The Federal Trust is launching an initiative – INTERGOV – to create a forum for better communications and understanding of intergovernmental relations within the United Kingdom.

We believe the time is propitious for this  new initiative. The devolution settlements are rapidly mutating, not least as a result of Brexit ,and there is much talk in governmental circles of ambitious reforms to local government. The Covid crisis and the publication of the current Westminster governments ‘Levelling Up’ plans make issues about the powers and relationships between different levels and forms of government more salient. The United Kingdom has within its frontiers some 400 national, regional and local governments. The relations between them are complicated, varied and worthy of more rigorous analysis than that to which they are usually subjected.

We are in effect witnessing an ever-changing map of ‘intergovernmental relations’ in the UK. 

But understanding of these changing intergovernmental relations – both actual and desirable – is fragmented and partial, even amongst experts. The public can be forgiven for being bewildered by the ever-shifting kaleidoscope. Our new Facebook group and its later development will be an opportunity to bring together insights and research results from different disciplines. We hope to facilitate the emergence of a more coherent and comprehensive picture of the radical and varied changes now being implemented in the internal governance of the UK.

Forum

We are inviting policymakers, practitioners, academics and think tanks to join the INTERGOV FORUM.

Initially the INTERGOV FORUM will be a Facebook Group simply for sharing events, reports, ideas, research.  We hope however that it will rapidly evolve into an autonomous platform, on which new ideas will be exchanged, research stimulated and policy recommendations formulated.

JOIN THE INTERGOV FACEBOOK GROUP HERE