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I get the feeling some people still just don& #39;t / won& #39;t believe the adverse impact of the UK Internal Market Act 2020 upon devolution in Scotland and Wales. [Norn Iron is a special case, thanks to Johnson& #39;s Protocol...]
So I& #39;ll spell it out as clearly as I can in 4 wee tweets:
So I& #39;ll spell it out as clearly as I can in 4 wee tweets:
1) For all practical purposes, the ability of Scotland or Wales to do anything that regulates physical goods in a way that deviates from English standards, has been suppressed – regardless of the social or welfare policy that the devolved institutions might seek to pursue.
2) The power of the Scottish/Welsh parliament to regulate other aspects of the market for physical products (advertising, licensing, all sorts of commercial practices) has been significantly curtailed: at best scrutinised, at worst overruled, if interferes with English business.
3) With similar effects for devolved competences over services, as well as restrictions on professional regulation...
Now: does the UK need some framework for managing internal trade? Thanks to Brexit, yes. But does the 2020 Act create a fair and balanced system? Surely not.
Now: does the UK need some framework for managing internal trade? Thanks to Brexit, yes. But does the 2020 Act create a fair and balanced system? Surely not.
4) In Tory hands, the whole UKIM is based on a very dubious assumption: that regulatory differences created through the exercise of devolved powers are inherently problematic and should be suppressed in practice. Things just don& #39;t get more highhandedly Anglocentric than that.
ps, those who blame the Scottish or Welsh Government for this Act are peddling fake news of their own: the devolved governments & parliaments fought tooth & nail against it. But under the UK constitution, devolution is at the mercy of any London regime with a Commons majority...
