4 01, 2024

Can a new statecraft save the UK’s dysfunctional Union?

By |2024-01-04T17:31:58+00:00January 4th, 2024|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, UK, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , |

by Paul Gillespie Director of the ‘Constitutional Futures after Brexit project’ in the School of Politics and International Relations at UCD; columnist with The Irish Times and member of the IIEA’s UK Expert Group This paper aims to examine the state of the UK government in 2023, how it has progressed to [...]

21 11, 2023

VIDEO: The UK as seen from Wales

By |2023-11-21T16:13:39+00:00November 21st, 2023|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Video|Tags: , , , , |

In this video the former First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones, discusses with Brendan Donnelly and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones current thinking in Wales on the UK’s constitutional future. All three participants drew attention to the apparent contradiction between claims of Welsh and Scottish sovereignty on the one hand and the [...]

27 07, 2023

Releasing Sovereignty from Westminster: Towards a Confederal-federal Britain

By |2023-07-27T16:40:57+00:00July 27th, 2023|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , |

Devolution at national level acknowledges that today’s UK is a construct of formerly discrete entities whose diverse histories and identities are enduringly recognised at an institutional level. Decentralisation within England, by contrast, involves the reorganisation of power within one territory of significant population size (c. 56 million) in order better [...]

5 07, 2023

VIDEO: Can England Save the UK?

By |2023-07-05T15:08:23+00:00July 5th, 2023|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, UK Constitution, Video|Tags: , , , , |

In this Federal Trust video John Denham, Glyndwr Jones and Brendan Donnelly discuss the need for constitutional reform to preserve the UK. They conclude that reform is particularly needed in England, both to improve the governance of England itself and to distinguish between English and British political identities. Confusion between [...]

7 06, 2023

VIDEO: Can Federalism Save the United Kingdom?

By |2023-06-07T14:36:35+00:00June 7th, 2023|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Video|Tags: , , , |

In this  video, former member of the Welsh Senedd David Melding discusses with Brendan Donnelly the advantages of a federal structure for the United Kingdom. Devolution was an honourable attempt to reform the governance of the United Kingdom. It has not however led to greater constitutional stability. Federal structures for [...]

7 06, 2023

Federalism, Union and Secession

By |2023-06-07T14:07:50+00:00June 7th, 2023|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Views from the Federal Trust|Tags: , , , , , , |

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 [...]

3 03, 2023

Federalism, Confederalism and Reform of the UK Constitution

By |2023-03-03T15:57:19+00:00March 3rd, 2023|Categories: Devolution, Scotland, UK Constitution, Video|Tags: , , , , |

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 [...]

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 [...]

28 07, 2022

VIDEO: Confederal Federalism – A model for the United Kingdom?

By |2022-07-28T14:24:28+00:00July 28th, 2022|Categories: Devolution, Federalism, Scotland, UK Constitution, Video|Tags: , , , |

With Nicola Sturgeon having recently addressed the Scottish Parliament about her plans for a second independence referendum, and the Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, established by the Welsh Government, currently considering options for fundamental reform of the UK’s constitutional structures, the four nations of these isles are potentially approaching a crossroads of [...]

Go to Top