A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality
The UK is characterised by spatial inequality between and within regions, alongside an over-centralised asymmetric model of governance. In England especially, these features are stark, and throughout the last decade, politicians have responded by forging a distinctive programme of English devolution focused on city-regions. In this article, we analyse the core drivers of the English devolution agenda to understand its impact on the future trajectory of British politics. We identify the predominance of a narrow economic vision of devolution that systematically negates other agendas. The result is a failure to address the trade-offs inherent in the devolution process, alongside an inadequate engagement with the growing demand for democratic revitalisation. In the long-term, we argue that the empowerment of the largest cities in England and the relative neglect of non-urban areas will exacerbate power asymmetries within the UK political system in both centre-periphery and centre-local relations, a phenomenon we term ‘political spatial inequality’. There is a risk of resurgent ‘territorially based populism’ stemming from this uneven political geography which has the potential to exacerbate political instability and significantly reshape UK politics in the wake of Brexit. English devolution is a prescient example of how policy ‘solutions’ can in turn create new problems that pose major challenges for policymakers.
The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality
The UK is characterised by spatial inequality between and within regions, alongside an over-centralised asymmetric model of governance. In England especially, these features are stark, and throughout the last decade, politicians have responded by forging a distinctive programme of English devolution focused on city-regions. In this article, we analyse the core drivers of the English devolution agenda to understand its impact on the future trajectory of British politics. We identify the predominance of a narrow economic vision of devolution that systematically negates other agendas. The result is a failure to address the trade-offs inherent in the devolution process, alongside an inadequate engagement with the growing demand for democratic revitalisation. In the long-term, we argue that the empowerment of the largest cities in England and the relative neglect of non-urban areas will exacerbate power asymmetries within the UK political system in both centre-periphery and centre-local relations, a phenomenon we term ‘political spatial inequality’. There is a risk of resurgent ‘territorially based populism’ stemming from this uneven political geography which has the potential to exacerbate political instability and significantly reshape UK politics in the wake of Brexit. English devolution is a prescient example of how policy ‘solutions’ can in turn create new problems that pose major challenges for policymakers.
The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality
Warner, Sam (author) / Newman, Jack (author) / Diamond, Patrick (author) / Richards, David (author)
2024-10-01
Warner , S , Newman , J , Diamond , P & Richards , D 2024 , ' The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality ' , Parliamentary affairs , vol. 77 , no. 4 , gsae024 , pp. 735-764 . https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsae024
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
The challenge of devolved English governance and the rise of political spatial inequality
| BASE | 2024
Integrating planning in a devolved Scotland
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2003
The social relations of business representation and devolved governance in the United Kingdom
| Online Contents | 2003
Integrating planning in a devolved Scotland
| Online Contents | 2003
Growth incentives and devolved fiscal systems
| Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2022