Devolution, state restructuring and policy divergence in the UK

Abstract

Devolution has become a key ‘global trend’ over recent decades as many states have decentralised power to sub‐state governments. The UK resisted this trend until the late 1990s when devolution was enacted by the then Labour Government, taking a highly asymmetrical form in which different territories have been granted different powers and institutional arrangements. Devolution allows the devolved governments to develop policies that are tailored to the needs of their areas, encouraging policy divergence, although this is countered by pressures to ensure that devolved approaches do not contradict those of the central state, promoting convergence. This review paper aims to assess the unfolding dynamics of devolution and policy divergence in the UK, spanning different policy areas such as economic development, health and social policy. The paper emphasises that devolution has altered the institutional landscape of public policy in the UK, generating some high‐profile examples of policy divergence, whilst also providing evidence of policy convergence. In addition, the passage of time underlines the nature of UK devolution as an unfolding process. Its underlying asymmetries have become more pronounced as the tendency towards greater autonomy for Scotland and Wales clashes with a highly centralised mode of policymaking in Westminster, the consequences of which have spilt over into the devolved territories in the context of the post‐2007 economic crisis through public expenditure cuts.

Housing policy in the UK: the importance of spatial nuance

“…Devolved powers include major areas of public policy such as housing, planning, education, health and regeneration in all four jurisdictions. Reserved powers include most taxation, social security (except Northern Ireland 1 ), defence, energy, immigration and constitutional matters (for fuller discussion see, Keating 2002;MacKinnon 2015). This division of responsibilities reflected the functions that were already being exercised by the Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh Offices.…”

“…Processes of devolution therefore need to be situated and understood within the context of this wider and varied political environment. As well as fundamental differences between political parties, the changing economic context and implementation of austerity measures also marks a shift in the wider political context between the early and latter periods of devolution (Danson et al 2012;MacKinnon 2015). This is where the literature on interpretive governance and social constructionism can be insightful (Jacobs et al 2004;Bevir and Rhodes 2006), providing an important theoretical backdrop to understanding tensions and constraints in the UK constitutional settlement; points that will be returned to in section three.…”

“…Devolution is fundamentally a geographical process, involving the rescaling and remaking of governance, and thus the creation of new political geographies (Brenner 2004;MacKinnon 2015) and 'state spaces' (Clifford and Morphet 2015a: 4). This lends credence to Peck's (2001: 449) argument that the state is best conceived not as a monolithic, static entity; rather as a 'process in motion'.…”

Getting It Right for Every Child: A National Policy Framework to Promote Children's Well-being in Scotland, United Kingdom

“…However, in the late 1990s a system of nonfiscal devolution emerged in the United Kingdom, with varying administrative arrangements and powers granted to each of the 3 devolved UK territories (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), although matters in many key policy areas, such as defense and benefits/social security, remain reserved to the UK government. Devolution encourages policy divergence by allowing territories to develop policies that are tailored to their particular socioeconomic conditions, although at the same time devolved territories are subject to policy convergence pressures to ensure that their policies do not contradict those of the central state . Thus Scotland is broadly subject to similar socioeconomic trends as the rest of the United Kingdom, and its policy agenda has been shaped to some extent by the UK government and UK political parties .…”

Introduction to devolution and the geographies of policy

“…We focus in particular on the geographies of policy post‐devolution in the UK. As MacKinnon highlights, ‘devolution has altered the institutional landscape of public policy in the UK’ (Mackinnon , p. 48). It is vital to consider policy issues to fully understand devolution, and in doing so it is important to consider such matters as how policymaking works in terms of the linkages between territories, the relationship between new and emergent political practices and spatial structures, the politics of place, and the inter‐relationships between people, state and territory post devolution.…”