Devolution

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For other uses, see Devolution (disambiguation).

Devolution or home rule is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a state to government at national, regional or local level. It differs from federalism in that the powers devolved may be temporary and ultimately reside in central government, thus the state remains, de jure, unitary.

Any devolved parliaments or assemblies can be repealed by central government in the same way as an ordinary statute can be. Federal systems, or federacies, differ in that sub-state government is guaranteed in the constitution.

The devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government. However, the power to make legislation relevant to the area may also be granted.

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[edit] United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, devolved government was created following simple majority referendum in Wales and Scotland in September 1997. In 1999, the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly were established. The move came eighteen years after similar proposals were defeated in qualified majority referenda in Wales and Scotland in March 1979.

[edit] Irish home rule

Main article: Irish Home Rule Bill

The issue of Irish home rule was the dominant political question of British politics at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.

The home rule demands of the late 19th and early 20th century differed from earlier demands for Repeal by Daniel O'Connell in the first half of the nineteenth century. Whereas home rule meant a subsidiary parliament under Westminster, repeal meant the repeal of the Act of Union 1800 and the creation of an entirely independent Irish state, separated from the United Kingdom, with only a shared monarch joining them both.

From the late 19th century, leaders of the Irish Parliamentary Party under Isaac Butt, William Shaw and Charles Stewart Parnell had demanded a form of home rule, with the creation of a subsidiary Irish parliament within the United Kingdom (replacing the Irish parliament that existed up to the Act of Union in 1800). This demand led to the eventual introduction of four Irish Home Rule Bills, of which only the last two were approved by the British Parliament, the third Government of Ireland Act 1914 after a prolonged parliamentary struggle, receiving Royal Assent then suspended with the outbreak of World War I. Only the final one was subsequently enacted: the Government of Ireland Act 1920.

The third Act was opposed particularly by Ulster Unionists who raised the Ulster Volunteer Force and signed the Ulster Covenant to oppose the bill, thereby raising the spectre of civil war, Irish Nationalists not being prepared to grant any concessions or guarantees to alleviate Protestant minority fears. The fourth Act, dictated by Ulster, created the six county parliaments of Northern Ireland and the twenty-six county parliament of Southern Ireland — although the latter did not in reality function and became the Irish Free State in 1922 after the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

[edit] Northern Ireland

Home Rule came into effect for Northern Ireland in 1921 under the Fourth Home Rule Act, an after-life of its legacies surviving there. A devolved Assembly was created as a result of the 1998 Belfast Agreement. The Assembly was intended to bring together the different communities to govern Northern Ireland together[1].

At present, it is not operational, due to a breakdown in the Northern Ireland peace process but, on October 13, 2006, British and Irish governments announced a "roadmap" to restore devolution to Northern Ireland, conceivably by March 2007[2]

On 26 March 2007, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Ian Paisley met Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams for the first time and together announced that a devolved government will be returning to Northern Ireland and that power-sharing will begin on 8 May 2007. [3]

[edit] Scotland

A devolved Scottish Assembly that would have some form of legislative powers in jurisdiction over Scotland had been a political priority for many individuals and organisations. The drive for home rule first took concrete shape in the 19th century, as demands for it in Ireland were met with similar (although not as widespread) demands in Scotland.

In 1853 the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights was established. This body was close to the Tories and was motivated by a desire to secure more focus on Scottish problems in response to what they felt was undue attention being focused on Ireland by the then Liberal government.

In 1871, William Gladstone stated at a meeting held in Aberdeen that if Ireland was to be granted home rule, then the same should apply to Scotland. A Scottish home rule bill was presented to the Westminster Parliament in 1913, the legislative process to pass it was interrupted by the First World War.

The demands for political change in the way in which Scotland was run changed dramatically in the 1920s when Scottish nationalists started to form various organisations. The Scots National League was formed in 1920 in favour of Scottish independence, and this movement was superseded in 1928 by the formation of the National Party of Scotland, which became the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1934.

