Written by Stephen Bailey

It’s 1997. Legislative devolution isn’t part of New Labour’s manifesto, so it never happens.

NO HOLYROOD IN SCOTLAND, NO WELSH ASSEMBLY/‘PARLIAMENT’, NO STORMONT IN NORTHERN IRELAND (NI).

NO NICOLA STURGEON, HUMZA YOUSAF OR SNP RISING TO POWER AT HOLYROOD IN SCOTLAND AND ABUSING THEIR DEVOLVED REMIT TO FALSELY CLAIM A MANDATE (ON THIRTY TWO PER CENT OF THE OVERALL ELECTORATE AND WHEN THE VAST MAJORITY OF OPINION POLLS SHOW THAT THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF SCOTS DON’T WANT IT) AND PUSH FOR INDEPENDENCE, POSING A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO THE CONSTITUTIONAL INTEGRITYOF THE UNION. NO SIXTEEN YEARS OF SNP MISRULE IN WHICH ALMOST ALL AREAS OF DOMESTIC POLICY HAVE BEEN RAVAGED BY INCOMPETENCE.

NO IRA/SINN FEIN RISING TO POWER (FIRST MINISTER AND RULING PARTY) AT STORMONT AND USING THIS POWER AS A JUSTIFICATION AND PLATFORM TO CLAIM A MANDATE FOR A RE-UNIFICATION REFERENDUM WITH VASTLY INCREASED ABILITY AS THEY’VE RECENTLY CONFIRMED THEY WOULD (SOMETHING THEY WOULDN’T HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO WITHOUT STORMONT).

NO PLAID CYMRU IN WALES PUSHING THE RULING LABOUR PARTY TOWARDS INDEPENDENCE AND USING THE INCREASED PUBLIC EXPOSURE LEGISLATIVE DEVOLUTION HAS GIVEN THEM TO PUSH MORE AGGRESSIVELY FOR INDEPENDENCE (AS THE SNP IS ALSO DOING IN SCOTLAND).

A FAR, FAR BETTER WORLD.

WE CAN STILL ACHIEVE THIS HAPPY STATE BY PUSHING FOR THE ABOLITION OF LEGISLATIVE DEVOLUTION.

How?

Could we possibly try to persuade a UK political party to include the abolition of the devolved legislatures, Holyrood, the Welsh ‘parliament’ and Stormont (LEGISLATIVE devolution) and its replacement with administrative devolution in their manifesto for the next general election? If this party won an election on a manifesto pledge to abolish legislative devolution, then that would give them a cast-iron democratic mandate to do so. A referendum win would also provide a cast-iron democratic mandate for abolition of legislative devolution.

Once a future government has won a mandate for abolition through a general election victory based on a manifesto promise to do so, or a referendum win, the path to ending devolution is straightforward and clear. Under UK Constitutional Law, all that is required to end the existence of the devolved legislatures is to introduce an act into parliament that repeals the original acts that set up devolution in the first place and that would be it-no more Holyrood, Welsh ‘parliament’, or Stormont. It is important to note that there is absolutely no requirement under the constitution to seek and receive the consent of the devolved legislatures beforehand.

ADMINISTRATIVE devolution keeps power and democracy localized to the parts of the UK as they control their own purely local (i.e. Scottish, Welsh, and NI) matters. Anything that affects the entire UK would remain within the remit of the House of Commons. The Union is 100% guaranteed as there is no devolved legislature through which modern aggressive nationalism, as personified by the SNP can push for independence referenda, the fatal intrinsic flaw in LEGISLATIVE devolution and undeniably the case in Scotland.

Administrative devolution is the establishment of Government Offices for the Regions, or, pre-1999, the practice of transferring responsibilities from central government departments to territorial departments and their Ministers (i.e. Secretary of State for Scotland etc) of the same Government. It is a form of administrative decentralization. It has been going on since the 1890s, with the creation of the Scottish Office (in 1885) and the delegation of certain limited administrative functions of government to Wales. The Council for Wales and Monmouthshire was established in 1949 to advise the UK Government on matters of Welsh interest and in 1951 the post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created. Northern Ireland was the exception to this. A Parliament of Northern Ireland was set up in 1921 and given power to legislate over almost all aspects of Northern Ireland’s affairs, with only a few matters excluded from its remit, the most important of which were succession to the Crown, the declaration of war (and peace), the armed forces, honours, naturalisation, some central taxes and postal services. It was abolished in 1972.

This process of gradually de-centralizing power away from Westminster out to organizations and individuals (like the Secretaries (of State) and Offices for the various parts of the Union) to constituent parts of the UK has been going on since the beginning of the Union (with Scotland) in 1707. This function was first created after the Acts of Union with Scotland in 1707. It was abolished in 1746, following the Jacobite rising of 1745. Scottish matters thereafter were managed by the Lord Advocate until 1827, when responsibility passed to the Home Office. In 1885, the post of Secretary for Scotland was re-created, with the incumbent usually a member of the Cabinet. In 1926, this post was upgraded to a full Secretary of State appointment.

There is no reason why this process of enabling the various parts of the UK to control their own local traditions whilst the national Parliament (Westminster) controls matters that affect the whole UK can’t continue to be rolled out across the UK. It would enable the constituent parts of the UK (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) to control their own purely local (i.e. Scottish, Welsh, and NI matters) whilst one hundred per cent guaranteeing the Union, as there is no devolved legislature through which anti-UK nationalism can rise to power and push for independence with greatly enhanced ability, the major intrinsic fatal flaw in legislative devolution (the type that exists now). Thus, administrative devolution does not pose any threat to the unitary (single) constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom.

This is real autonomy within the UK and one hundred per cent guarantees the unitary constitutional integrity of the UK, as described above.

NB: Does not represent the views of Scotland Matters.

Want to see Scotland under the SNP?