In this new essay for the Federal Trust, our Council member and former member of the Welsh Senedd David Melding argues that federal structures are the best way of preserving the constitutional and geographical integrity of the United Kingdom. In a federal UK, powers and responsibilities would be transparently and [...]
In this recorded session, Professor Jim Gallagher and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones explore the successes and challenges of the devolution arrangements since 1999; the need for change and reform of the UK constitutional landscape; and the opportunities presented by models of federalism and confederalism. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE or in the [...]
In this Federal Trust video, the Trust’s Director Brendan Donnelly argues that the current negotiations about the Northern Ireland Protocol reflect many of Brexit’s underlying flaws. The problems Brexit would cause for Ireland were foreseeable and foreseen. The Protocol attempts to wrestle with some of these problems. There is however [...]
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 [...]
An Elected Upper Chamber of the Devolved Nations and English Regions 30th January 2023 WATCH THE RECORDING HERE Or in the player below Britain's sufferance of an unelected House of Lords has expired. Reforms have been promised since 1911, but now Sir Keir Starmer has declared an incoming Labour government, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
In this video, the former head of the European Commission office in Belfast, Geoff Martin, discusses recent developments in Northern Ireland with our Chairman John Stevens. Geoff Martin predicts that new elections for Stormont will make very little difference to the political stalemate in Northern Ireland, for which he principally [...]
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 [...]
Joint Conference by The James Madison Charitable Trust and The Federal Trust for Education and Research 29th October 2022 The union holding together the nations of the United Kingdom has come under strain. Challenges include the announcement of a referendum on independence in Scotland, the constitutional review by the Commission [...]
