A Case for a Federal Britain: The Vision of a Devolved UK

Author’s Note: This article is a tribute to my late father, whose passion for constitutional reform and the empowerment of local communities shaped this vision. A blueprint for a more equitable and functional United Kingdom. To honor his work and the ideas he championed, this piece is published on November 5th, a date that is remembered fondly by his family, and represents a call for fundamental change.

For a nation as diverse and historically complex as the United Kingdom, the question of governance is not a matter of a single blueprint but of a constitutional evolution. While debates around devolution have long centered on the Celtic nations, the time has come for England to join this conversation and embrace a new, federal structure. This is not about fragmentation, but about empowering communities and ensuring decisions are made by the people they most affect. It is a vision for a revitalized Union, built on a foundation of shared identity, culture, and democratic accountability. The prevailing system, characterized by a highly centralized authority and a persistent north-south divide, has proven incapable of delivering on its promises of shared prosperity. It has fostered a deep sense of democratic disempowerment, leaving citizens in vast swathes of the country feeling unheard and unrepresented by a remote Westminster. This article lays out a practical and principled path forward, one that decentralizes power and restores the core promise of a democratic society: that government should serve the people, not the other way around.

For decades, the United Kingdom has operated under a core-periphery model, with London and the South East functioning as a powerful economic and political centre. As documented in sources like the Westminster Handbook, this centralization has led to a profound disparity in economic output and wealth. London’s Gross Disposable Household Income is demonstrably higher than that of most other regions, a stark macroeconomic indicator of this imbalance. This is not merely a statistical anomaly but a structural flaw, where resources, investment, and political influence are drawn from the rest of the country to consolidate in one central hub. This top-down model has been compounded by a political system that often prioritizes short-term, national-level policy over the long-term, specific needs of local communities. The result is a nation that, despite its shared heritage, feels increasingly fractured and unequal. Our proposal offers a new way forward, recognizing that true national prosperity is built from the bottom up.

Reforming Westminster: A Shift in Power

The journey to a truly federal Britain begins at the very heart of government: the House of Commons. As the primary authority for taxation and fundraising, its role would remain vital, but its power would be rebalanced. The disbursement of domestic funding to devolved regions and nations would be based on a universal formula of percentage per head, as established by an independent body like the Electoral Commission. This would eliminate the opaque politics of fiscal transfer, such as the widely criticized Barnett Formula, which has created perverse incentives and perceived inequities for decades. A universal formula would ensure that each region receives its fair and predictable share of the national budget, allowing for long-term strategic planning without the yearly uncertainty of discretionary grants. The allocation of specific budgets would be at the discretion of each devolved assembly, enabling regions to fund projects that align with their local priorities, from infrastructure and public services to cultural initiatives and economic development.

Equally critical is a shift in our electoral system. The outdated First Past The Post (FPTP) system is no longer fit for purpose, often leading to unrepresentative outcomes where millions of votes are left unheard. It fosters a political culture of safe seats and tactical voting, reducing genuine democratic choice and leaving vast swathes of the electorate feeling alienated from the political process. Given the existing electoral infrastructure, the most pragmatic and democratic solution is its replacement with a variant of proportional representation, such as the Single Transferable Vote (STV). STV offers voters a greater choice of candidates and ensures that a candidate’s share of the seats more accurately reflects their share of the votes. This would lead to a more collaborative and consensus-driven politics, ensuring that the composition of the House of Commons more accurately reflects the will of the people, fostering a more representative and stable democracy that is truly accountable to its citizens.

The Rise of a Federal England

The next step in this constitutional reform is the creation of a truly federal England. This would consist of multiple, fully devolved county regions. Some counties, like Yorkshire, possess the identity, culture, and critical mass to stand as a region in its own right, with a distinct economic engine and a population larger than Scotland. Other counties would be at liberty to form clusters, with the consent of their populations, to create new county regions with a shared identity and governance. For example, counties in the South West could form a “West Country” region, while the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire might form a new “East Anglia” region. This flexible model allows for regional power to be defined by the people who live there, rather than being imposed from the centre by Whitehall bureaucrats. It is a fundamental rejection of the top-down, piecemeal approach that has plagued successive governments.

