Summary information

Study title

Brexit and Devolution Documents Database, 2017-2019

Creator

McEwen, N, University of Edinburgh

Study number / PID

854953 (UKDA)

10.5255/UKDA-SN-854953 (DOI)

Data access

Open

Series

Not available

Abstract

This documentary archive was created as part of the Brexit priority grant, The Repatriation of Competences: Implications for devolution. It is currently being expanded as part of the ESRC large grant, Between Two Unions (ES/P009441/1). At the time of submission, it is complete up to July 2019. The archive is composed of documents including political speeches, government consultations and policy reports, parliamentary debates and reports, and court judgments. All documents are in the public domain, but the archive collated those most relevant to scholars of devolution, and compiled them in a searchable wiki. The wiki isThe devolution settlements in the United Kingdom have been embedded in UK membership of the European Union. Policy areas like agriculture, the environment, fisheries, regional development and justice and home affairs, are both matters for the devolved parliaments and also areas that fall under the authority of the EU. In these policy fields, the EU has provided a common framework that has limited the degree of difference that has emerged within and across the UK, and this has helped keep the nations of the UK together. Whichever model is reached after negotiations, the UK's withdrawal from the EU will affect the powers of the devolved nations in complex ways. It may lead to further decentralisation of power to the devolved institutions. Alternatively, it could lead to powers being recentralized within UK-wide institutions. A third possibility is that it could see the setting up of new forums and process to enable the UK Government and the devolved governments to cooperate more closely on policy areas where their powers overlap. The outcome of the negotiations, and the decisions taken by key actors, will have consequences for the powers and responsibilities of institutions in the devolved nations and their relationships with the rest of the UK. This project will carry out a study of these developments as the Brexit negotiations get underway, and we...
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Methodology

Data collection period

01/04/2017 - 31/01/2019

Country

United Kingdom, Belgium

Time dimension

Not available

Analysis unit

Organization
Group

Universe

Not available

Sampling procedure

Not available

Kind of data

Text

Data collection mode

Documents were gathered from official sources (governments, parliaments, courts), political parties and interest groups. These capture the developments related to the effect of Brexit on devolution, with a focus on three policy spheres: agriculture, justice, and renewable energy/climate change. There was no sampling; all relevant documents identified by the researchers were gathered.

Funding information

Grant number

ES/R001308/1

Access

Publisher

UK Data Service

Publication year

2021

Terms of data access

The Data Collection is available from an external repository. Access is available via Related Resources.

Related publications

Not available