Constitutionally Sound

Alan Convery is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, having joined the University in 2013. His PhD examined the impact of devolution on the Welsh and Scottish Conservative parties. He maintains research interests in conservatism and the UK Conservative Party (especially in Scotland and Wales); territorial politics and public policy; and British, Scottish and Welsh politics.

Andy Maciver is the co-founder of Message Matters, a lobbying and PR consultancy. He is a political analyst and strategist, and a regular commentator on TV, radio and print news. He is former Head of Communications for the Scottish Conservatives, though not a member of the party. Andy describes himself as a federalist who believes the Scottish Parliament will only thrive in a post-constitutional environment with a new set of political parties.

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As world leaders descend on Glasgow for COP26, we explore how much scope there is for the Scottish Government, as a devolved government, to have a presence on the international stage.

Produced by After 12 Media

In this special edition of the Constitutionally Sound podcast, Professor Ailsa Henderson of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Richard Wyn Jones of Cardiff University join host Allan Little to discuss the election results in Scotland and Wales.

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In 2014, Scotland voted 55% to 45% that Scotland should not be an independent country, and many thought that settled the matter for a generation. But much has changed in the years since, most notably Brexit and Covid-19. In 2021, how much does what was argued in 2014 remain the same? And what questions remain after the UK leaving the EU?

In this episode of Constitutionally Sound, our host Allan Little, is joined by Professor of Territorial Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Co-Director at the Centre on Constitutional Change, Nicola McEwen, and Professor of Practice in the Management of Public Organisations at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, Ciaran Martin. Listen as they reflect on the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 and how things look now in 2021.

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Politics in Scotland since the independence referendum has been marked by the dramatic decline of a once dominant Labour Party. In Wales, Labour remains the largest party, leading government throughout the period of devolved government. In this episode of Constitutionally Sound, our host Allan Little is joined by the Centre on Constitutional Change’s Deputy Director, Coree Brown Swan, and former First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones MS. Listen as they compare the approaches of Scottish and Welsh Labour within the constitutional debate, assess Labour’s plans for the Union, and discuss how Brexit and the pandemic have changed the constitutional debate in the UK. 

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The transition period for negotiating a future relationship between the UK and the EU will end on 31 December- what will be the consequences if a deal cannot be reached in the next few weeks? In this episode of Constitutionally Sound, our host, Allan Little gets the view from both sides of the talks from Professor Michael Keating (University of Aberdeen) and Elvire Fabry (Jacques Delors Institute). Our guests discuss where we are with the Brexit talks, what kind of relationship might emerge on 1 January, and constitutionally, what the UK’s changed place in the world might mean for governance in the UK.

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The pandemic has not only exposed tensions between Westminster and the devolved nations of the United Kingdom, it has shone an unforgiving light on the way England is governed. It raises the question – is the UK state over centralised and unresponsive to regional variations and public need? Has the pandemic made the case for devolution in England? Where is governance in England headed? In this episode of Constitutionally Sound, our host Allan Little delves into these questions with Professor Michael Kenny (University of Cambridge)

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**Enjoy this episode from out archives! We will be back in September. 

In this first episode of Constitutionally Sound, our host Allan Little is joined by Philip Rycroft, former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union and Head of the UK Governance Group, and Professor Nicola McEwen, Co-Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change. They will discuss the impact of Brexit on devolution and the Union. Will Brexit bring more powers to the devolved institutions? How has Brexit affected the relations between Westminster and the devolved administrations? Does the UK Government’s approach to the UK internal market amount to a ‘power grab’? Has the Brexit process put the Union under strain?

Mixed and Mastered by After 12 Media