State of the Nations 2008

2007 saw dramatic changes in the UK's devolved politics, with the arrival in office of nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales and the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland, as well as a change of prime minister in London. The State of the Nations 2008 considers why these changes happened and charts the impact they have had across the United Kingdom. It also looks at some broader underlying issues - in particular the financial arrangements for devolution, influences on devolved policy-making, the role of Scottish and Welsh MPs at Westminster and intergovernmental relations in a comparative context.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Second Phase of Devolution by Alan Trench
2. Scotland: The Nationalist Pheonix by Peter Jones
3. Welsh Devolution: The End of the Beginning and the Beginning of..? by Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully
4. Northern Ireland: Devolution Once Again by Rick Wilford and Robin Wilson
5. The English Regions and London by Martin Burch, Alan Harding and James Rees
6. Financing Devolution: 2008 and Beyond by John Aldridge
7. Policy Styles and Devolution by Scott L Greer and Holly Jarman
8. Lost Souls in the Lobbies? Backbenchers from Scotland and Wales in Post-Devolution Westminster by Akash Paun
9. The Practice of Multi-Level Government: How Intergovernmental Relations Work in Federal Systems by Alan Trench
10. Ever Looser Union by James Mitchell