17 02, 2023

The Departure of Nicola Sturgeon

By |2023-02-20T13:16:51+00:00February 17th, 2023|Categories: Blog, Brexit, Devolution, Europe, Scotland, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

There is a mystery for me in contemplating the political career of Nicola Surgeon. I first faced this during the 2015 General Election, which I spent largely in Scotland, campaigning for Unionist friends. I was hoping to see the “No” campaign victory in the 2014 referendum (in which I was [...]

13 02, 2023

The emergence of the EU as a Democratic Regional Polity

By |2023-02-13T15:28:51+00:00February 13th, 2023|Categories: Citizens’ rights, EU Policies & Institutions, Federalism, Future of Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , |

Democratic backsliding has become such a defining trend in global politics over the past decades that the democratisation of the European Union has gone largely unnoticed.[1] After the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, however, the EU has been advancing its transition from a [...]

7 02, 2023

New EU Machinery Regulation Poses Challenges and Benefits for UK Machinery Exporters to the Single Market

By |2023-02-07T14:45:22+00:00February 7th, 2023|Categories: Brexit, Europe, Trade & Financial services, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , , |

By Andrew Hood and Peter Sellar, Fieldfisher LLP and Bob Savic, Federal Trust Divergence risks grow in post-Brexit EU and UK machinery standards The European Union’s new Machinery Regulation, approved by the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament in late January 2023, extensively revises the 2006 Machinery Directive.  [...]

16 12, 2022

A celebration of 35 years of the EU’s Erasmus Programme

By |2023-03-30T15:14:57+00:00December 16th, 2022|Categories: Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|

Presentation by Dr Hywel Ceri Jones CMG on the occasion of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of Erasmus+ held by the European Commission in Brussels on 14th December 2022.[1] Note: An expanded version of this speech was published in March 2023 by AIACE Vox  Vice President Schinas and Commissioner [...]

22 11, 2022

Regionalizing Democracy in the United Kingdom – The Case for an Upper House of the Nations and Regions

By |2022-11-22T14:01:10+00:00November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Blog, Federalism, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

Dr Andrew Black, Global Policy Institute, [email protected] and   Professor Sam Whimster, Global Policy Institute, [email protected]     Rationale for change and reform: Britain is one of the most centralized democracies in the OECD. Resource allocation decisions are centralized in London, and instructions are handed down ‘vertically’ to the devolved nations and [...]

18 11, 2022

Why can’t the Brits Do Federalism?

By |2022-11-18T11:04:21+00:00November 18th, 2022|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , |

It is fair to say that federalism makes most UK unionists uncomfortable when it is considered at all. It is seen as foreign and alien to the principle of absolute parliamentary sovereignty located in Westminster. In the 1970s the Kilbrandon Commission notoriously dismissed federalism as a constitutional structure for states not [...]

18 11, 2022

Constitutional Collaboration

By |2022-11-18T11:47:52+00:00November 18th, 2022|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , |

On 29th October 2022, I took part in the Federal Trust’s conference on the future of the United Kingdom. Though the day had a focus on federalism my preferred model leans towards a form of close constitutional confederalism, which neatly deals with the sovereignty aspirations of the home nations in [...]

25 10, 2022

Building collective, not separate, constitutional visions

By |2022-10-25T14:49:53+00:00October 25th, 2022|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

Even with the introduction of devolution in Scotland and Wales at the end of the 20th Century, there is a sense that these isles are now approaching a significant constitutional crossroads. Each nation has, in recent decades, developed an individual political culture with clear distinguishing features from the workings of [...]

17 10, 2022

Brexit Has Turned Britain into Weimar 4th Republic

By |2022-10-17T13:01:04+00:00October 17th, 2022|Categories: Brexit, Europe, Trade, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

What has happened to my country? I have been a student, activist, MP, minister and writer in its political life for five decades. Never has it been so broken, divided, confused, uncertain about its future. The Queen’s death marked the last moment when the United Kingdom was briefly itself. Britain [...]

27 09, 2022

How will the Brexit dream end?

By |2022-09-27T13:03:58+00:00September 27th, 2022|Categories: Brexit, Europe, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: |

As the damage from leaving the European Union became increasingly clear, it was confidently predicted by many Remainers that the country would eventually ‘wake up’ to the fact that it was a mistake. However, there has been no sudden dawning of this sort and the country remains bitterly divided. So how might [...]

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