However, it is worth noting that the Parliament Act has only been used four times since 1990:

Transcription

1 What changes were made t the UK Cnstitutin between ? During the twentieth century the pace f cnstitutinal change in Britain sped up. This was particularly the case after 1997 when Tny Blair s New Labur embarked n a cnstitutinal mdernisatin prgramme. Hwever, a number f significant cnstitutinal changes tk place between 1900 t 1997 t: Parliament Acts 1911 and The Parliament Acts f 1911 and 1949 limited the pwer f the Huse f Lrds. Befre 1911 the Huse f Lrds culd blck legislatin. Hwever, the 1911 Parliament Act limited the pwer f the Huse f Lrds t delaying legislatin by tw years. The 1949 act went further by limiting the pwers f delay t ne year. Tday, if the Huse f Lrds vtes against a Cmmns Bill, but the same bill then passes thrugh the Cmmns fr a secnd year, it will becme law. Hwever, it is wrth nting that the Parliament Act has nly been used fur times since 1990: War Crime Act (1991) Allwed UK Curts t try criminals retrspectively wh cmmitted crimes in Nazi Germany. This has resulted in nly ne prsecutin. Eurpean Parliamentary Electins Act (1999) Changed the vting system fr EU electins t Prprtinal Representatin Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act (2000) Made the age f cnsent fr Hmsexual Sex equal t that f Male-Female Sex, at 16. Hunting Act (2004) This prhibited the use f dgs in Hunting f fxes and ther wild mammals. Representatin f the Peple Act (1918) This changed the cnditins required fr peple t vte. It gave the vte t practically all men and als extended the franchise t Wmen ver the age f 30 wh wned prperty r were married t a man wh was able t vte. Life Peerages Act The Life Peerages Act allwed fr the creatin f Life Peers wh wuld sit in the Huse f Lrds. This was an attempt t mdernise the Lrds and allw mre peple with specialisms t jin its membership. Representatin f the Peple Act (1969) This Act f Parliament lwered the vting age fr all therwise eligible UK vters t the age f 18. What changes were made t the UK Cnstitutin between 1997 and 2010? Tny Blair s gvernment were elected with a landslide majrity in 1997 f 179 seats. They wn this victry s with the New Labur campaign prmise f mdernisatin. They prmised refrms t the cnstitutin, and led the electrate t believe there wuld be a number f cnstitutinal changes. These wuld include: A cdified Cnstitutin A UK bill f Rights An elected Upper Chamber A prprtinal system f electins State funding f plitical parties Devlutin t the areas f the UK Referendums n majr cnstitutinal refrms Labur did nt achieve changes in all f these areas, sme cmmentatrs have argued that the Labur gvernment did nt reach its expectatins in the area f cnstitutinal refrm. Hwever, in thirteen years f Labur Gvernment there were cnstitutinal changes. 22

2 Huse f Lrds Refrm AS Edexcel Plitics Mdule and Revisin Guide Cmpnent 2: UK Gvernment The Labur Gvernment prmised a fully elected Huse f Lrds. They did nt manage t achieve this. Hwever, in 1999 they passed the Huse f Lrds Act This remved all but 92 hereditary peers frm the Lrds. Irnically, the 92 hereditary peers that were able t remain by winning electins held by their fellw peers. This means the nly elected peple t ever sit in the Huse f Lrds are hereditary peers! Despite this change, fr 13 years Labur were unable t bring abut their prmise f a fully elected Huse f Lrds. Human Rights Labur incrprated the Eurpean Cnventin f Human Rights int UK law by passing the Human Rights Act in They als passed the Freedm f Infrmatin Act in This gives individuals the right t request infrmatin held by public bdies. Even thugh it was intrduced by his gvernment, Tny Blair said in his autbigraphy abut the Freedm f Infrmatin Act that he thught There is really n descriptin f stupidity, n matter hw vivid, that is adequate. I quake at the imbecility f it. Labur als prpsed a Bill f Rights and Respnsibilities, but this was nt intrduced as law. Labur was criticised by the Supreme Curt fr nt fllwing Article 5 f the Human Rights Act, by intrducing stricter Anti-Terrrism laws. Referendums The Labur gvernment prmised referendums n issues f majr cnstitutinal cncern. Referendums were held n devlutin t Sctland, Wales and Nrthern Ireland. Referendums were als held n whether there shuld be a Mayr f Lndn. Devlutin Referendum Results Scttish Devlutin Referendum % t 26% in favur f Scttish Devlutin. Welsh Devlutin Referendum % t 49.7% in favur f Welsh Devlutin. Nrthern Irish Gd Friday Agreement Referendum % t 29% in favur f the Gd Friday Agreement and Nrthern Irish Devlutin. Greater Lndn Authrity Referendum % t 28% in favur f greater devlutin t Lndn, including a directly elected Mayr f Lndn. Hwever, prmised referendums frm Labur n issues such as electral refrm, the Eurpean Cnstitutin and Britain jining the Eur were never held. 23

