP lose a lot of sieges.  They didn’t know what would happen to the economy Conclusion – Scotland after the Brexit? However, with Brexit, many Scots asked for a new referendum. Yet the UK supreme court ruled that the Scottish parliament does not have the power to vote to organize a referendum on Scottish independence. RECAP Devolution: stronger local representation and political autonomy over certain matters such as transport; taxes; health and education but not over military decision and immigration policies. The results of the 2014 independence vote can be seen as the product of a head over decision.