Politics - UK Devolution

What voting system do Scotland and wales use?

The additional member system (AMS)

What voting system do Northern Ireland use?

Single transferable vote (STV)

What proportion were in favour of devolution in 1997?

50.3%

What act gave Scotland primary legislative powers for topics such as education and transport and vary income tax by up to 3p in the pound?

Scotland act 1998

What act gave Scotland significant tax raising power (10p in the pound) and enabled Scotland to borrow up to £5 million?

Scotland act 2012

What act gave Scotland authority over abortion laws, speed limits and allowed 16+ to vote in Scottish elections?

Scotland act 2016

What act allowed wales to devise secondary legislative on topics like agriculture and education?

Government of wales act 1998

What act allowed welsh assembly to request more powers from central gov and primary legislative powers if approved by a referendum?

Government of wales act 2006

What was the 2011 referendum question that 64% said yes to?

Do you want the Welsh assembly to be able to make laws on all 20 subject areas it has powers for?

What law was the 1st major transfer of some tax-raising powers on stamp duty and landfill tax to welsh government?

Wales act 2014

What act gave welsh government more primary legislative powers and control over their electoral system?

Wales act 2017

What act formally changed the name of the welsh legislature to Senedd Cymru and gave the vote to 16+?

Senedd and elections (wales) act 2020

How long did ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland last?

Almost 30 years

How many people died in ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland?

3,500

When did ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland start?

1969

Who dominated stormont parliament from 1921 to 1972?

Unionists and was seen as discriminatory towards nationalists

Who has governed Northern Ireland since 1972?

Westminster while the British army kept the peace

What did the 1998 Good Friday agreement involve?

A promise to return to a devolved government - ‘parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos and aspirations of both communities for the 2 communities in NI’

What referendum created Northern assembly and executive at 71%-29%?

May 1998 devolution referendum

Why was the NI assembly and executive suspended between 2017-2020?

Collapse of the sharing agreement between the Democratic unionist party (DUP) and Sinn Fein

Who was NI governed by between 2017 and 2020?

Civil servants and Westminster intervened in domestic policy e.g gay marriage

What parties are in a power sharing argeement in NI?

DUP, Ulster unionist party (UUP), Sinn Fein and social democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

What must assembly members be?

Either nationalist, unionist or other

How many elected members are there in Holyrood (Scotland)?

129

How many elected members in Wales devolved body?

60

How many elected members in Stormont building (NI)?

90

What issues are devolved matters?

Agriculture, education, environment, health and social services, housing, land use, law, sports and transport

What issues are reserved matters?

Benefits and social services, broadcasting, constitution, defence, employment, equal opportunities, foreign policy, immigration and trade and industry

Why did Johnson want to build a M4 Relief Road in south wales?

He argued that road congestion was having a negative impact on business investment in the area

Why did the Welsh gov not want to build an M4 relief road in the south of wales?

They scrapped a similar scheme after declaring a climate emergency in 2019

What did Ken Skates (Wales economy minister) say about Boris’s comments on the M4 relief road in the south of wales?

“Nothing more than nonsense on stilts”

What did the Welsh gov argue about the M4 relief road?

They said building more roads would increase traffic levels and carbon emissions and that transport was a devolved issue

What are the 57 unitary councils responsible for?

Local services e.g education and social care

When we metropolitan boroughs created and how many are there?

There are 36 and they were created in 1974

What do the 25 county councils do and where are they situated?

Oversee key services e.g education and social services. In less urbanised areas

What do the 188 city councils provide and where are they situated?

Provide leisure, planning and refuse collection. In less populated parts of the country

What do combined authorities enable?

Small group of councils to make collective decisions

How many combined authorities were there in 2020?

10

How many London Boroughs are there?

32

How many elected members of London Boroughs are there?

25 and directly elected mayor (Sadiq Khan)

What act allowed local council to hold a referendum for a mayor either by citizen petition or council decision?

Local government act 2000

Who said England deserved ‘fair and equal treatment’?

Tory MP Teresa Gorman

What would English parliament give a permanent answer to?

The West Lothian question and end EVEL

Who introduced a private members bill for federal structure of the UK in 2014?

Andrew Rosindell (Tory)

What is an argument against an English parliament?

England lacks the cohesive and strong cultural identity

What was a regional assembly for the North East rejected by in 2004?

78%-22%

Negative of parliamentary sovereignty in terms of devolution?

Westminster could repeal all devolution acts and abolish the regional assemblies

How were travel measures different in devolved assemblies in COVID?

In England and NI there was no travel restrictions but in Scotland and Wales you could only travel 5 miles

What have the different voting systems resulted in?

Minority or coalition governments

What is the West Lothian question?

It asks why Scottish, Welsh or NI MP’s have the same right to vote at Westminster as any English MP now that large areas of policy are on English issues

Devolution definition?

Delegation of some government powers away from the centre parliament to the regions which have their own parliaments that make laws

What are loyalists/unionists?

A group that wants Nothern Ireland to remain part of the UK

What are republicans/nationalists?

A group that wants to unite with Eire and form a single united Ireland

What did Blair need the support of 67 Scottish and Welsh MP’s on to pass his legislation?

To set up foundation trusts in the English NHS

How do English issues have an impact on devolved bodies?

Many English Bills have a financial impact on the UK as a whole, often affecting Treasury grants for the devolved nations

Who describe the West Lothian question as a ‘question without answer’?

Political scientists such as Guy Lodge, Meg Russell and Oonagh Gay

What is a negative of only allowing English MP’s to vote on certain issues?

Would undermine the entire purpose of the universal franchise that everyone’s vote is equal