Council of the Nations and Regions
Council of the Nations and Regions Cyngor y Cenhedloedd a’r Rhanbarthau (Welsh) | |
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| Type | |
| Type | Quasi-intergovernmental of United Kingdombody |
| History | |
| Founded | 11 October 2024[3] |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 17 |
Political groups |
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| Meeting place | |
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| First meeting of the council in Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 October 2024 | |
| Website | |
| Council of the Nations and Regions | |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Politics of the United Kingdom |
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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 members are the holders of the offices of prime minister of the United Kingdom, first minister of Scotland, first minister of Wales, first and deputy first finister of Northern Ireland, mayor of London, and the 11 English combined authority mayoralties.[4]
History
[edit]Background
[edit]In the late 1990s, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were granted devolved administrations by the United Kingdom.[5] In 1999, The Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) was established, to aid in coordination between ministers from the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.[6]
UK prime minister David Cameron had proposed in 2012 that England's combined authority mayors and the mayor of London sit within an "English Cabinet of Mayors". However, he took no action to form such a cabinet, and the idea was dropped.[7][8][9]
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.[10][11][12]
Mark Drakeford, while First Minister of Wales, was very critical of apparent hostility to the Welsh Government from the Conservative 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.[13][14]
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.[15]
A chapter of the report was dedicated to the matter of improving intergovernmental relations and devolution.[14][15][16] One proposal was for the formation of a "Council of the UK", which would bring together the UK prime minister and the heads of the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to manage relations and coordinate efforts between the four governments.[17] A second proposed body was a "Council of England", chaired by the prime minister, which would bring together the mayor of London, combined authority mayors, representatives of local government, and other stakeholders in England. A third proposed body was the "Council of the Nations and Regions", which would bring together the UK prime minister, the heads of the three devolved governments, and the mayor of London and combined authority mayors in England.[17]
The Council of the UK would broadly corresponded to the existing Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council. The Council of England would correspond to the abandoned "Cabinet of Mayors" proposal. The Council of the Nations and Regions would have no direct equivalent, but corresponded to a single combined body of the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council and the Cabinet of Mayors.[18]
Establishment
[edit].jpg)
Plans for a council of the nations and regions were included in the Labour manifesto for the 2024 UK general election.[19] Following Labour's victory in the election, on 9 July the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer met England's combined authority mayors and the mayor of London and announced plans to establish a council of the nations and regions.[20][21][16] The Scottish Government said that they had not been informed of the plans prior to the announcement.[16]
At the 2024 Labour Party Conference, Labour reiterated its commitment 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.[22]
The first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place on 11 October 2024 in Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh.[3] The work of the council will be supported by a secretariat of UK government officials.[23][clarification needed]
Membership
[edit]The council's members are the holders of the offices of prime minister of the United Kingdom, first minister of Scotland, first minister of Wales, first and deputy first finister of Northern Ireland, mayor of London, and the 11 English combined authority mayoralties.[4][16][24][25]
According to a press release issued by the UK government, the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom and the inister for Intergovernmental Relations will also attend the council,[a] and that other ministers may be invited to attend on an ad hoc basis.[23] The membership of the council is expected increase as new mayoral combined authorities are established.[23]
The current members of the council are:[26]
Meetings
[edit].jpg)
The council is intended to meet twice a year.[3]
| Date | Location | Host |
|---|---|---|
| 11 October 2024 | Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh[27][26] | Scotland |
See also
[edit]- Council of Leaders of Local Government
- East–West Council
- Inter-Parliamentary Forum
- Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom
- Mayoral Council
- Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ While the press release states that the deputy prime minister and the minister for Intergovernmental Relations will attend, neither have attended a meeting as of 2024.
References
[edit]- ^ Barlow, Nigel (11 October 2024). "Burnham calls it an historic moment as first council of Nations and Regions is held".
- ^ "Prime Minister Keir Starmer host Council of Nations and Regions". 11 October 2024 – via Flickr.
- ^ a b c "Council of Nations tackles challenge of UK power-sharing". BBC News. 10 October 2024.
- ^ a b "How will Starmer's new Council of the Nations and Regions tackle the challenges of power-sharing?". Independent.co.uk.
- ^ "What is devolution and how does it work in the UK?". BBC News. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 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.
- ^ Niven, Rosie (27 April 2012). "Cabinet of mayors proves controversial offer to local authorities". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
- ^ 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. 9 July 2024.
- ^ 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 c "Council of the Nations and Regions: Terms of Reference" (Press release). UK Government. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 19 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.
- ^ a b "Council of Nations tackles challenge of UK power-sharing". BBC News. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
- ^ Paton, Craig (12 October 2024). "John Swinney pushes Keir Starmer for investment at Edinburgh meeting". Aberdeen Live.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Council of the Nations and Regions at Wikimedia Commons
- Council of the Nations and Regions
- GOV.UK: Intergovernmental Relations
- UK Parliament: Council of the Nations and Regions
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