INTERGOV

Introduction

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

One element of this initiative is to create a Forum for sharing and discussing events, reports, ideas and research.

Initially this INTERGOV FORUM will be a Facebook Group, and we are inviting policymakers, practitioners, academics and think tanks to join this group here:

JOIN THE INTERGOV FACEBOOK GROUP HERE

VIDEO: UK public finances – Equality and equity between the 4 nations?

By |April 1st, 2022|

Professor Julian Hoppit (UCL) talks about his new book “The Dreadful Monster and its Poor Relations – taxing, spending and the United kingdom 1707-2021” with Professor Colin Talbot (University of Manchester and The Federal Trust). Modern arguments over public finances within the UK, and how far the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland/Northern Ireland are treated fairly and equally are nothing new. Starting from [...]

VIDEO: ‘Beyond Westminster and Whitehall’ – 35 years later

By |March 18th, 2022|

In this interview, our Senior Research Fellow Professor Colin Talbot talks to Professor Rod Rhodes of Southampton University about relations between UK central government and local and regional tiers of government. In 1988, Professor Rhodes published his seminal book on this topic, “Beyond Westminster and Whitehall”. At the time the dominant view – especially amongst the political class - was that the UK was a highly [...]

INTERGOV Forum

By |February 17th, 2022|

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 [...]