The parties contesting the general election have now published their manifestos, allowing exploration and comparison of their constitutional proposals. In this fourth post in a series on the manifestos, Patrick Thomas examines the commitments on devolution, and considers what these might mean for the future of the UK. 

It has now been a quarter of a century since the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales were established. Twenty-five years on, devolution remains a live issue in all but one of the 2024 manifestos. But this inclusion of the constitutional questions around devolution is where the commonalities largely stop.  

The 2024 manifestos present four different visions and approaches in the area of devolution. The Conservative Party displays a hesitancy and even hostility towards devolution, and an instinctive desire to assert Westminster power. The Labour Party, on the other hand, clearly likes the system it created in 1998 and so sets out a vision for reasserting the status quo. The Liberal Democrats seek to take devolution much further, by making the UK a federal state. And the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru share a vision of ever greater devolution, at least partly in hope that it will further their end goal of independence from the UK. Two other manifestos do not present a vision for devolution, but in very different ways. The Green Party manifesto acknowledges the importance of devolution but seeks to stay out of the debate, while supporting freedom of choice. Reform UK, on the other hand, simply ignores devolution entirely. 

Conservative Party 

The Conservatives say that the party celebrates the progress which has been made over 25 years of devolution, during which ‘significant further powers have been devolved’. The manifesto goes on to declare that ‘governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland now have the right balance of powers to deliver for people there’. 

Yet the detailed commitments in the manifesto appear more negative, reflecting a sense that the devolved governments may not be using their powers effectively. As such, the party says it would legislate to make data on public services throughout the UK comparable, ‘so the performance of public services can be accurately compared’.  In relation to Wales, it sets out plans to reverse Senedd legislation on speed limits and trade unions – areas which are clearly devolved. Indeed, the sections on Scotland and Wales focus mostly on such policy areas (e.g. fishing, agriculture and transport).  

Whatever the merits of these policy proposals, using a UK-wide election to gain a mandate to override choices made by the democratically elected devolved legislatures in areas for which they have competence would undermine the UK’s devolution arrangements.

On England, gone is the 2019 commitment to ‘full devolution across England’; instead the party pledges a devolution deal for every part of England that wants one by 2030. Gone also is the commitment made in a 2022 white paper that such deals would include ‘powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution’; this is replaced by an offer of ‘level 4’ powers for areas in England with an existing deal and a mayor – which would increase the current level of powers, but fall far short of the highest level of devolution seen in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Labour Party 

Labour’s manifesto clearly commits it to the current devolution settlement and arrangements. Rather than looking to reform devolution, the party sets out its stall for a ‘reset [of] the UK government’s relationship with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland’. The one new commitment is to establish a new council of the nations and regions, bringing together heads of the UK and devolved governments and combined authority mayors. It is not clear if this is intended to replace or sit alongside the existing Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council. Nor is it clear how those areas of England without a mayor would be represented. 

The manifesto also commits to addressing one of the biggest areas of conflict in respect of devolution over the past seven years: breaches of the Sewel convention, under which the UK parliament will not normally legislate in areas of devolved competence without consent. Labour’s plan to address this issue is to strengthen the convention by setting out a new memorandum of understanding (MoU), outlining how the nations will work together for the common good. 

However, an MoU currently exists which, while out of date in many respects, does state how the four governments should work together. The problem is that if the UK government wants to disregard the consent decisions of devolved legislatures, it can simply do so. Issuing a new MoU would signify that a Labour government is committed to respecting the devolution system that the Blair government set up in 1998–99. Unless Labour is planning some more fundamental (and unannounced) reform as part of this redrafting, however, it is unclear how its proposals will address some of the fundamental issues and gaps in this part of the UK’s constitutional architecture. 

On England, Labour is clear that the UK ‘remains too centralised’. It commits ‘to deepen devolution settlements for existing Combined Authorities’ and ‘widen devolution to more areas, encouraging local authorities to come together and take on new powers’. In practice, Labour is committing to carry on the combined authority local government model for England. Its proposals include giving more powers in areas such as transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support. 

However, the manifesto also explains that central to Labour’s approach is a new statutory requirement for Local Growth Plans that cover towns and cities across the country, the purpose of which will be to align growth plans with Labour’s national industrial strategy. This suggests that, while Labour is aware of the fundamental problem caused by the UK’s overly centralised nature, a Labour government will – like many previous governments – be reluctant to let go of decision-making power. As such there is a risk that these plans end up being about delivering central government policy, rather than giving local people a voice in the decisions that govern their lives. 

Liberal Democrats 

The Liberal Democrats wish to ‘[r]eform the UK and strengthen our family of nations around the principles of federalism’, transferring ‘greater powers away from Westminster and Whitehall’. The party’s manifesto contains a range of commitments on devolution, ranging from small-scale changes to radical constitutional reform. What is not clear is whether the party recognises quite how radical some of its proposals are, and how the various policies might fit together. 

