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UK General Elections in England |
There has not been agovernment of England since 1707 when theKingdom of England ceased to exist as asovereign state, as it merged with theKingdom of Scotland to form theKingdom of Great Britain.[1] The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 1707 until 1801 when it merged with theKingdom of Ireland to form theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in1922 (in reality;in name in1927) upon independence for most of the island of Ireland.
The UK since then has gone through significant change to its system of government, withdevolved parliaments, assemblies and governments in Scotland, Wales andNorthern Ireland. England, however, remains under the full jurisdiction, on all matters, of theParliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and theUK government as no devolved administration has been created for England within the new structure.
This situation led to the anomaly, known as theWest Lothian question, which is that ScottishMembers of Parliament (MPs) have been able to vote on legislation that affects only England whereas English MPs have been unable to vote on certain Scottish matters due to devolution. In some cases, such as top-up university tuition fees and foundation hospitals, the votes of Scottish MPs have been crucial in helping pass legislation for England that the majority of English MPs have opposed.[citation needed] An attempt was made to address this anomaly in 2015 through the use of anEnglish votes for English laws procedure which aims to ensure that legislation affecting only England requires a majority vote of MPs representing English constituencies.
Another possible solution to the West Lothian question would have been devolution to theEnglish regions but attempts have been unsuccessful so far. Amongst the parts of England,Greater London has a degree of devolved power (although weaker than that of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with power vested in an electedMayor of London, currentlySadiq Khan and theLondon Assembly.
The country is therefore officially divided into the following in terms of governance:
The incumbent UK government has no plans to create adevolved English parliament and corresponding English executive.
The UK central government retains the following powers in relation to England which are exercised by devolved governments in the rest of the United Kingdom:[2]
Prior to 1999, theScottish Office,Welsh Office andNorthern Ireland Office, exercised a wide range of government functions in their respective nations. After devolved administrations were established, secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland remained in place to represent the interests of people in the devolved nations at UK Cabinet level and to act as a conduit between central government and the devolved administrations. England however remains under the responsibility of several subject-specific government departments, many with broader UK-wide roles. There is no cabinet level secretary whose remit is to represent England as a whole.
Within the UK central government, there are severalministerial departments,non-ministerial departments,executive agencies andnon-departmental public bodies which have responsibilities for matters affecting England alone.[3]
The following ministerial departments deal mainly with matters affecting England though they also have some UK-wide responsibilities in certain areas;
Unlike Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have had their own devolved legislatures since the late 1990s, England remains under the full jurisdiction of the United Kingdom parliament based in Westminster. In the parliament elected in 2024, 543 members representedconstituencies in England out of a total of 650.
Some mechanisms exist within the UK parliament to allow members elected from constituencies elected in England to discuss issues relating to the nation as a whole or to specific regions of England.
TheRegional Affairs Committee was established in 2000. It has 13 members, however any MP from a constituency in England may attend and participate in its procedures effectively making it ade facto English grand committee. The standing order establishing the Regional Affairs Committee remains in force, however the committee last met in 2024 and no appointments have been made to it since 2005.[4]
EightRegional Grand Committees andRegional Select Committees existed between 2008 and 2010 for the eight regions of England outside Greater London.[5]
As part of a commitment to introduce a policy known asEnglish votes for English laws, prime minister David Cameron established aLegislative Grand Committee in 2015 in an attempt to give English MPs a greater say over legislation that only applies to England.[6][7] The system of English Votes for English Laws was abolished byBoris Johnson's Conservative government in 2021.[8]
In 1994, England was divided into nineregions, each with its owngovernment office byJohn Major's Conservative government.
A strategic local authority for the London region, known as theGreater London Authority (GLA) was established byTony Blair's Labour government in 2000 following a successfulreferendum held two years earlier. The GLA consists of a directly-electedMayor of London and an electedLondon Assembly.
Regional Development Agencies were established in 1998 in all nine regions and unelectedregional chambers made up of local councillors, business leaders and other stakeholders, were established in the eight regions outside London in 1999. An English Regions Network was formed as a collective voice for England's eight regional chambers and the London Assembly. Plans for elected regional assemblies in the rest of England were dropped following an unsuccessfulreferendum held in theNorth East region in 2004. Regional chambers were phased out between 2008 and 2010, with some of their functions being assumed byLocal authority leaders' boards. Regional Development Agencies were abolished in 2012.
The firstCombined authority was established inGreater Manchester in 2011. This was initially an indirectly elected body, administered by a board of leaders of the local authorities within its area. Additional combined authorities were formed in the following years, mainly centered around urban areas. In 2017, some combined authorities electedmayors for the first time. As of May 2024, there are 13 mayoral combined authorities in England with proposals for more, both mayoral and non-mayoral, to be established in the future.[9]
Since July 2024, responsibility for devolution and local government in England falls to theSecretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, supported by aMinister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, both within theMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. AMinister for London existed between 1994 and 2010 and again between 2016 and 2024. Part-timeRegional Ministers were appointed in the eight regions outside London between 2007 and 2010.
In 2024, the newly electedLabour government established aMayoral Council for England, chaired by theDeputy Prime Minister, to bring together ministers from theUK government, theMayor of London and the mayors of England's combined authorities.[10] As the government hopes that combined authorities will be established throughout England, the Mayoral Council would eventually evolve into an all England forum. In October 2024, 48% of the population and 26% of the land area of England is represented on the Mayoral Council.[11]
Additionally a UK wideCouncil of the Nations and Regions was formed which includes the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, the First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the Mayor of London and the combined authority mayors.
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