At first the SNP sought only the establishment of a devolved Scottish assembly, but in 1942 they changed this to support all-out independence. This caused the resignation of John MacCormick from the SNP and he formed the Scottish Covenant Association. This body proved to be the biggest mover in favour of the formation of a Scottish assembly, collecting over two million signatures in the late 1940s and early 1950s and attracting support from across the political spectrum. However, without formal links to any of the political parties it withered, and devolution and the establishment of an assembly were put on the political back burner.

In 1978 the Labour government passed the Scotland Act which legislated for the establishment of a Scottish Assembly, provided the Scots voted for such in a plebiscite. However, the Labour Party was bitterly divided on the subject of devolution. Despite officially favouring it, vast numbers of members opposed the establishment of an assembly, and this division caused the failure to reach the required 40% of the electorate voting in favour of an assembly (that itself was a quota only added to the Scotland Act by an amendment proposed by a Labour MP). See also Royal Commission on the Constitution, Scotland referendum, 1979

In 1989 the Scottish Constitutional Convention was formed encompassing the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Green Party, local authorities, and sections of "civic Scotland" like Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Small Business Federation and Church of Scotland and the other major churches in Scotland. Its purpose was to devise a scheme for the formation of a devolution settlement for Scotland. The SNP decided to withdraw as they felt that independence would not be a constitutional option countenanced by the convention. The convention produced its final report in 1995.

In May 1997, the Labour government of Tony Blair was elected with a promise of creating devolved institutions in Scotland. In late 1997, a referendum was held which resulted in a "yes" vote. The newly-created Scottish Parliament (as a result of the Scotland Act 1998) had powers to make primary legislation in certain 'devolved' areas of policy, in addition to some limited tax varying powers (which to date have not been exercised). Other policy areas remained 'reserved' for the UK Government and parliament.

Devolution for Scotland was justified on the basis that it would aid in bringing government closer to the people in the nation. It was argued that the population of Scotland felt detached from the Westminster government (largely because of the policies of the Conservative governments led by Margaret Thatcher and John Major [1]PDF (44.8 KiB))

[edit] Wales

The 1974–79 Labour Government proposed a Welsh Assembly in parallel to its proposals for Scotland. These were rejected by voters in the Wales referendum, 1979 with 956,330 votes against, compared with 243,048 for.

In May 1997, the Labour government of Tony Blair was elected with a promise of creating a devolved assembly in Wales; the Wales referendum, 1997 resulted in a "yes" vote. The National Assembly for Wales, as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 1998, possesses the power to determine how the government budget for Wales is spent and administered.

Devolution for Wales was justified on the basis that it would aid in bringing government closer to the people in the nation. The population of Wales felt detached from the Westminster government (largely because of the policies of the Conservative governments led by Margaret Thatcher and John Major [2]PDF (44.8 KiB)). In Wales the referendum on devolution was only narrowly passed, and most voters rejected devolution in all the counties bordering England, as well as Cardiff and Pembrokeshire. Critics of devolution believe that it will undermine the existence of the United Kingdom.

[edit] England

The only form of central devolution currently in place in England is in London where the Greater London Authority has greater powers than other local authority bodies. Proposals for regional devolution to elected assemblies have been indefinitely postponed following their rejection in the only referendum held, in the North East, in 2004. See Northern English devolution referenda, 2004

A movement for the establishment of a single devolved English parliament, the English Constitutional Convention, is backed by the English Democrats and Campaign for an English Parliament

[edit] Cornwall

There is a significant movement that believes in devolution for the Duchy of Cornwall.

In 2001 the Mebyon Kernow Party submitted a 50,000-strong petition supporting devolution in Cornwall.

[edit] Crown Dependencies

Crown dependencies are possessions of the British Crown, as opposed to overseas territories or colonies of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.

The dependencies do not form a part of the United Kingdom, being separate jurisdictions. Each has its own parliament and Chief Minister. However, as possessions of the Crown they are not sovereign nations in their own right and the British Government has historically retained a number of residual powers in relation to the islands. To the extent that these powers have been little used in recent years, there has been a de-facto measure of devolution. In addition, the States of Jersey Law 2005 established that all Acts of the United Kingdom and Orders in Council relating to Jersey are to be referred to the Island's parliament, and gave greater freedom of action to Jersey in international affairs.

