Published on 12 April 2021
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Union ‘at serious risk’ due to ‘ad-hoc approach’ by UK Governments

Without a “major overhaul” of how Whitehall approaches the devolved nations, the union is at “serious risk,” says report, 'Union at the Crossroads: Can the British state handle the challenges of devolution?'

Existential threats to the Union, crystallised during the Scottish referendum, and exacerbated by Brexit and coronavirus, keep exposing the inadequacy of the ad hoc approach long adopted by UK governments.

Professor Michael Kenny, Director, Bennett Institute

Media coverage

ABC, Bella Caledonia, Edinburgh Evening News, ExBulletinExpress, Express & StarNation Cymru, New Statesman, OREMAIndependent.ieProspect, The EconomistThe Guardian, The Guardian (Opinion), The Herald, The HeraldThe National – Scotland, The National – Scotland, The National – Scotland, The National – ScotlandThe National – Wales, The New European, The London EconomicThe Scotsman, The TelegraphThe TimesThe TimesThe Times (Comment), The TimesUniversity of Cambridge.


Read the news release: ‘Complacent and un-strategic’: Whitehall’s failure to adapt to devolution has left Union on the brink – report

Read the report: Union at the Crossroads: Can the British state handle the challenges of devolution?

Listen to the podcast: Professor Michael Kenny, Director of the Bennett Institute, and Philip Rycroft, former Permanent Secretary of the Department for Exiting the European Union, share insight into the mechanisms of UK government.


The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.

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