Unit 6 Devolution and Federalism

8/9/2019 Unit 6 Devolution and Federalism

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Devolution and

FederalismThe differences between devolution in the UK and federalism in the USAare greater in theory than they are in practice Discuss

Key !deas

The relationship between national and regional government in the UK and USA is much

more complex than the theories suggest, and it has always been so.

The UK has usually been called a unitary state, yet it has always been a union state, with

substantial regional differences. Since 1!, the UK has become a devolved state, but

lopsidedly so. The degree of power which has been devolved is limited in nature,

especially in "ales and there is no devolution for #nglish regions yet. "hile $abour are

in favour of #nglish devolution, regional autonomy is li%ely to be slim.

The USA is a federal state, but the constitutional provisions are vague and

contradictory. &n the twentieth century, economic and social change has transformed

federalism, greatly strengthening the 'ederal government.

"hile the last twenty years has witnessed a revival of the states, the classic definition

of federalism as a division between two layers of government is long since dead.

Although the UK has become more decentralised and the US more centralised, the

degree of decentralisation in the USA remains much greater than in the UK

Study "uide(efinitions

(evolution in the UK since 1!

(evolution and federalism in the UK

"hy (evolution)

'ederalism in the USA

Arguments for *entralism and (ecentralism

Definitions

A A unitary state#a union state A unitary state, is one where there is one central law+ma%ing body, and one executive or

government.

The implication is that all parts of the state have the same laws, which are administered

and implemented by the same institutions.

*itiens throughout the state are sub-ect to the same laws.

ritain has usually been seen as a unitary state because of the principle of parliamentarysovereignty, i.e. the location of supreme legal power in the UK is the "estminster

parliament.

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The UK has always been best described as a union state$ where different regions are

often treated differently and where some degree of regional self+government remains.

% A federal state $egal and constitutional power in a federal state, li%e the USA and /ermany, is divided

between a national government and various regional governments.

&ach level of government has policy areas in which it is autonomous and each level

has its own elected assembly 0or assemblies and government.

#ach of the 23 American states, for example, has its own constitution, its own /overnor

and, among other things, the states control education policy.

The crucial feature of a federal state is that the division of power is defined in a

codified constitution and protected by that constitution

' Devolution (evolution is the delegation of central government powers to subordinate units$

these powers being e(ercised with some degree of autonomy though with ultimate

power remaining with central government 4ernon ogdanor &n theory, the )ey difference between federalism and devolution is that in a federal

system the division of power between the central government and the regional

governments is defined and protected by a codified constitution whereas devolution

is more fle(ible with the division depending on the central governments discretion

'or example, 5orthern &reland6s virtual autonomy within the UK was ended when the

ritish government restored direct rule in 1!7, abolishing the 5orthern &reland

parliament 0Stormont.

* Devolution in the UK since +,,- Since +,,- the UK has passed from being a unitary or union state to a devolved or

.uasi/federal statewith an increasing degree of devolved power exercised at regional

and local level.

&t is also a region in the federal &U Since 1! UK devolution has been e(tended8

o #lected parliament for Scotland + legislative devolution

o #lected parliament for 5orthern &reland + legislative devolution, with additional

constitution implications involving the 9epublic of &reland

o #lected assembly for "ales + executive devolution

o #lected assembly for $ondon and directly elected :ayor

o 9egional structure established in #ngland + 9(AS, regional *ouncils,

o prospect of elected assemblies

0egislative devolutionis when an elected assembly has the power to ma)e laws for

its region, and to raise some of its own tax revenue. This is what the $abour government

has given Scotland. &(ecutive devolution is a much wea%er form of devolution. The

power to ma%e laws remains with the "estminster parliament but specific powers may

be delegated to the elected assemblies in "ales and #ngland to decide on detailsof the

law.

These broad facts need to be substantiated by some evidence given belowin the rest of section *

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A Scotland 1 The 0abour "overnments Devolution 2olicy

&n the referendum held in Scotland on September ++th +,,-$ over !; per cent of

those voting supported the establishment of a Scottish per cent

opted for the of Scottish

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Shortly after the :ay 1! election tal%s involving the ritish and &rish governments

and the 5orthern &rish parties chaired by former US Senator /eorge :itchell got

under way. These tal%s produced an agreement in April 1E that is now referred to as

the "ood Friday or %elfast Agreement

This agreement called for the creation of an Assembly in 5orthern &reland with a power

sharing &(ecutivedrawn from the ma-or parties within the Assembly pledged to wor%

the Agreement and use exclusively peaceful means. The agreement was put to referendum in both 5orthern !reland and The 6epublic

of !relandon 77 :ay 1E. &n the &rish 9epublic, on a 2EF turnout, ;F of those

voting approved the agreement and supported removing articles 7 and > of the &rish

constitution which claimed &rish sovereignty over 5orthern &reland. &n 5orthern

&reland, on an E1F turnout, !1F of those voting approved the agreement though opinion

surveys suggest that 8 however, this remains a fraction of the spending of the devolved

assemblies 0and of regional expenditure itself.