[edit] United States

[edit] District of Columbia

Main article: District of Columbia home rule

In the United States, the District of Columbia offers an illustration of devolved government. The District is separate from any state, and has its own elected government; in many ways, on a day-to-day basis, it operates much like another state, with its own laws, court system, Department of Motor Vehicles, public university, and so on. However, the governments of the 50 states have a broad range of powers reserved to them by the U.S. Constitution, and most of their laws cannot be voided by any act of the U.S. federal government. The District of Columbia, by contrast, is constitutionally under the sole control of the United States Congress, which created the current District government by statute. Any law passed by the District legislature can be nullified by Congressional action, and indeed the District government could be significantly altered or eliminated entirely by a simple majority vote in Congress. Since 1971, the Statehood Party, and it's successor the Statehood Green Party, have advocated for Washington, DC to become the 51st state in America. However,the United States Congress continues to deny the half million Americans living in Washington, DC representation in Congress. This denial of suffrage has been documented as human rights violation by the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization of American States. The devolved city/state of the District of Columbia is currently advocating for a vote in the House of Representatives, which will make the residents 1/3 represented in Congress.

[edit] New England

In the United States region of New England, cities and towns practice limited home rule and, for the most part, govern themselves in a directly-democratic fashion known as the New England town meeting.

[edit] Texas

In Texas, counties do not have home rule. Cities are not allowed home rule until the population reaches 5,000, whereupon the city may vote to adopt home rule via a city charter. Once a city adopts home rule it may continue to do so even if the population later falls below 5,000.

[edit] Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Constitution gives cities and villages the right to determine their own local affairs and government; counties, however, are given their powers by legislative acts. The state legislature, in addition to powers specifically granted to it by the constitution, can only pass laws of state-wide interest which uniformly affect all cities and villages.

[edit] Other U.S. states

In the United States only the Federal government and the state governments are recognized by the United States Constitution. The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution implies that local governments are regulated by the state or the people.

Local governments such as municipalities, counties, parishes, boroughs, school districts, and other types of local government entities are devolved. They are established, regulated, and subject to governance by the laws of the state in which they reside. U.S. state legislatures, in most cases, have the power to change laws that affect local government structures. In some states, the governor may also have power over local government affairs.

[edit] Territories of the United States

Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and other territories are subject to their governments being directly regulated by Congressional Acts. Unlike state governments which have reserved powers according to the U.S. Constitution, U.S. territorial governments can constitutionally be directly regulated by Congress.

[edit] Movements calling for devolution

Movements calling for devolution also exist, to a more limited degree, in England, particularly with regards to Cornwall as well as some unofficial or historic English Regions such as Wessex. In Northern Italy, there is a political movement led by the Lega Nord, for the homerule of "Padania".

[edit] List of unitary states with devolution

State Style Subdivisions article
Italy Republic Regions of Italy 15 regions 5 autonomous regions
Madagascar Republic Provinces of Madagascar 6 provinces
Peru Republic Regions of Peru 25 regions 1 province at the first order
Solomon Islands Provinces of the Solomon Islands 9 provinces 1 capital territory
Spain Kingdom Communities of Spain 17 autonomous communities 2 autonomous cities
Sri Lanka Democratic Socialist Republic Provinces of Sri Lanka 9 provinces
United Kingdom Constituent countries 3 self-governing countries

[edit] Other meanings of the term devolution

In some hierarchical churches, especially Anglican churches including the Church of England, devolution is a bishop's appointment of a person to a benefice (e.g. a parish) when the ordinary patron or collator (i.e. the person or body with the right to appoint) has failed to do so, either because an improper candidate has been nominated or because no candidate could be found.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Alvin Jackson, Home Rule, an Irish History 1800–2000, (2003), ISBN 0-7538-1767-5
  2. ^ March target date for devolution, BBC News Online, October 13, 2006
  3. ^ "NI deal struck in historic talks", bbc.co.uk, 26 March 2007.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../d/e/v/Devolution.html"