The Guardian view on devolution: think twice – but change must come | Editorial

Central governments are right to be cautious about overriding devolved ones. But Northern Ireland’s abortion laws need to change one way or another

There are good reasons of principle and practice why any central government should think twice before crudely overriding a devolved one. The clue to the reason of principle lies in the word devolution itself. Devolution is a solemn act of delegation, allowing decisions to be taken closer to those affected by them and not centrally. To override a devolved assembly or administration risks negating the entire spirit of that process.

The reason of practice is that overriding a devolved authority will cause resentment and can trigger unintended consequences. In Scotland, for instance, Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP seems increasingly to be banking on the possibility that a future decision by Theresa May’s government to override the Scottish government over Brexit will backfire in the separatists’ favour. If Mrs May decides not to devolve returning EU powers, as the Scottish parliament wants, the SNP thinks this could boost support for a fresh independence referendum.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2soO5zQ