3 Vting Systems A system f Prprtinal Representatin was intrduced fr new electins under Labur including that fr Devlved Assemblies, the Eurpean Unin and elected mayrs. Hwever, n actin was taken n electral refrm fr electins t Westminster. Vting Systems used acrss the UK First Past the Pst Used in UK General Electins and Lcal Electins in England. Supplementary Vte Used fr Lndn Mayral Electins, Directly Elected Mayrs and Plice and Crime Cmmissiners Reginal List Used fr Eurpean Electins in the UK and fr sme f the seats in the Scttish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Lndn Assembly. Single Transferable Vte Used fr lcal electins in Sctland and Nrthern Ireland. Additinal Member System Used fr electins t the Scttish Parliament, Welsh Assembly and Lndn Assembly. Judicial Refrm Labur intrduced wide-scale Judicial Refrm. In 2005 the Cnstitutinal Refrm Act intrduced a Supreme Curt fr the UK. This Act als remved mst f the traditinal pwers f the Lrd Chancellr and intrduced a new Judicial Appintments Cmmissin. Devlutin As prmised, the Labur Gvernment intrduced wide-scale devlutin acrss the UK. This resulted in devlved gvernments fr: Nrthern Ireland (1998) Sctland (1998) Wales (1998) Lndn (1999) Hwever, Labur plans fr greater devlved assemblies were drpped after a n vte in a referendum fr a Nrth-East reginal assembly. In additin, nly 12 lcal authrities adpted the new elected Mayr mdel, ne f these was Lndn. What changes were made t the Cnstitutin the Calitin Gvernment between 2010 and 2015? In May 2010 the Cnservatives and Liberal Demcrats agreed t frm a calitin gvernment. T prepare fr this, they published a calitin agreement. As part f this agreement many areas f cnstitutinal refrm wuld be settled. The Calitin Agreement included: 24

4 A referendum n the use f the Alternative Vte in General Electins An Elected Huse f Lrds Fixed Term Parliaments A reductin in the size f the Huse f Cmmns Greater Pwers fr the Scttish and Welsh Assembly Registratin f Lbby Grups The right t recall members f Parliament T amend the Eurpean Cmmunities Act f 1972 t require a referendum n future transfer f pwers T recnsider the Human Rights Act AV Referendum As prmised a referendum was held in May 2011 n whether Britain shuld adpt an Alternative Vte prprtinal system fr Westminster Electins. The Liberal Demcrats campaigned fr AV and the Cnservatives and Labur campaigned t keep First Past the Pst. This result was a cnclusive 67.9% in favur f keeping First Past the Pst. Elected Huse f Lrds The gvernment had planned t pass a bill thrugh Parliament t turn the Huse f Lrds int a Senate, with 450 elected members having a 15-year term f ffice. In July Cnservative Members vted against even debating the issue in Parliament and the prpsal came t a cmplete standstill. As a result, Nick Clegg als said he wuld nt supprt electral bundary changes, which were part f the first calitin deal. Fixed Term Parliaments In 2011 the Fixed Term Parliaments Act was passed. This guarantees that electins will be held every five years, unless: A mtin fr an early General Electin is agreed by at least tw-thirds f the Huse f Cmmns. If a mtin f n cnfidence is passed in the gvernment and n alternative gvernment is cnfirmed within 14 days. Critics have argued the Liberal Demcrats nly pushed fr this t avid being kicked ut f gvernment as sn as the Cnservatives ppularity increased enugh fr them t call a new General Electin. A reductin in the size f the Huse f Cmmns Calitin plans aimed t reduce the size f the Huse f Cmmns t 600 MPs. The riginal target f the Liberal Demcrats was 500. The parliamentary Vting and Cnstituencies Act was passed in February Hwever, it will nt take effect until the 2020 general electin. Greater Pwers t the Devlved Regins Wales New pwers ver Energy, Transprt, Envirnment and Electins were prmised fr Wales in February In additin, in February 2015 David Camern suggested a referendum culd be held n whether Wales can set its wn incme tax rates. 25

