Campaign groups give evidence on the Union and devolution inquiry

• Parliament TV: The Union and devolution
• Inquiry: The Union and devolution
• Select Committee on the Constitution

Witnesses

The evidence sessions take place on Wednesday 25 November in Committee Room 1, Palace of Westminster.

First panel

At 10.30am:

• Professor Alan Harding, University of Liverpool
• Ed Cox, Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)

Second panel

At 11.30am:

• Scilla Cullen, Campaign for an English Parliament
• Julian German, Campaign for a Cornish Assembly

Possible questions

In the first session, possible questions the Committee may put to the witnesses include:

• What does England gain from its Union with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
• Does the Government's policy of decentralisation risk a fragmentation of power and governance across England? Is this a problem? Should there be a limit to the asymmetry of devolution/decentralisation to regions or local authorities?
• Is there a viable federal model for the UK?

In the second session, possible questions the Committee may put to the witnesses include:

• What powers do you envisage for the new parliament/assembly you propose? What is the rationale for that level of devolution?
• How would a Cornish Assembly/English Parliament fit into the wider territorial constitution of the United Kingdom?
• How do you answer concerns that a powerful English Parliament would rival the UK Parliament in powers and destabilise the Union?

 Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

Image: iStockphoto