Whatever happened to devolution?

摘要

English devolution has been on the Conservative Government agenda with varying degrees of salience since 2014. During this time, 'devo deals' have also been linked with other grand narratives, spanning from the Northern Powerhouse to the more recent 'levelling up' agenda. Along the way, promises were made to 'do devolution properly' and deliver a clear framework - but these have failed to materialise. Until now, devolution has developed in fits and starts, leaving devo deals to resemble a patchwork of ad hoc fixes that do not cover the whole country and vary considerably in terms of power and resources.