!n several regions there now e(ist campaigns for fully elected devolved assemblies$

normally resembling the 5ational Assembly for 3alesThe 5orth+#ast, 5orth+"est,

"est :idlands, Gor%shire H Iumberside, and the South+"est all possess *onstitutional

*onventions to argue and develop the case for devolved regional assemblies. &n 1 the

*ampaign for the #nglish 9egions formed as an umbrella group to campaign at national

and parliamentary level for a programme of devolution to the #nglish 9egions. >uch speculation surrounds the introduction of elected mayors under the $ocal

/overnment Act 7333. Under this Act, local authorities are obliged to develop proposals

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to bring in one of three options of new executive arrangements8 a directly elected

mayor, a cabinet and leader, or a directly elected mayor with a council manager.

A consultation paper was published setting out the /overnment@s ideas for a new

"reater 0ondon Authority and elected mayor? the referendum held on ! :ay 1E

endorsed the government6s plans + !7F voted in favour of the new Authority, but on a

turnout of only >;F. The :ayor is elected by the Supplementary 4ote and the Assembly

has 72 members elected by the Additional :ember System.

@ Devolution and federalism in the UK

A >ore constitutional changes are li)ely / in the direction of more

devolution1

Iouse of $ords reform is li%ely to include an elected regional element #ngland is li%ely to experience greater devolution, based on the 9(A structure

The Iuman 9ights Act has moved the UK towards constitutional restrictions on

parliamentary sovereignty

The degree of devolution given to "ales is li%ely to grow because it needs greater

credibility to attract legitimacy

#nglish regional government and elected city mayors will undoubtedly further fragment

power and lead to clashes between the levels 0for example, over $ondon transport.

The UK is part of a federal #U + all the central features of federalism are present8 a

codified constitution + the Treaty of 9ome and subseJuent treaties and a supreme court

different areas of autonomy + the #U controls trade, the regions 0the 12 member

states control education.

% There are no signs that a codified federal constitution is li)ely1

oth ma-or parties are against a federal structure

writing a new constitution would be enormously difficult and politically impossible

without a national crisis.

UK devolution will remain lop+sided with different regions having different levels of

authority. This is not uncommon + &taly and Spain have similar arrangements, but

federal states have uniform decentralisation + every US state has the same legal

autonomy.

' Devolution in the UK compared to federalism

Although in theory, Scottish legislative devolution could be reversed it is very difficult to

see it happening in practice

The nature of Scottish devolution is not dissimilar to US federalism in its degree of

autonomy

#xamples of Scotland and the UK diverging include student grants and hunting with dogs.

There is no doubt that the UK has moved away from its former unitary or union

constitution.

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Despite these decentralising factors :and the centralising trend in the USA;$ %ritish

devolution cannot seriously be compared to American federalism in the extent of

decentralisation involved in the political system.

The Supreme *ourt has recently returned to a strong defence of the tenth

amendment protecting states rights

the states raise and spend around E3F of their own revenue

they exercise legislative supremacy in many areas including areas li%e capitalpunishment

each state has the same degree of autonomy whereas the UK has lopsided

devolution

the degree to which the states have a cultural distinctiveness is much

greater than the regions, especially the #nglish regions which are artificial

creations

the impact of regional government on the national government in the USA

through the Senate and #lectoral *ollege is much greater than in the UK.

3hy DevolutionB

A The >aintenance of the Union :and 5ew 0abour self/interest;o The single most important practical political reason why devolution has been

introduced is that the popular demand in Scotland for an elected Scottish

Assembly with significant powers became overwhelming 3ithout devolution

Scotland might have been pushed toward demanding independence

o The logic of this argument can be summarised8

there are nationalist sentiments in Scotland, which provide importantsources of cultural identity.

&f this was not recognised by opportunities for increased self+

government, pressure for independence would continue to grow.

