Union Diplomacy: Can English Devolution strengthen the Union?
Relationships between the four nations of the United Kingdom are less constructive than they once were. When the UK Government took office in 2024, it promised a “reset” of intergovernmental relations. The devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland welcomed the tonal shift, but the Government’s most visible institutional innovation was the creation of the Council of the Nations and Regions: a forum intended to give ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland greater access to the Prime Minister while fostering collaboration across the UK. Yet the initiative has been received ambivalently. The devolved administrations have criticised the decision to place them in the same league as English mayors, regarding this as a downgrading of their constitutional status. At the same time, major cities and city-regions within the devolved administrations objected to their exclusion. Moreover, although the Government chose not to repeal the UK Internal Market Act — widely regarded by the devolved administrations as an encroachment on devolved competence, not least because it enables Westminster to fund local projects directly such as the Pride in Place programme — the Government did agree to strengthen the shared rules and processes for managing regulatory divergence across the UK.
What has emerged is a “fragile reset”. That fragility may soon be tested further. The forthcoming elections to the Senedd and Holyrood are widely expected to produce pluralism. In Wales, Plaid Cymru could lead the Welsh Government for the first time, ending Labour’s uninterrupted dominance since devolution began. Such developments would add further complexity to an already fragmented territorial settlement.
Nonetheless, public attitudes suggest there is space for better relationships between the UK and devolved administrations. 95 per cent of the public in Scotland and Wales favour stronger co-operation. Yet confidence in the current system remains low: only 26 per cent of respondents in Scotland and 20 per cent in Wales believe that intergovernmental relations are working well. There is therefore both a political need and a public mandate for a more constructive approach.
What has been largely absent from this debate, however, is the relationship between English devolution and the devolved administrations. Discussions of territorial politics often focus on Westminster’s relations with Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, while neglecting the implications of devolving power within England. One contemporary critique of devolution is that it can undermine the coherence of the Union and poses a threat to it. Supporters of this view point to the rise in support for Scottish and Welsh independence after their devolution settlements. Yet English devolution need not be centrifugal. Instead, English devolution can become a force that strengthens the Union rather than adds to its incoherence.
English mayoralties have the potential to do this in at least three ways. First, they can further normalise the principle of shared self-government across the UK. If devolved authority is embedded in England as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, then devolution becomes a common constitutional language rather than a — real or perceived — concession to nationalism.
Second, establishing mayoralties may reduce the tendency to equate ‘England’ with ‘Westminster’. A more plural England — represented through multiple centres of democratic authority — creates space for a more balanced multi-national Union.
Third, mayors can provide new channels of horizontal cooperation: partnerships between English city-regions and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may generate practical collaboration in areas such as transport, housing, economic development and tourism, while also encouraging city-to-city or sub-national cross-border relationships.
There are already examples of this. In north Wales and north-west England, the Mersey Dee Alliance has promoted cross-border cooperation since the 1990s. More recently, low-carbon industries and rail connectivity have emerged as shared priorities, including growing interest in carbon capture and storage clusters and a new agreement between Transport for Wales and Merseyrail to improve connectivity. In the north of England and south of Scotland, the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, signed in 2021, brings together local authorities across Cumbria, Northumberland and the Scottish Borders to support green industries and invest in infrastructure. Yet neither initiative has enjoyed the political prominence or strategic backing it deserves.
If the devolved administrations were to place greater emphasis on engagement with English mayoralties — and vice-versa — the next decade could see a new phase of city, city-region and national across the UK. While Wales and Scotland do not have their own mayoralties, they do have sub-national partnerships such as the £1.3 billion Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and the £1.1 billion Glasgow City Region Deal and sustained, high-profile engagement between those places is underdeveloped.
This would not be unusual internationally. Strong collaboration below the level of the central state is well established in countries such as Canada, United States, Japan and South Korea, as well as in parts of Europe. There are early signs of this emerging in England. The mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region, Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, played a leading role in the UK’s first joint mayoral mission to Ireland. Their city-regions share close commercial links with Ireland and exported nearly £2 billion of goods there in 2019. Local leadership can help build ties across national boundaries.
Given the scale of England’s economy, many strategic authorities are comparable in size and economic weight to the devolved administrations. A similar experience at UK level has not stopped the UK Government from striking trade and investment agreements with US states, such as Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, Florida, and Texas.
The UK Government could take the lead in encouraging new relationships, much as it did through the 1972 Rippon Programme, which sought to build links between English cities and their counterparts in the European Economic Community. Today, when the cohesion of the UK is under strain, a similar spirit is needed closer to home. A modern programme of ‘Union Diplomacy’ to foster partnerships between cities, regions and devolved administrations across all four nations would be a welcome step. It would not replace national politics, but complement it by aligning shared interests, strengthening practical collaboration and embedding more durable habits of cooperation.
About the author
Jack Shaw is Director of Groundwork Research, a Policy Fellow at The Productivity Institute, University of Manchester, and an Affiliated Researcher at the Bennett School for Public Policy. Jack is a seasoned policy expert with a decade of experience in local government. His focus is on regional economics, devolution, local government, and industrial policy, particularly the interplay between policy and practical implementation.
Photo credit: Rohan Gangopadhyay on Unsplash