The United Kingdom has been a successful political union. The ability of the foundations and rules of the UK to evolve and in doing so adapt to changing circumstances has been a great strength. The rapid pace of constitutional change over the last 15 years, including devolution, has altered our constitutional arrangements considerably—far more than many may have realised.
The devolution of power to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland has allowed those parts of the Union better to determine their own economic and political priorities. For example, institutional arrangements now exist in three nations in the UK to express and demonstrate their own preferences on a range of issues from NHS prescription charges, and tuition fees, to the collection of Air Passenger Duty for long-haul flights.
England, despite being home to 83% of the population of the UK, is yet to join the other nations of the Union in having effective devolution. Outside London, most decisions about England are still taken centrally by the UK Parliament. It is worth bearing in mind that many decisions in the devolved parts of the Union are also taken centrally in the sense that they are made by the devolved Administrations and Legislatures for the whole of that part of the Union. Our report on Prospects for codifying the relationship between central and
local government outlined a way in which devolution for England could be taken forward using local councils as the vehicle. We believe the English Question needs to be addressed swiftly.
In this report, we suggest that among the options which the Government should consider is a national forum, or pre-convention, for England to discuss the most appropriate method to address the English Question.
A strong, lasting democratic settlement for the UK must be built upon two principles: those of devolution and union. That is to say, a broad acceptance of the role and powers of the Union, allied to a respect for different but agreed forms of devolution for the nations that make up the Union. This way, everyone in the Union will see that devolution is not an expedient but a founding democratic principle to be applied to all parts of the Union in the
future. We welcome the development of bespoke devolution, rather than one size fits all, but the more this is within a context of an agreed role for the UK, the more sustainable the settlement will be.
There is a range of very different opinions. This is true, not only among the witnesses but also among the members of our Committee, some of whom do not accept either the need for further review of constitutional arrangements or that a constitutional convention would be the right vehicle for any such review. We have debated our report carefully, but all our recommendations to the Government must be considered with the caveat that they do not represent the unanimous view of the members of our Committee.
The impending 2014 referendum on independence for Scotland makes a consideration of the future of the Union all the more urgent. The arguments for or against Scotland remaining in the Union, or what might happen to the Union if Scotland were to leave, and our relationship with Europe, are beyond the scope of our inquiry. We do not suggest that any constitutional convention should report before the referendum on Scottishindependence.
However, regardless of the result of the 2014 referendum on Scotland’s
independence, there is, in our view, a need to consider both how the
increasingly devolved parts of the Union interact with each other, and what we, as residents of the UK, want the Union to look like going forward.
We therefore suggest that the Government consider, among other options, preparations for a UK-wide constitutional convention, including decisions about its form and organisation, and the process of calling for evidence. If the Government chooses to take this option, the UK-wide constitutional
convention should be able to take into account the debate from the pre-convention hearings in England and the referendum result in Scotland, and produce a preliminary report. Alternatively, the UK Government and
devolved Administrations may form agreements themselves.
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