Towards the smaller end of that scale, the manifesto proposes strengthening intergovernmental working by establishing a new UK council of ministers, bringing together governments from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and regional leaders of England, as well as establishing various other councils and joint policies.  

On a larger scale, it sets out a commitment to remove ‘the ability for the UK Parliament to unilaterally change the powers of the devolved parliaments or pass laws in their areas of responsibility’. While the motivation behind this commitment may be to strengthen the Sewel convention, in practice it would cut across one of the most fundamental principles of the UK constitution: parliamentary sovereignty.  

Strangely, the party also proposes to make this change in advance of establishing a constitutional convention to draft a new federal constitution – seemingly pre-empting the convention’s conclusions. Notably, the manifesto only mentions a desire to introduce a written constitution for the UK in relation to devolution. Supporting a written constitution is a well-established political position held by many within UK politics, but if the Liberal Democrats are serious about such a change, it is perhaps strange that this is not set out more fully and prominently. 

Finally, while the Liberal Democrats commit to a federal UK, the manifesto contains little on how to address a glaring hole in the UK’s constitution’s devolution architecture: the governance of England. The party commits to ending top-down reorganisation of English local government and the expansion of combined authorities, and instead proposes to allow local authorities to pick and choose the services that matter to them most – but later commits to a relatively top-down reorganisation of English government through its constitutional convention. 

Plaid Cymru and the SNP 

The Plaid Cymru and SNP manifestos both have a similar feel. They advocate for greater devolution of powers, but ultimately the main power that they seek is the power to hold a referendum on separation from the UK. 

Plaid’s manifesto lists a range of policy areas the party thinks should be devolved to Wales, including greater economic powers, full transfer of justice powers, control of the crown estate, and management of the Welsh benefits system. It also sets out plans to prepare a green paper on the path to independence, and says that the power to call a referendum on the constitutional future of Wales should lie with the Senedd rather than the UK government.  

The SNP manifesto calls for the devolution of borrowing, a Scottish migration system, full tax powers, powers over energy regulation, and full powers over rail, broadcasting powers, social security powers, employment rights and housing benefits. It also calls for the UK Internal Market Act 2020 to be repealed, ending UK ministers’ ability to ‘act unilaterally across policy areas that are within devolved competencies’.  

The SNP would also push for the Sewel convention to be placed on a statutory footing. While it does not say how this should be done, it is likely that it has in mind a legal requirement for consent where Westminster seeks to legislate in areas of devolved competence or change devolved powers. As discussed above, this would mark a fundamental change to the UK’s constitutional arrangements. 

Finally, the SNP calls for the ‘permanent transfer of legal power to the Scottish Parliament to determine how Scotland is governed, including the transfer of power to enable it to legislate for a referendum’. The manifesto also says that the SNP considers this election a de facto referendum, in which winning a majority of Scottish seats would give it a mandate to start independence negotiations with the UK government. This commitment does not bind — and is unlikely to be recognised by — the UK government. However, the logic of this commitment would seem to place an obligation on the SNP to desist from actively pursuing separation if the party does not win a majority of seats.  

Green Party 

The Green Party (of England and Wales) manifesto pays limited attention to devolution. However, it does make three broad commitments. First, it proposes that the devolved powers for Wales should be the same as for Scotland, though without  explaining its reasoning, or the specifics, in terms for example of creating a separate legal jurisdiction for Wales. Second, the manifesto states that the Scottish people should be free to decide whether they want to remain part of the UK, and that the Senedd also should be supported if it decides to hold an independence referendum. This implies altering the devolved competencies in the devolution statutes. Finally, the manifesto commits to giving local authorities ‘the powers and the resources to do the things their communities need them to do’. Lacking further detail, it is difficult to assess the merits or practicability of such broad statements. 

Reform UK 

The Reform UK manifesto contains no mention of devolution. It mentions England and Northern Ireland three times, Wales twice, and Scotland not at all. As such, it is hard to analyse Reform UK’s vision or attitude towards devolution, other than to say that – based on the manifesto – it does not have one. 

Conclusion 

It is common to speak of ‘the devolution settlements’. Yet what the manifestos demonstrate is that the nature of devolution in the UK constitution remains unsettled and divisive. 

This suggests that, whoever wins the election, pressing questions relating to devolution will remain unanswered. Unless space is given for proper debate, and political capital is spent on addressing these questions, the long-term future of the UK will remain in flux. 

This is the third in a series of posts offering analysis of the parties’ manifestos, and the latest in a broader collection of posts on the 2024 general election. Sign up via the box in the left-hand sidebar to receive email notifications when a new post goes live. 

The free, online Constitution Unit Conference 2024 also began yesterday (24 June), with panels on standards and English devolution. Further panels on the rule of law and House of Lords reform will take place today (25 June). More information, including a link to sign up to attend, can be found on our website.

About the author

Dr Patrick Thomas is a Senior Research Fellow at the Constitution Unit.