What are the Options?
Increasingly over the last five years or so the issue of the
future of the UK Union and indeed will it survive—especially following Brexit—has
been a topic of academic, political studies and discourses.
I have endeavoured to collate a list of studies, reports and
articles as a reference point to inform people of the issues and options.
It is not an exhaustive list, but it is a start
UK’s Changing Union: Towards a new
Union
(Wales Governance Centre, Cardiff
University: February 2015)
Devolution and the Future of the Union
(The Constitution Unit, University
College London: April 2015)
A Constitutional Crossroads: Ways
Forward for the United Kingdom
(The Bingham Centre for the Rule of
Law: May 2015)
Federal Britain—The Case for
Decentralisation
(Institute of Economic Affairs: 2015)
David Owen—A
Federal UK Council
(November 2016)
A Federal Future for the UK—The
Options
(Federal Trust for Education and
Research: July 2010
Gordon Brown—A Revolt of the Regions
(New Statesman: November 2016)
Wales Act 2017
Elystan Morgan
Professor Jim Gallagher—Britain after Brexit: Toxic referendums and
territorial constitutions (October 2016)
Constitution Convention report
(Institute of Welsh Affairs: April
2015)
David Marquand
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/13/britain-doesnt-really-exist-exit--eu (13/1/2017)
David Melding AM (Institute of Welsh
Affairs: 10/7/2009)
Adam Price AM—Why independence for
Wales is not an idle fantasy
(Wales Online: March 2017)
What Might an English Parliament look
like—Consultation Document
(Constitution Unit, University College
London: November 2016)
Centre for English Identity—The Centre for
English Identity and Politics, led by former MP John Denham, is
developing a cross-disciplinary programme of lectures, seminars, conferences.
To increase understanding of the forces driving English identity and dto evelop
ideas for how it can be inclusive and forward-looking.
Open Democracy—Article with
numerous links included among them the policies of the three main political
parties on English devolution (May 2015)
The Silk Commission—Commission on
Devolution in Wales - also known as The Silk Commission - was established
by the UK Government in 2011 to look at the future of the devolution settlement
in Wales. As part of their terms of reference, the Commission looked at Wales's
financial powers and legislative powers and made a number of recommendations in
two final reports.
Crowther/Kilbrandon Royal Commission
The report of the
Commission (Cmnd. 5460) was published in November 1973 (HO 221/294).
Two members of the
Commission produced a minority report, the Memorandum of Dissent: HO 221/295
Minutes of evidence
before the Commission, published and unpublished written evidence, circulated
abstracts of evidence, research papers, warrants of appointment, majority and
minority reports, minutes of meetings of the Commission and constitute
specialized groups of members and staff, together with policy papers—can be
viewed on the following link
In chapter 9 the
report discussed the dissatisfaction with government which is common to the
people of Great Britain as a whole. The link below to chapter 10 considers how,
in some parts of the country, the nature and extent of that dissatisfaction are
influenced by national feeling and by the existence of national institutions.
We start with a brief enquiry into the nature of national feeling and the
different forms that it may take. We then trace the development of the Scottish
and Welsh nationalist movements in favour of political separation from the rest
of the United Kingdom and assess their significance. Finally, we consider the
ways in which less extreme forms of national feeling affect people's attitudes
to the present system of government.