This vision provides a tangible alternative to the failed “levelling up” agenda, which has left many areas behind and failed to address the deep-seated regional imbalances. As a recent University of Manchester study titled ‘New research finds that ‘Levelling Up’ left many southern areas behind’ found, the policy has been a disappointment, with many southern areas of the country being left behind while the north has not truly prospered. Our federal model, by contrast, is a bottom-up approach that puts agency back into the hands of local communities. It recognizes that local people are best equipped to solve local problems, and that the path to a prosperous nation is built not on centralized control but on decentralized power and regional self-determination. It is the only way to genuinely tackle the centuries-old problem of the North-South divide.

A Devolved Yorkshire: A Case Study in Empowerment

The political will for this change is already strong in many parts of the country, and no more so than in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Devolution Movement has formulated a clear policy for a devolved county with the following principles:

1. One Voice for Yorkshire! The creation of a single, unified Yorkshire Parliament would allow the region to speak with a clear and coherent voice on the national and international stage, advocating for its interests without internal competition. This is a vital step in consolidating the currently fragmented local government landscape, which is comprised of multiple authorities, combined authorities, and city-region mayors, each with their own conflicting agendas and limited powers. A single voice would give Yorkshire the political clout it deserves.
2. Reinstating Traditional Boundaries. The historic boundary of the Traditional County of Yorkshire would be reinstated as an administrative boundary, with no Local Government Area transgressing it. This restores a sense of identity and shared heritage that has been eroded by decades of bureaucratic gerrymandering. The arbitrary redrawing of borders has severed communities from their historical and cultural anchors, a problem a devolved Yorkshire would rectify.
3. Integral Representation. Yorkshire would be represented as an integral devolved entity at the UK regional level, ensuring its unique needs and contributions are properly recognized and respected in national policy-making. This formal recognition would ensure that the region is not overlooked in discussions of trade, infrastructure, and investment.
4. A Directly Elected Parliament. A Yorkshire Parliament, directly elected by the people on the basis of the Single Transferable Vote (STV), would be a truly democratic body, directly accountable to the people it serves. This would foster a new era of civic engagement and pride, as citizens would have a direct hand in shaping their region’s future.
5. Equal Powers. Yorkshire would enjoy overall powers at least equal to those of any other devolved entity within the UK, with a clear path to full devolution upon completion of a transition period. This would include key areas such as transport, housing, skills, and economic development, allowing the region to chart its own course without seeking permission from Westminster.
6. Subsidiarity. The benefit of devolved powers would be enjoyed at local levels through appropriate subsidiarity, allowing decisions to be made at the least centralized level capable of addressing the issue, bringing power closer to the people. This principle ensures that a Yorkshire Parliament does not simply replicate the problems of centralization, but instead delegates authority down to local councils where appropriate.
7. Economic Sovereignty. A devolved Yorkshire would create a successful and sustainable economy, providing lasting prosperity for its people and demonstrating a model for regional economic self-sufficiency. By controlling its own economic levers and investing in its unique strengths, from manufacturing and digital industries to agriculture and tourism, Yorkshire would be able to build a more resilient and equitable economy for all its citizens.

A Coherent and Accountable Government

This would entail the abolition of bureaucratic and unrepresentative roles such as Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) and Directly Elected Mayors. Their functions would be absorbed by the County Region assembly, and the operational areas of emergency and other public services, such as Health Services, would be reformed to reflect the new County Region boundaries. The current patchwork of services, which often do not align with local identities or needs, would be streamlined and made more efficient by being administered by a single, accountable regional government. This structural overhaul would create a more coherent and responsive public sector, better serving the needs of the community it represents.

This vision of a federal Britain is not a dream of disunion but a call for a stronger, more resilient Union. It is an acknowledgment that the one-size-fits-all model of governance has failed, and that the path to a brighter future lies in trusting our communities to govern themselves.

References

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• Yorkshire Devolution Movement. (2021a). What We Want. Available at: https://ydm.org.uk/about/#AUWhatWeWant (Accessed: 22 September 2025).
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• Yorkshire Devolution Movement. (2021c). Future Governance of the UK. Available at: https://ypf.org.uk/2021/05/23/future-governance-of-the-uk-yorkshire-devolution-movement-evidence-publishedby-house-of-lords-constitution-committee/ (Accessed: 22 September 2025).