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Devolution in England—Is the Genie out of the Lamp?
Author(s) -
Cox Ed
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the political quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-923X
pISSN - 0032-3179
DOI - 10.1111/1467-923x.12290
Subject(s) - devolution (biology) , argument (complex analysis) , decentralization , context (archaeology) , politics , public administration , democracy , power (physics) , political science , sociology , public service , political economy , law and economics , law , history , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , anthropology , human evolution
This article explores the extent to which devolution within England can address the general malaise that is often described as ‘the English Question’. It considers how far the devolution genie might be considered out of the lamp. It takes as its basis three broad arguments for devolution—an economic case, a case concerning public service reform and a democratic argument for the decentralisation of power—and for each of these three it explores the theoretical underpinnings for the argument, how things are currently playing out in the current political context and what we might expect to see in the future. The article concludes with some suggestions as to how debates about the English Question might play out in the years ahead.