5 Sctland New pwers were granted t Sctland as part f Dev-Max. These include the pwer t deviate frm UK Incme Tax levels by 3%. It als added greater pwers n all ther issues except Defence and Freign Affairs. Critics f Dev-Max have suggested that the gvernment nly granted it after panic during the Scttish Referendum campaign that suggested that the Yes campaign were heading fr victry. Nrthern Ireland Nrthern Ireland saw the least change under the Calitin. Because f the unique pwer-sharing arrangement between the natinalists and uninists in Nrthern Ireland, change was mre limited as time needs t be given t cnslidatin f the status qu. Recall f MPs In the Calitin Agreement it was stated legislatin that wuld be passed that allwed the recall f MPs by their cnstituents. Prir t this, there had been n way fr an MP t be remved frm their psitin. The bill that was eventually passed was called the Recall f MPs Act (2015). It was a much-watered dwn versin frm what had riginally been discussed. The circumstances under which an MP culd be recalled were limited t thse in which the serving MP had been given a prisn sentence r suspended by the Huse f Cmmns. A petitin signed by 10% f cnstituents in these circumstances wuld initiate a by-electin. The prcess has still nt been used. Scttish Independence Referendum, 2014 In September 2014 a referendum was held in Sctland n whether r nt Sctland shuld remain part f the United Kingdm. The result was that 55% f Scts vted t remain in the UK. Registratin f Lbby Grups In February 2010 David Camern called lbbying the next great scandal. The gvernment passed the Lbbying Bill in 2014, despite resistance frm the Huse f Lrds. This created a register fr all lbbying grups and limits spending n plitical campaigns by lbbyists during General Electins. Hwever, the lbbying issue came back t the fre in February 2015 when tw frmer Freign Secretaries, Malclm Rifkind and Jack Straw, were filmed by undercver reprters agreeing t use their influence t supprt a fictinal Chinese cmpany, in exchange fr mney. Eurpean Unin Refrm The calitin agreement agreed t make sure that any future pwers transferring t the Eurpean Unin wuld be subject t a referendum. They als agreed t cnsider a UK Svereignty Bill, making sure that it is clear that ultimate svereignty remains with the UK. They were successful with the first pint. The Eurpean Unin Act (2011) requires referendums fr new treaties transferring pwers frm the UK t the EU. In 2013, David Camern als prmised t hld a referendum n the UK s membership f the EU. A British Bill f Rights The Cnservatives have fr many years talked abut replacing the Human Rights Act with a UK Bill f Rights. The Liberal Demcrats agreed t cnsider this, if a citizen s cnventin was set up t cnsider drawing up a cdified Cnstitutin. A cmmissin n the Bill f Rights shwed that a majrity f peple in the UK favured a UK Bill f Rights. Hwever, relatively little prgress was made n the cnsideratin f a Cdified Cnstitutin. 26

6 What cnstitutinal refrm has there been since 2015? In the May 2015 majrity, the Cnservatives wn a majrity. David Camern was Prime Minister until July 2016, when he was replaced by Theresa May. In June 2017, Theresa May did nt win a majrity and instead was frced t frm a cnfidence and supply agreement with the DUP. Cnstitutinal Refrm under David Camern s Gvernment May 2015-June 2017: English Vtes fr English Laws - By adding the Grand Cmmittee stage t the legislative prcess David Camern s Gvernment mved smewhat twards allwing English MPs t have a special say n English-Only matters. Hwever, this is still nt satisfactry t many, as Welsh, Scttish and Irish MPs still have a say n the final bill. Eurpean Unin Withdrawal On the 23 rd June 2016 the prmised referendum was held n Britain s place in the Eurpean Unin. The British peple vted t leave the EU by 52% t 48%. Greater Devlutin David Camern versaw greater devlutin t Sctland and Wales. The Sctland Act (2016) gave greater tax-raising pwers t the Scttish Parliament. The Act als stipulated that a Referendum wuld have t be held befre either the Scttish Parliament r Scttish Gvernment culd be ablished. The Wales Act (2017) gave tax-raising pwers t the Welsh Assembly. Cnstitutinal Refrm under Theresa May s Gvernment July 2016-Present Eurpean Unin (Ntificatin f Withdrawal) Act (2017) In March 2017 Parliament passed the Eurpean Unin Withdrawal Bill (2017) t instigate Article 50, the mechanism by which cuntries have a tw-year windw t negtiate their exit frm the Eurpean Unin. Eurpean Unin (Withdrawal) Act (2017) In July 2017 the Gvernment intrduced the bill that will legally see Britain withdraw frm the Eurpean Unin. As f April 2018, it has passed the Huse f Cmmns and is being cnsidered by the Huse f Lrds. What future cnstitutinal refrm is pssible? British Bill f Rights In February 2017 the Justice Minister, Liz Truss, annunced that plans fr a British Bill f Rights wuld be halted until at least after Brexit had been cmpleted. Hwever, this still remains smething that many in the Cnservative Party remain keen n. Huse f Lrds Refrm The Huse f Lrds initially threatened t vte against Article 50. They did manage t vte in rder t ensure that Parliament wuld have a final say n the Brexit Deal. This has led t speculatin that the Gvernment may seek t refrm the Lrds. The Cnservatives n lnger have an in-built majrity in the Huse f Lrds and there are ver 100 Liberal Demcrat Lrds, despite there nly being 12 MPs. Hwever, there are n cncrete plans at present t refrm the Lrds. Secnd Scttish Independence Referendum Every single vting area in Sctland vted t remain in the EU in the EU Referendum. In ttal, 62% f Scts vted t remain in the EU. In March 2017, largely as a result f this, the SNP pushed thrugh legislatin in the Scttish Parliament asking Westminster fr a Secnd Independence Referendum. As f April 2017, Theresa May has simply said that nw is nt the time, but this is unlikely t be an issue that ges away. 27

