Inside Devolution 2008

Inside Devolution 2008, the second annual Constitution Unit conference on devolution, explored how devolution in the UK has changed since the elections of 2007, and discussed the future prospects for the UK’s territorial constitution and the Union itself.

The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AH

10.00 - 6.00pm

Speakers at this event included politicians, journalists, academics and government officials. Follow the link to see the full programme of the conference.

If you attended this conference, we would be grateful if you would take the time to complete and return the feedback form so that we can improve the design of next year's event. You can either print the form and return by post/fax, or complete it electronically, save it as a new file, and return it by email.

Audio Recordings

Audio recordings of the following sessions from the conference can be downloaded from here. Please note the large size of these files.

• One Year On: The Performance of the New Devolved and UK Governments
  A roundtable discussion among political commentators on the performance of the new governments of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the UK in their first year in office. (37 MB)
• The Purpose of the Union
  Keynote Address by Professor Robert Hazell, Director of the Constitution Unit. (32MB)
• The UK at the Crossroads: What Future for the Territorial Constitution?
  A debate on the future of the UK with contributions from Pete Wishart MP, Iain Gray MSP, Professor Richard Wyn Jones, and Lord Norton of Louth. (36MB)

Speakers' Presentations

Texts or slides of the following presentations can be viewed by following the links:

• Prof Robert Hazell, Constitution Unit, Keynote Address, The Purpose of the Union (PDF)
• Prof Ronald MacDonald, Glasgow University, The Case for Fiscal Autonomy in Scotland (PowerPoint)
• Martin Shipton, Western Mail, The Performance of the Labour-Plaid Coalition in its First Year (html)
• Alan Trench, University of Edinburgh, Rethinking Devolution Finance (PowerPoint)
• Robin Wilson, Queen's University, Belfast, The Performance of Northern Ireland's Power-Sharing Executive in its First Year (PDF)

Media Coverage

A debate between Professor Robert Hazell (Constitution Unit) and Iain MacWhirter (Sunday Herald) on some of the key themes of the conference was featured on Westminster Hour, 18 May.

A Press Release on the conference was issued by the Constitution Unit on 23 May.

Press coverage of the conference appeared in The Times, 23 May, and in two articles in the Scotland on Sunday on 25 May: one on the proposed Scottish independence referendum and one on the likely impact of a Conservative election victory on this debate.

The Constitution Unit will publish its own full report on the conference shortly.

To be added to the Constitution Unit's devolution mailing list, please complete this form, ticking the box relating to Devolution Updates.

Inside Devolution 2008 is supported by the ESRC, Ministry of Justice and Scottish Executive as part of the Devolution Monitoring Programme

This page last modified 29 May, 2008 by v.spence@ucl.ac.uk

Conference Gallery: images of the event