In the aim of increasing cross-governmental coordination, relations and engagement the Labour Party has overseen the creation, and inaugural meeting of the Council of the Nations and Regions. The idea was initially proposed in the commission on the UK’s future in 2022, which was chaired by former Prime Minister Gorden Brown, and finally came into fruition on the 11th of October.
Having now been in office for over one-hundred days, Keir Starmer will surely be pleased to have successfully created and held the council’s first meeting, especially due to the context the union finds itself in. Following the narrow decision by the Scottish electorate in 2014 to remain in the union, calls for independence once again filled the political discourse of Holyrood as a result of the Brexit referendum and years of austerity. This is coupled with the fact that Northern Ireland’s nationalist party, Sinn Fein, find their leader, Michelle O’Neill, in the position of first minister, with Welsh nationalism also steadily rising in younger voters.
It has been clear since COVID-19 that more communication was needed between the nations of the union, with the COVID-19 inquiries highlighting the issues behind the scenes. Former prime minister, Boris Johnson, spoke on this lack of communication saying that he avoided coopering with the devolved governments for political reasons, stating it would have been “optically wrong”. Becky Kummer, a spokesperson for COVID-19 families for Justice UK said that these actions were a sign of someone “not fit for power”, a comment Keir Starmer would not want to be made about himself, perhaps revealing the political reasons for such a council.
However, some discontent has appeared due to the make-up of the council, which includes not only the three devolved governments, but also regions of England, which seem to have been put on par with the three nations. Notably, each region of England has been given a representative to sit at the council, meaning England itself has twelve representatives, compared with Northern Ireland’s two, and Scotland and Wales’ one. Glasgow council leader, Susan Aitken, revealed her outrage with the imbalance of representation, in particular due to the exclusion of Glasgow as its own entity at the council. However, Labour sources say this is due to the fact that Scotland is yet to have devolved powers within the nation to cities such as Glasgow.
Moreover, with the aim of the council being to increase cooperation amongst the nations and regions of the UK, it is perhaps surprising that the council is only to convene twice per year. A further criticism can be made with the appointment of Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, Sue Gray, as an envoy for the government, with her responsibilities including duties concerned with the council. While the Labour Party will aim to explain the appointment as a sideways move, many will of course see it as a demotion, following the controversies in the last few weeks. In fact, Sue Gray failed to attend the first council meeting having “taken a short break”. This perhaps highlights the position the devolved governments find themselves in on the list of Keir Starmer’s concerns. With an aim of increasing relations within the UK, it is also worth mentioning that no room was found in the council for representation on behalf of Cornwall.
It is clear that from a political position, the creation of the council makes sense. However, it remains to be seen whether the council will bring about the changes that the Labour Party so dearly hopes for, or whether it will merely be another talking shop.