The United Kingdom can only be preserved by a meaningful devolution

of power to Scotland.

o The 0abour 2arty had good political reasons for introducing increased devolution

&t dominates representation at "estminster for both Scotland and "ales. $abour

does not want to be electorally outflan%ed by the S5< and does not want to see the

brea%+up of the UK because without its "elsh and Scottish :


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o "overnment appointed .uangos which are neither elected nor accountable /

have ta)en over many tas)s previously performed by elected local councils A

report published in 1; estimated that ritain has ;,E33 Juangos, spending C>!

billion annually. y 1! this had risen to =,!33 and C=3 million.

o 'entralised government appears remote and lac)s legitimacy, in the sense that

people do not feel properly consulted or that their consent has been given

/reater devolution leads to greater participation and self+government becauseelected national and regional assembles control areas of policy most directly

affecting people@s lives.

o Devolution inevitably leads to greater diversity because different communities

could ma%e different decisions reflecting ma-ority opinion in their areas.

o (evolution also provide chec%s and balances on the misuse of government power

because government powers are ta%en away from the centre.

o Arguing before $abour came to power veteran academic and politician (avid

:arJuand said,our present political arrangements give too little scope for variety and

e(periment %ritish governments have been too slow to appreciate that

the people who live in different parts of the country may legitimatelyhave different priorities 0ocal and regional peculiarities are too often

ignored

o :arJuand suggests that over/centraliEation has Cwea)ened our democracy$

creating a sense of powerlessness among ordinary citiEens

D %etter "overnment results from Devolution

o (emocratic government, by local people and politicians who %now local conditions and

circumstances, and have a sta%e in the outcome, is also more efficient government

o

*entralised government is overloaded$leading to delays and is unable to focus on theproblems facing specific regions. An article in the #conomist in 5ovember 12 made

this point strongly, B#xperts6 in "hitehall, rather li%e central planners in the former

Soviet Union, simply do not have the information or %nowledge to ma%e the right

decisions for every part of ritain. :ista%es made by central government are big,

harder to reverse, and so more costly.

o The argument for strengthening local government is simple. B!t is that solutions to

local problemsought instead to be made more often by local people and

politicians$ who )now more about particular local issues and have more of a sta)e

in the final outcome 0The #conomist

& 'hec)s and %alances

o (evolution adds to democracy by providing a chec% on central government. The


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7 Federalism in the USA

A Themes

The division of power between the national 0'ederal government and the states has

steadily been eroded in the direction of Federal power There has been a revival in state powersince 1E3, but

Federal power has encroached upon the power of the states to such an extent that

the concept of federalism in the classic sense of a neat division of powers is irrelevant

The term Binter+governmental relations6 is used to indicate that the relations between

two levels of government are now typified by co/operation and interaction few policy

areas are totally the preserve of one level or the other.

% The Survival of Federalism

Since the late 1E3s, there been an attempt to devolve power by 'ongress and theSupreme 'ourt has made serious attempts to revive federalismby strengthening the

Tenth Amendment and by reinterpreting the *ommerce *lause.

The states remain very important administrative and political units and the states

preserve variety+ each continues to have its own separate legal and political system,

and travelling from state to state the observer is aware of distinctive political

cultures

The states preserve a degree of local or regional political autonomy that is .uite

unfamiliar in more centraliEed political systems

State law remains pre/eminent in many areas of economic and social life,

The role of the states has increased$ as federal governments have re.uired them to

participate in the implementation of federally funded programmes

The states are at the very heart of some of most important issues in American politics,

for example, abortion.

' The 'onstitution and Federalism

*onstitutional provisions in America arecomple($ vague and contradictory

For e(ample$ the @necessary and proper@ clause conflicts with the Tenth Amendment

The Supreme *ourt has therefore been of crucial significance in the development of

federalism

@'ederalism is not a fixed, well defined legalistic principle it is an evolving concept

'ederalism is what political leaders, especially Supreme *ourt -ustices, say it is.@

0"eissberg

D An overview of the historical development of federalism to +,9G

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'ederalism was part of the system of chec)s and balances

Key factor that has changed relationship statesL'ederal government has been economic

and social transformation.

Tas%s of government have grown and only the national government can tac%le many

problems.

Until the early 1>3s it is possible to describe national+State relations as Dual

Federalism + powers were divided between the 'ederal and state governments in a

relatively neat way with the States having substantial areas of autonomy.

%etween +,@@ and +,9G the dominant trend was of increasing Federal power+ first

through co/operative federalism 01>>+ 1=> then through 'entralising federalism

01=;+1E3. *ause ? the nationaliEation of economic and social life

oth the national government and the States came to exercise -oint responsibility forwelfare, health, highways, education, and criminal -ustice.

An important change also occurred in the legal status of the states in this period. The

%ill of 6ights was CnationalisedC, setting in motion a new role for the Federal

government / the protection of individual liberties against state violations

The relationship between the Federal government and the States underwent further

significant changes from the mid/+,HGs 4irtually all problems confronting American

society + from solid waste disposal and water and air pollution, to consumer safety, home

insulation, noise abatement, and even metric conversion + were declared to be national

problems

The CreservedC powers of the States embodied in the Tenth Amendment lost most

of their meaning and decisions of the Supreme 'ourt played a ma4or role in

e(tending Federal power over the States.