7 What is devlutin and hw did it cme abut? Devlutin refers t the prcess whereby pwer is delegated (given) t specific regins f a cuntry. Imprtantly, hwever, svereignty des nt change. The ultimate pwer remains with the central pwer wh had in the first place. Devlutin is different frm Federalism. In a Federal System, svereignty is divided. Ultimate pwer is split between different areas and has nt merely been delegated, as it has in the UK. In Britain, devlutin has happened since It has seen greater pwers being given t varius areas f the United Kingdm. Parliamentary Svereignty means that ultimately all pwer belngs t the Westminster Parliament. Hwever, Parliament has taken the decisin t delegate sme f its pwer t the different regins f the United Kingdm. Devlutin in the UK, where Parliament is Svereign: 28

8 In the US, there is cnstitutinal svereignty. Pwers are divided directly between the Federal Gvernment and the State Gvernments by the Cnstitutin: Devlutin in the United Kingdm was first pushed by the Labur Party with the supprt f the Liberals in the 1970s. Referendums tk place in 1979 in bth Sctland and Wales t decide whether r nt devlutin shuld be enacted: Scttish Devlutin Referendum (1979) - In Sctland 51% vted fr devlutin in Hwever, an amendment t the bill stipulated that 40% f Sctland s ttal electrate had t vte in favur, hwever nly 32.9% did. Welsh Devlutin Referendum (1979) - In Wales 79% vted against devlutin in There was a turnut f nly 35.6%. It was nt cnsidered t be pssible t ffer devlutin t Nrthern Ireland at this time because they were ging thrugh The Trubles. This was a perid f vilence between Uninist and Republican cmmunities in Nrthern Ireland that lasted frm 1968 t In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister and the Cnservatives remained in pwer until Traditinally, the Cnservatives have been less keen n devlutin and it was nt part f the plitical agenda during their perid in pwer. Hwever, when New Labur came t pwer in 1997, devlutin was ffered t Wales, Sctland, Nrthern Ireland and Lndn. A number f referendums tk place t cnfirm whether the ppulatin f these areas wanted devlutin. Scttish Devlutin Referendum % t 26% in favur f Scttish Devlutin. Welsh Devlutin Referendum % t 49.7% in favur f Welsh Devlutin. Nrthern Irish Gd Friday Agreement Referendum % t 29% in favur f the Gd Friday Agreement and Nrthern Irish Devlutin. Greater Lndn Authrity Referendum % t 28% in favur f greater devlutin t Lndn, including a directly elected Mayr f Lndn. 29

