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England's Complicated System
England's Complicated System
England lacks formal devolution. However, it has many local government bodies. There are also elected mayors. Police and crime commissioners are directly chosen too. These local bodies lack original (Primary) law-making power. They only use powers given by the central government. Different local authorities hold varied powers.
57 unitary councils: single-tier bodies responsible for the full range of local services including education and social care as well as libraries, refuse collection and parks. Most unitary councils are found in large towns and cities, e.g. Portsmouth and Derby, and some small counties such as Rutland.
36 metropolitan boroughs: single-tier bodies that have broadly similar powers to the more recently formed unitary councils but are longer established (being created in 1974). They are found in heavily urbanised areas in the North and Midlands, e.g. the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley.
25 county councils: part of a two-tier local authority structure and oversee key services such as education and social services. They are principally found in less heavily urbanised areas, e.g. Suffolk.
188 district, borough or city councils: also part of the two-tier structure and are responsible for providing more localised services such as leisure, planning and refuse collection. Again, they tend to be in less heavily populated parts of the country, e.g. New Forest District Council.
Combined authorities: since 1999 a small number of combined authorities have been set up, which enable a group of two or more councils to collaborate and take collective decisions across council boundaries. By 2020, 10 such bodies had been created, including Greater Manchester and Sheffield City Region.
32 London boroughs: London has its own setup for local government, comprising 32 boroughs and the Greater London Authority, which comprises 25 elected members and a directly elected mayor. In 2020, this was Sadiq Khan; he was preceded by Boris Johnson. This structure was approved following a referendum in 1998.
City mayors: the government has encouraged directly elected city mayors. The Local Government Act 2000 allowed any local council in England to hold a referendum on the introduction of a directly elected mayor, either by citizen petition or council decision. Since then, councils have been allowed to introduce the system without a referendum. Under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, ‘Metro Mayors’ were elected for the first time in 2017 to lead several combined authorities (CAs). In May 2018, a metro mayor election was held for the Sheffield City Region CA, followed by North of Tyne (Newcastle and its surrounding area) a year later. By 2020, there were 15 directly elected city mayors and eight metro mayors. For example, former Labour health minister Andy Burnham was elected as Manchester’s mayor in 2017.
Local government: A history of change
Local government: A history of change
The local government system in the UK is still based on the tier system created in the 19th Century, based on county and borough councils and — at a lower level — district councils. However, there have been numerous reorganizations since. For example, the Greater London Council — from 1965, and six other metropolitan councils followed for England's main urban areas (the West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, Greater Manchester and Merseyside). These authorities were abolished by the Thatcher government in 1986 largely because they were Labour controlled.
In the 1990s single tier of local government known as `unitary authorities' replaced the two tier structure in some areas.
Inspired by the American city model and a desire to devolve power, the Blair government aimed to recreate a democratically elected strategic authority for the capital. This led to establishing two new institutions from 2000: an elected mayor with executive powers (an idea inspired by large US cities), supported by the Greater London Assembly. They share oversight of policy areas such as policing, transport and economic development. The first mayor, Ken Livingstone, introduced a congestion charge for drivers entering central London in response to increased traffic and air pollution. By 2015 a further 17 urban areas, including Bristol, Liverpool and Greater Manchester, had decided to adopt the elected mayor model.
One idea of New Labour was that, after power was given to London, it should be shared with the regions of England. However, progress on devolution in England slowed down. This happened because there wasn’t enough support from the public for more government control. Also, regional identity in England was not strong enough to push it forward.
There was some administrative devolution and the Blair government created unelected Regional Development Agencies. Their purpose was to promote economic development on behalf of the central government. The government tried a referendum on a regional assembly in the North-East. The idea was heavily defeated when put to the test, with a 78 per cent 'no' vote in 2004. People were not persuaded that they needed a possibly another layer of additional bureaucracy, with few powers to make a real difference to regional regeneration.
The coalition abolished Labour's Regional Development Agencies but tried to breathe life into the concept of regionalism by combining local authorities in so-called 'city regions'. These new bodies, which included Greater Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds and Liverpool city regions, were given strategic powers over transport and economic development and health. They were intended to play a part in the creation of what George Osborne, as Chancellor, called the 'northern powerhouse, a plan to drive growth in the north of England through improved transport links and investment in science and innovation. The devolution of powers to new urban authorities was part of this project.
