FIELD GUIDE TO DEVOLUTION

[Another in our series on political devolution, the art of bringing
government close to the people it is meant to be serving]

DEVOLUTION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

WIKIPEDIA - The constituent countries of the United Kingdom are England,
Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales. These four constituent countries of
the United Kingdom are sometimes also referred to as Home Nations. The
word country does not necessarily connote political independence (thus
Basque country), so that it may, according to context, be used to refer
either to the UK or one of its constituents. Thus, for example, the
website of the British Prime Minister refers to "countries within a
country", stating "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries:
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. . .

All four have always had and continue to have distinctive variations in
legislative and administrative status and England and Scotland were
originally independent states. All four are still generally regarded as
possessing distinct nationalities, although they have no distinct
citizenships. . . .

Northern Ireland was the first part of the UK to have a devolved
government, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, until the
Parliament of Northern Ireland was suspended in 1972. Subsequent
attempts at reinstating a form of devolved government in Northern
Ireland have stalled, and the area is currently governed directly by the
UK government. . .

Scotland and Wales adopted devolved governments in the 1990s, but have
long been described as countries in their own right. Although England
lacks a devolved government of its own, and no real legal existence,
except as part of "England and Wales", it is almost universally thought
of as a country and a nation.

All four constituent countries of the United Kingdom have political
parties campaigning for further self-government or independence. In the
case of Northern Ireland, both the desire for union with the Republic of
Ireland and a small movement for independence from both the Republic and
the UK have existed. There is a movement for self-government in Cornwall
which has campaigned for Cornwall to be recognized as a constituent
country of the UK, rather than its current status as an English county.

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