9 The wishes f the electrate in these areas was cnfirmed by a number f Acts f Parliament: Nrthern Ireland Act (1998) Sctland Act (1998) Gvernment f Wales Act (1998) Greater Lndn Authrity Act (1999) This resulted in a number f devlved Parliaments being set up in the devlved regins: Welsh Assembly (As f April 2017 a Labur and Liberal Calitin frmed a majrity in the Welsh Assembly) Scttish Parliament ( Hlyrd) (As f April 2017 the SNP lead a minrity gvernment.) Nrthern Ireland Assembly ( Strmnt ) (Currently there is n Executive frmed frm the Assembly) Lndn Assembly (Currently, Labur are the biggest party in the Assembly, but d nt have a majrity) Each regin has a devlved Executive (Gvernment) with pwers passed t it frm Westminster. Welsh Gvernment Headed by the First Minister, currently Carwyn Jnes (Labur) Nrthern Ireland Executive - Until March 2017, headed by the First Minister Arlene Fster (DUP) and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness (Sinn Fein). Scttish Gvernment Headed by the First Minister, Nicla Sturgen (SNP). As f April 2018 there is n functining Nrthern Ireland Executive. After the March 2017 Nrthern Irish Electins, the tw leading parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, were unable t cme t the cnstitutinally required pwer-sharing agreement. The stand-ff cntinues. Greater Lndn Authrity Headed by the Mayr f Lndn, Sadiq Khan (Labur) Each area has pwers that are given t it by the Westminster Parliament. These are knwn as devlved pwers. Sctland Health, Educatin and Husing Wales Health, Educatin and Agriculture Nrthern Ireland Plicing, Prisns and Husing Lndn Transprt, Plicing and Husing Examples f Devlved Pwers As examples f hw this wrks, in England the NHS is under the cntrl f Theresa May s Cnservative Gvernment. Hwever, in Wales, it is under the cntrl f Carwyn Jnes Welsh Gvernment. In England a student pays ver 40,000 in university tuitin fees. In Sctland, Scttish students nly pay 1,820 per year. In England, medical prescriptins cst 8.60 each. In Wales and Sctland they are free. 30

10 Other pwers, hwever, are reserved pwers. These pwers are generally thse which affect the whle f the United Kingdm and are nt suited t being handled separately. Cnstitutinal Matters Defence Plicy Freign Plicy Examples f Reserved Pwers Brexit and Devlutin Brexit is a majr cnstitutinal change that is ging t fundamentally change the way Britain wrks. Althugh 52% f vters chse t leave the Eurpean Unin in 2016, this was nt unifrm acrss the United Kingdm. The results in varius areas were: Sctland - 38% vted t leave Wales % vted t leave Lndn - 40% vted t leave Nrthern Ireland - 44% vted t leave This means that nly in Wales and England did a majrity f vters chse Brexit. This causes prblems, as Sctland, Lndn and Nrthern Ireland are ging t have t accept majr cnstitutinal changes which their vters did nt mandate. This culd lead t greater calls fr devlutin, f even independence, t stp these areas suffering the perceived prblems that leaving the Eurpean Unin wuld bring. Unlike in a Federal System, Devlutin means that pwer is decentralised by the chice f the Central Authrity. In the case f the U.K, this means that the Westminster Parliament has vluntarily chsen thrugh Acts f Parliament t give pwer t devlved areas. Imprtantly, it culd be withdrawn. Indeed, cnstitutinally, there is nthing t stp the Westminster Parliament legislating n devlved issues. It is nly by a cnventin, knwn as the Sewel Cnventin, that this des nt happen. Sewell Cnventin The Sewel Cnventin was established t deal with ptential cnflicts between the Westminster Parliament and the Scttish Parliament. It was annunced in 1998 when devlutin was established. The cnventin states that the Westminster Parliament will nt legislate n areas f devlved pwer, unless they are expressly given permissin by the devlved assemblies. This cnventin has nw als been cdified int law. The Sctland Act (2016) stated that it is recgnised that the parliament f the United Kingdm will nt nrmally legislate with regard t devlved matters withut the cnsent f the Scttish Parliament 31

11 Ultimately, since 2009, it has been the rle f the Supreme Curt t arbitrate n any disagreement between the plitical regins f the UK. Example f the Supreme Curt arbitrating n the plitical prcess In 2014 the UK Gvernment believed that the Welsh Gvernment had acted beynd its devlved pwers by passing a bill t regulate agricultural wages. The Westminster Gvernment believed this fell int the realm f industrial plicy and nt agricultural plicy. Althugh agricultural plicy was a devlved pwer t Wales, industrial plicy was nt. In the case Agricultural Sectr (Wales) Bill The Supreme Curt judged that the Welsh Gvernment was allwed t make plicy in this area. What are the fundamental prblems with Devlutin? Funding Funding fr the devlved areas is given via a Blck Grant frm the Westminster Gvernment. The frmula t wrk this ut is knwn as the Barnett Frmula. Hw des the Barnett Frmula wrk? 1. It cnsiders any changes made each year the Departmental Budgets f the Westminster Gvernment 2. It multiplies this by a cmparability percentage. This is the amunt f devlutin that has happened in this sectr 3. It multiplies this by the prprtin f ppulatin that the devlved area has f the UK. The ttal amunt is then given t the devlved areas as a blck grant. The Barnett Frmula has been seen t be unfair because it allcates different amunts f mney per persn acrss the UK. As f 2015/2016 spending per persn acrss the UK was: England Sctland Wales Nrthern Ireland Surce: Huse f Cmmns Library, Research Briefing 23 rd January 32

