The British system of government has for many years been one of the most centralised in Europe. Many more matters are decided at the national level than in Germany or Belgium, for example, where an effective level of regional government has been established.
Recent years have seen steps towards regional government, notably in Scotland and Wales but also on a smaller scale in England. But treating regional and national authorities as representatives of Westminster rather than representatives of the people in the areas concerned does not really change very much.
A federal system would be much better.
In England, some form of sub-national authorities (perhaps the existing regions, perhaps something else) would be directly elected and exercise clearly defined powers. Most of these powers would be drawn from those currently exercised by Whitehall. Such a system could bring the citizens closer to the decisions which most affect their lives. The power of distant bureaucrats would be reduced.
The links below lead to more information on the following subjects.
Latest Contributions
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VIDEO: The UK as seen from Wales | Federal Trust
In this video the former First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, discusses with Brendan Donnelly and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones current thinking in Wales on the UK’s constitutional future. All three […]
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Can a new statecraft save the UK’s dysfunctional Union? | Federal Trust
by Paul Gillespie Director of the ‘Constitutional Futures after Brexit project’ in the School of Politics and International Relations at UCD; columnist with The Irish Times and member of the IIEA’s […]
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VIDEO: Can Northern Ireland Survive Brexit? | Federal Trust
In this new Federal Trust video, the former European Commission Representative in Belfast and London, Geoff Martin, predicts that the DUP will soon rejoin the Northern Ireland Executive. He argues […]