The statesC role became one of carrying out Federal mandates

The ma-or means of central control was the grant+in+aid system. Federal financial aid

was at the centre of the growth of national government power.

Apart from the sense of political crisis at the root of the nationalisation of policy, there

were several reasons for the growth in Federal power1 national finances were strong

but many of the states were virtually ban%rupt the increase in pressure group activity

also contributed to the growth in Federal aid and regulation eg groups were

wor%ing for improvements in environmental and consumer protection the states actually

lobbied for 'ederal action.

& 6evitalisation

'rom the late 1=3s onwards, the right was committed to reversing what they saw asthe usurpation of state powers by the federal government

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Since 1E3, the trend towards centralisation has been halted and to some degree

reversed. 2resident 6eagan tal)ed in terms of 5ew Federalism

Following their +,, election victories$ the 6epublican ma4ority in 'ongress

developed policies that gave the states further decision/ma)ing powers The 1=

"elfare 9eform Act represented a particularly important decentralising shift.

'ongress also passed the +,,7 Unfunded >andates 6eform Act .

The states also responded to the changing political environment and to specific

problems they faced$ by becoming more assertive$ imaginative and innovative

After 23 years of interpreting the constitution in a way that favoured an extension of

'ederal authority, the Supreme 'ourt reflecting its -/* republican ma4ority /

began to support the states &t was the landmar% 5ew Ior) v United States

decision in 17, which restored substance to the Tenth Amendment.

&n 12, in United States v 0opeEthe *ourt restrained *ongress from relying upon itsconstitutional power to regulate interstate commerce to ban the simple possession of

a gun in a school Eone

The 1=+in 2rintE v United States, the *ourt invalidated the provisions of the rady

Iandgun 4iolence odern Federalism

2ermissive FederalismJJThere still is a sharing of power and authority between thetwo constitutionally recognied levels of government but the statesC share rests

largely upon the permission and permissiveness of the national government C

The %ey concept in understanding modern federalism is CinterdependenceC.

The federal system is highly intergovernmental'or example, 'ood Stamp benefits for

the poor are funded entirely by the federal government, but states determine benefit

eligibility, issue identification cards, and pay 23 percent of the administrative costs.

The complex distribution of authority leads to great competition and he typifies the

state of modern federalism as Ccompetitive interdependenceCbecause different states

compete for 'ederal funds aided by their Senators and members of the Iouse of

9epresentatives.

" Assessment of modern federalism in three )ey areas

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0egal 2owers

The legal power of theFederal government has grown and is li)ely to continue to

grow because the social$ economic$ political$ geographical and technical realities of

modern life re.uire national action

There have been over 723 *ongressional laws in the last >3 years, which havetransferred powers to the centre.

The phrase commonly used to describe this process is pre/emption

'ederal pre+emption is one result of the supremacy clause

%ecause of problems that cross state boundaries$ there are very often compelling

reasons to ma)e national policy supreme 'or example water pollution that %ills fish

often crosses state boundaries, ma%ing it difficult for anyone state to deal with the

problem.

&n 1=2, *ongress passed the "ater Muality Act, which allowed the national government

to assume responsibility for water+pollution abatement if the states failed to maintain

adeJuate water+Juality standards.

6evenue 2owers

States administer federal schemes and rely heavily on federal funds in policy areas$

li)e welfare$ which were once e(clusively state responsibilities

>uch state spending is mandated or compelled by the Federal government

the vast ma-ority of 'ederal funds given to the states are categorical grantsi.e. they

have tight strings attached and the states have little discretion.

the Federal government will continue to hold the purse strings and states needing

Federal cash will inevitably submit to Federal restrictions and conditions

2olicy

The states preserve a degree of local or regional political autonomy$ which is .uite

unfamiliar in unitary systems

The powers allocated to the states include powers over civil and a good deal of

criminal law :including the issue of capital punishment;? school education and higher

education? health$ sanitation$ housing and public highways

The states have also been @laboratoriesC, underta%ing experiments in policy+ma%ing in

areas li%e @wor%fare@, education, health care and consumer protection.

&n addition states plan$ supervise$ partially fund and sometimes directly e(ecute

large, costly, and socially significant intergovernmental programmes li%e 'ood Stamps.

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The powers of central government continue to encroach on the states.

Unit 6 Devolution and Federalism

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Transcript of Unit 6 Devolution and Federalism