Council of the Nations and Regions
Council of the Nations and Regions | |
|---|---|
.jpg) First meeting of the council in Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 October 2024 | |
| Type | |
| Type | Quasi-intergovernmental body of United Kingdom |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | 11 October 2024[1] (Date of first meeting) |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 18 constituent members |
Political groups |
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The Council of the Nations and Regions (Welsh: Cyngor y Cenhedloedd a’r Rhanbarthau), also known as the Council of Nations and Regions, is a quasi-intergovernmental political body in the United Kingdom. The council's 18 members are the holders of the offices of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Minister of Scotland, First Minister of Wales, First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Mayor of London, and the 11 English combined authority mayoralities.[2][3]
Background
[edit]Previous structures
[edit]This section describes previous structures (or proposed structures) both for intergovernmental relations between the UK government and the UK's devolved governments, and for administrative relations between the UK government and England's combined authority mayors (along with the mayor of London).
In 1999, a "Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC)" was established, in which ministers from the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive would meet.[4]
Former UK prime minister David Cameron had proposed that England's combined authority mayors (and the mayor of London) sit within an "English Cabinet of Mayors", giving them the opportunity to share ideas and represent their regions at English national level. This proposed cabinet of mayors would have been chaired by the prime minister and meet at least twice a year. However, he took no action to form such a cabinet, and the idea was quietly dropped.[5][6]
In 2022, several new forums were established to replace the JMC, including the "Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council", which consists of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the First Minister of Scotland, the First Minister of Wales, and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.[7][8][9]
Mark Drakeford, while First Minister of Wales, was very critical of apparent hostility to the Welsh Government from the UK Government, and difficulties in communication between the two governments. Drakeford claimed that the UK government under Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak attempted to override decisions made by the devolved governments.[10][11]
Gordon Brown Report
[edit]In 2022, the Labour Party published a report on constitutional reform proposals by Gordon Brown titled A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy.[12]
A chapter in the report was dedicated to the matter of improving intergovernmental relations and devolution.[11][12][13] One proposal regarded forming a "Council of the UK" would bring together the Prime Minister and the leaders of the devolved legislatures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to manage relations and co-ordinate efforts between the four governments.[14] A second proposed body was a "Council of England", chaired by the Prime Minister, which would bring together combined authority mayors and the mayor of London, representatives of local government and other stakeholders in England.
The main proposed body was the "Council of the Nations and Regions" which would include the prime minister, the heads of the three devolved administrations, and be joined by the Mayor of London and the mayors of combined authorities in England.[14] The Council of the UK would broadly corresponded to the existing Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council, but the Council of England would have no preceding equivalent.[15]
Establishment
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Plans for a council of the nations and regions were included in the Labour manifesto for the 2024 UK general election.[16] Following Labour's victory in the election, on 9 July the new prime minister Keir Starmer met with England's combined authority mayors and the mayor of London and announced the establishment of a council of the nations and regions.[17][18][13] The Scottish Government said that they had not been informed of the plans prior to the announcement.[13]
At the 2024 Labour Party Conference, Labour reiterated its committment to the proposals, saying that all areas of England "should eventually be covered by mayoral devolution", which would then mean all areas of England would be represented on the Council.[19]
The first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place on 11 October 2024 in Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh.[1] The council is expected to meet twice a year.[1]
Membership
[edit]The council's 18 members are the holders of the offices of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Minister of Scotland, First Minister of Wales, First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Mayor of London, and the 11 English combined authority mayoralities.[20]
As such, the current members of the Council are:[13][20][21][22]
Meetings
[edit]| Meetings of the Council of the Nations and Regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Location | Host |
| 11 October 2024[23] | Edinburgh |  Scotland
|
See also
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b The positions of Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland and Keeper of the Welsh Seal are not referred to in this table, because they are ceremonial positions. Referring to them may misleadingly put Scotland and Wales in a higher position compared to Northern Ireland, where the Keeper of the Great Seal of Northern Ireland is the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland and not a member of the Council. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would have equal status on the Council.[citation needed]
- ^ a b c d The position of Police and Crime Commissioner is not listed because referring to it may misleadingly put the mayors who hold those powers in a higher position compared to the other mayors who do not have those powers. The mayors would have equal status on the Council.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Council of Nations tackles challenge of UK power-sharing".
- ^ "Labour vows to 'reset' relations between Scotland and UK". BBC News. 13 June 2024.
- ^ "Labour to invite England's 'devolution deserts' to take on more power". The Guardian. 15 July 2024.
- ^ Paun, Akash; Sargeant, Jess; Shuttleworth, Kelly (11 December 2017). "Devolution: Joint Ministerial Committee". Institute for Government. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Mayoral referendums: The mayors of the twinned cities". BBC News. 19 April 2012.
- ^ "Rival campaigns fight over directly-elected mayors in England". BBC News. 12 April 2012.
- ^ Pooran, Neil (13 January 2022). "Boris Johnson to chair council of UK's devolved administration leaders". Independent. Independent Digital News & Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Prime Minister to chair new council with devolved governments" (Press release). UK Government. 13 January 2022. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council Communiqué" (PDF). GOV.UK. 10 November 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Sue Gray: What does the new nations envoy mean for Wales?". BBC News. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b Lynch, David (9 October 2023). "Unserious to suggest Wales is sole blueprint for a Labour government: Drakeford". The Independent. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b Mason, Rowena; Brooks, Libby (4 December 2022). "Labour unveils plan to overhaul constitution and replace the Lords". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ a b c d Ross, Hunter (9 July 2024). "Scottish Government given no detail on Labour's new 'council of nations'". The National. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ a b Commission on the UK’s Future (5 December 2022), A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy (PDF), Labour Party, Wikidata Q115628668
- ^ O'Grady, Sean (11 July 2024). "Is Starmer's Council of Regions and Nations a federalist talking shop?". Independent. Independent Digital News & Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ "Serving the country". The Labour Party.
- ^ "UK politics live: Keir Starmer departs for Nato summit after making first speech to Parliament as PM". BBC News.
- ^ Sparrow, Andrew (9 July 2024). "Starmer praises Abbott and hails diverse Commons in first speech to parliament as PM – as it happened". The Guardian.
- ^ White, Hannah; Thomas, Alex; Tetlow, Gemma; Pope, Thomas; Davies, Nick; Davison, Nehal; Metcalfe, Sophie; Paun, Akash (26 September 2024). "Seven things we learned from the Labour Party Conference 2024". Institute for Government. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ a b Hunter, Ross (5 October 2024). "Keir Starmer to host first council of nations and regions in Scotland". The National. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
- ^ Torrance, David (12 September 2024). "Council of the Nations and Regions". House of Commons Library.
- ^ "Council of Nations tackles challenge of UK power-sharing". BBC News. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
External links
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