The idea of an English parliament has little public support. The 'English votes for English laws' measure was intended to stem demands for a more fundamental overhaul of devolution arrangements.
It asks why Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish MPs have the same right to vote at Westminster as any English MP now that large areas of policy are devolved to national parliaments and assemblies in areas such as health, housing, schools and policing.
The question is attributed to the then Labour MP for West Lothian, Tam Dalyell, who raised it in 1977 when Jim Callaghan's Labour government proposed a devolved assembly in Edinburgh.
This question rarely mattered, since Labour's majority in England was usually large enough, however, there were two occasions when loyal Scottish and Welsh Labour MPs were needed to vote through Labour government policies because so many of their English colleagues rebelled.
In a vote to set up foundation trusts in the English NHS, Blair's majority was cut to 35 because many English Labour MPs rebelled or failed to vote; Blair needed 67 Scottish and Welsh MPs to push the trusts through. Blair needed similar levels of loyalty in January 2004 to introduce tuition fees, a policy firmly rejected in Scotland.
.From 22 October 2015 until 13 July 2021, the House of Commons Standing Orders gave effect to a procedure known as 'English votes for English laws' (EVEL).
In November 2016 the Centre on Constitutional Change published a report on the operation of the procedures during their first year, arguing that EVEL has avoided many of the problems predicted by its critics and recommending some improvements.
The House agreed to suspend the EVEL standing orders on 22 April 2020. They were removed altogether following a decision of the House on 13 July 2021.
Post-2015 Examples of the West Lothian Question
Post-2015 Examples of the West Lothian Question
9th March 2016 – The Conservative Government proposed to relax Sunday Trading Rules in England and Wales. The Government’s motion was defeated by 317 to 286 votes. Had 59 SNP MPs not voted against the change, the government would have won by 21 votes. The SNP did this despite the issue not directly affecting Scotland.
14th March 2018 - 8 DUP MPs voted with the Conservative Government to remove thousands of Free School Meals in England. Their decision would not impact their constituents in Northern Ireland, as this is a devolved issue.
2024 Labour's plan to rebalance the regions. Labour's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves unveiled plans to strengthen the role of regional mayors to boost economic growth. During the Great Northern Conference in Hull, 2024, this initiative aimed to address economic disparities between London and the rest of England. London's share of the national economy has risen to 24% since 2000. Reeves announced forthcoming policy documents on English devolution. Emphasising strategic partnerships between Mayor led regions and the Department for Business and Trade.
Labour 2024
Labour 2024
“For too long, Westminster government has tightly gripped control and held back opportunities and potential for towns, cities, and villages across the country,” Angela Rayner
At the September 2024 Labour Party conference. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. Unveiled plans for a devolution revolution. Pledging to decentralise power from Whitehall, to local and regional leaders across the UK. Rayner emphasised enhancing powers for northern English mayors in areas like housing, transport and skills. Angela Rayner also announced a forthcoming white paper. To outline Labour's vision for redistributing power nationwide. However, her speech indicated limited extension of these reforms to Scotland.
Plans for greater English devolution 2025
Labour has drawn up a devolution bill – known as the “take back control” bill
Keir Starmer stated that he will establish a Council of the Nations and Regions, which will involve the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of the three devolved administrations and the mayors of England’s combined authorities. The proposal originated in a Commission on the UK’s Future chaired by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2022. This recommended “a new and powerful institution to drive co-operation between all its governments – a Council of Nations and Regions”.
The commission added that this ought to be a statutory body underpinned with a “solidarity clause”, a legal obligation “of cooperation between the different levels of government and institutions across the UK”.
TThe English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, introduced on July 10, 2025, aims to establish a new framework for devolving powers to local governments and combined authorities in England.
The Bill, described as the biggest overhaul to local government in 50 years, is based on the English Devolution White Paper published in December 2024.
It proposes a statutory devolution framework, increased powers for Mayoral Strategic Authorities, and local government reorganization.
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