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Governance of England

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There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 1707 until 1801 when it merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in 1922 (in reality; in name in 1927) upon independence for most of the island of Ireland.

Background

The UK since then has gone through significant change to its system of government, with devolved parliaments, assemblies and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England, however, remains under the full jurisdiction, on all matters, of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the UK government as no devolved administration has been created for England within the new structure.

This situation led to the anomaly, known as the West Lothian question, which is that Scottish Members of Parliament (MPs) have been able to vote on legislation that affects only England whereas English MPs have been unable to vote on certain Scottish matters due to devolution. In some cases, such as top-up university tuition fees and foundation hospitals, the votes of Scottish MPs have been crucial in helping pass legislation for England that the majority of English MPs have opposed. An attempt was made to address this anomaly in 2015 through the use of an English votes for English laws procedure which aims to ensure that legislation affecting only England requires a majority vote of MPs representing English constituencies.

Another possible solution to the West Lothian question would have been devolution to the English regions but attempts have been unsuccessful so far. Amongst the parts of England, Greater London has a degree of devolved power (although weaker than that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with power vested in an elected Mayor of London, currently Sadiq Khan and the London Assembly.

The country is therefore officially divided into the following in terms of governance:

The incumbent UK government has no plans to create a devolved English parliament and corresponding English executive.

"England-only" policy areas

The UK central government retains the following powers in relation to England which are exercised by devolved governments in the rest of the United Kingdom:

"England-only" departments and agencies of the UK central government

Prior to 1999, the Scottish Office, Welsh Office and Northern Ireland Office, exercised a wide range of government functions in their respective nations. After devolved administrations were established, secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remained in place to represent the interests of people in the devolved nations at UK Cabinet level and to act as a conduit between central government and the devolved administrations. England however remains under the responsibility of several subject-specific government departments, many with boarder UK wide roles. There is no cabinet level secretary whose remit is to represent England as a whole.

Within the UK central government, there are several ministerial departments, non-ministerial departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies which have responsibilities for matters affecting England alone.

Ministerial departments

The following ministerial departments deal mainly with matters affecting England though they also have some UK-wide responsibilities in certain areas;

Non-ministerial departments

Executive agencies

Non-departmental public bodies

Tribunals

Boundary commissions

Ombudsman

Government owned companies

'England-only' mechanisms in the UK parliament

Unlike Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have had their own devolved legislatures since the late 1990s, England remains under the full jurisdiction of the United Kingdom parliament based in Westminster. In the parliament elected in 2024, 543 members represented constituencies in England out of a total of 650.

Some mechanisms exist within the UK parliament to allow members elected from constituencies elected in England to discuss issues relating to the nation as a whole or to specific regions of England.

The Regional Affairs Committee was established in 2000. It has 13 members, however any MP from a constituency in England may attend and participate in its procedures effectively making it a de facto English grand committee. The standing order establishing the Regional Affairs Committee remains in force, however the committee last met in 2024 and no appointments have been made to it since 2005.

Eight Regional Grand Committees and Regional Select Committees existed between 2008 and 2010 for the eight regions of England outside Greater London.

As part of a commitment to introduce a policy known a English votes for English laws, prime minister David Cameron established a Legislative Grand Committee in 2015 in an attempt to give English MPs a greater say over legislation that only applies to England. The system of English Votes for English Laws was abolished by Boris Johnson's Conservative government in 2021.

Devolved governance within England

Main article: Devolution in the United Kingdom § England

In 1994, England was divided into nine regions, each with its own government office by John Major's Conservative government.

A strategic local authority for the London region, known as the Greater London Authority (GLA) was established by Tony Blair's Labour government in 2000 following a successful referendum held two years earlier. The GLA consists of a directly-elected Mayor of London and an elected London Assembly.

Regional Development Agencies were established in 1998 in all nine regions and unelected regional chambers made up of local councillors, business leaders and other stakeholders, were established in the eight regions outside London in 1999. An English Regions Network was formed as a collective voice for England's eight regional chambers and the London Assembly. Plans for elected regional assemblies in the rest of England were dropped following an unsuccessful referendum held in the North East region in 2004. Regional chambers were phased out between 2008 and 2010, with some of their functions being assumed by Local authority leaders' boards. Regional Development Agencies were abolished in 2012.

The first Combined authority was established in Greater Manchester in 2011. This was initially an indirectly elected body, administered by a board of leaders of the local authorities within its area. Additional combined authorities were formed in the following years, mainly centered around urban areas. In 2017, some combined authorities elected mayors for the first time. As of October 2024, there are 11 mayoral combined authorities in England with proposals for more, both mayoral and non-mayoral, to be established in the future.

Since July 2024, responsibility for devolution and local government in England falls to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, supported by a Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, both within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. A Minister for London existed between 1994 and 2010 and again between 2016 and 2024. Part-time Regional Ministers were appointed in the eight regions outside London between 2007 and 2010.

Mayoral Council for England and the Council of Nations and Regions

First meeting of the Mayoral Council for England on 10 October 2024.

In 2024, the newly elected Labour government established a Mayoral Council for England, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, to bring together ministers from the UK government, the Mayor of London and the mayors of England's combined authorities. As the government hopes that combined authorities will be established throughout England, the Mayoral Council would eventually evolve into an all England forum. In October 2024, 48% of the population and 26% of the land area of England is represented on the Mayoral Council.

Additionally a UK wide Council of the Nations and Regions was formed which includes the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, the First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the Mayor of London and the combined authority mayors.

Historical governments of England

References

  1. Welcome parliament.uk, accessed 5 March
  2. https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Devolving-English-Government.pdf
  3. https://www.bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Devolving-English-Government.pdf
  4. https://erskinemay.parliament.uk/section/6104/regional-affairs-committee
  5. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 03 Mar 2009 (pt 0013)". publications.parliament.uk.
  6. "English vote plan to become law despite objections". BBC News. 22 October 2015.
  7. "Housing Bill set to be first test for English votes plan". BBC News. 23 October 2015.
  8. "Commons scraps English votes for English laws". BBC News. 13 July 2021.
  9. (1) Henderson (2) Paun, (1) Duncan (2) Akash (March 6, 2023). "English Devolution". Institute for Government.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. "Serving the country".
  11. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/english-devolution

Further reading

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