In this video, Federal Trust Senior Research Fellow Dr Andrew Blick comments on the emerging debate about a more federalised United Kingdom. He argues that the nature of federalism has often been misunderstood in the UK because of the confused and confusing debate surrounding a European “federal superstate.” A growing [...]
Federalism is best defined as a system in which constitutional authority is divided between a ‘federal’ tier of government and a set of territorial ‘states’. It is a comprehensive and symmetrical model in which the entirety (or almost the entirety) of the country is covered by states, which have identical [...]
The UK’s politics failed in the face of Brexit for a mixture of reasons. There were three main causes. First, the ideology and dishonesty at the heart of the pro-Brexiters’ campaigning was, and remains, central. Second, Labour’s opposition to Brexit foundered on internal splits and a leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who [...]
This article was first published by the Scottish Centre on European Relations There is more than a whiff of hysteria in the air about the possibility of the UK fragmenting via Scottish independence and Irish reunification. Two former UK chancellors (one also an ex-prime minister) find the idea that [...]
This article was first published by Scottish Centre on European Relations As the start of 2021 looms, the EU and UK have a new relationship underpinned by their new trade and cooperation agreement. This agreement fractures, damages and complicates economic, political and social links between the UK and EU. And, [...]
With Covid gridlock in Kent, chaotic borders have arrived earlier than expected, although stockpiling ahead of the end of the transition was already causing queues and a glimpse into the UK’s difficult post-Brexit future. As talks and haggling continue over fishing, one thing is clear: deal or no deal, four [...]
The United Kingdom (UK) and what is now the European Union (EU) were intertwined for nearly half a century. Consequently, Brexit means more than the UK removing itself from the EU. It involves extracting the EU from the UK. The four years after the EU referendum of 23 June 2016 [...]
Crucial Election Looms In just seven months time, Scottish voters will head to the polls to elect a new cohort of MSPs to the Scottish parliament. From recent polls, the Scottish National Party looks set for a majority of seats and of the overall vote. But we live in highly [...]
President Clinton admonished us that it was “the economy, stupid”. Perhaps, in the current febrile situation this should be amended to being “it’s the politics, stupid”. Faced with a 25% drop in GDP in the UK in quarter 2, this might seem surprising to some. But take a closer look. [...]
That the UK’s union of four nations is under strain is not new to anyone who has been paying attention. But the combined impacts of Brexit, Covid-19 and the Conservative government under Boris Johnson are driving an increasing wedge between Scotland and the rest of the UK – or, more [...]