12 There are a number f justificatins as t why Nrthern Ireland, Sctland and Wales have higher levels f spending per persn than the UK: - Ppulatins are sparser. This makes prviding public services cstlier. Fr example, prviding train services in the Scttish Highlands will inevitably be higher than that in Surrey. - The size f the public sectr differs between different areas. Fr example, in Sctland, Water and sme Airprts are wned and run by the Gvernment, whereas in England they are privatised. - Mney that is spent n devlved areas cmes frm the Barnett Frmula and frm direct spending. Therefre, relative amunts spent can be misleading. Hwever, despite these justificatins, the sense that mre is being spent n citizens utside f England leads t resentment frm sme. This is especially the case when prvisins are ffered in Sctland, fr example, that are nt ffered in England. The best examples f these prvisins are free higher educatin and free prescriptin charges. These means that there is asymmetrical devlutin. The West Lthian Questin A majr cmplicatin f the way that Devlutin wrks is what is knwn as the West Lthian Questin. Despite the Sewell Cnventin meaning that English MPs d nt make laws that will affect Sctland, Wales and Nrthern Ireland, the same cannt be said abut Scttish MPs n English matters. This is because England des nt have its wn Parliament and is legislated fr in Westminster, MPs frm devlved areas can vte n issues that will nt affect their wn cnstituents but will effect cnstituencies in England. This has becme knwn as the West Lthian Questin, after Tam Dalyell the MP fr West Lthian raised it in 1977, when Devlutin was being cnsidered. This has becme a big fcus in British Plitics, particularly after the prmise f Dev-Max t Sctland during the Scttish Referendum debate. It has led t an emphasis n the The English Questin. David Camern s Cnservative Gvernment claimed t have slved this by adding an additinal Cmmittee Stage t the legislative prcess. This stage is called the Grand Cmmittee stage. In this Cmmittee Stage, Scttish, Welsh and Nrthern Irish MPs wuld nt be able t have the ultimate say n matters nly effecting England: 33

13 Hwever, althugh prgress has been made, this has nt cmpletely slved the English Questin. The final versin f a bill will still be vted n my all MPs. This means that MPs f areas that have devlved pwers can still vte n legislative changes that will nt affect their wn cnstituents. Pst-2015 Example f the West Lthian Questin 8 DUP MPs vted with the Cnservative Gvernment n 14 th March 2018 t remve thusands f Free Schl Meals in England. Their decisin wuld nt impact their cnstituents in Nrthern Ireland, as this is a devlved issue. Unstable System As sn as the prcess f devlutin has begun, it is almst inevitable that devlved areas will want mre pwer and becme increasingly unhappy with the pwers they have. This spiral, sme wuld argue, inevitably leads t a demand fr full independence. Althugh there was a Scttish Independence Referendum in 2014 in which Scts vted t remain in the UK, there is a seeming grwing desire fr what has been dubbed IndyRef2. Expense It is smetimes argued that Devlutin is a mre expensive way t deliver services acrss the United Kingdm as a whle. New institutins have been built which cst hundreds f millins f punds and there is a danger that there is duplicatin between the central gvernment and devlved areas, particularly if the respnsibility fr a certain issue is nt clear cut. On the ther hand, it culd be argued that lcal areas knw hw t supprt their services than a central gvernment. Requirement fr Inter-Gvernmental Relatinships Befre Devlutin there was nly ne gvernment and althugh there were gvernment departments fr Sctland, Wales and Nrthern Ireland, they were all frm the gvernment and party, relatinships were inter-departmental. Nw, t deal with issues, the central gvernment must deal with a whle different gvernment. This was nt s big a deal between 1999 and 2007 when the Labur Party led the gvernments f Sctland and Wales. Hwever, since 2007 the SNP have been in Gvernment in the Scttish Parliament. 34