Devolution
Devolution - sentence stems
6 point and counter pairs, one per theme. The opening lines that lock a balanced paragraph.
How to use these. Each pair is the opening line for a balanced paragraph - a Point and a Counter on the same theme. Read both halves aloud, then cover one side and recall it. Every body paragraph should carry both before its interim judgement.
Real power transferred
Point - the case for
Scotland (1998-2016) supports this: Primary law-making across health, education and justice plus full income tax rates and bands (Scotland Acts 1998-2016).
Counter - the case against
But England cuts the other way: No English parliament; metro mayors hold budgets, not law-making power.
Democratic mandate
Point - the case for
Northern Ireland (1998) supports this: The Good Friday Agreement 1998 was approved by referendum on both sides of the border.
Counter - the case against
But Wales (1998-2017) cuts the other way: Only 50.3% Yes on a 50% turnout in 1997 - the weakest founding mandate; repaired by 63% Yes in 2011.
Policy divergence
Point - the case for
Scotland (1998-2016) supports this: Free university tuition and minimum unit alcohol pricing - visibly different from England.
Counter - the case against
But Northern Ireland (1998) cuts the other way: Divergence is limited by collapse - the institutions spent years suspended.
Strengthened the Union
Point - the case for
Wales (1998-2017) supports this: The consent story - the settlement grew by referendum, and no Welsh independence majority has followed.
Counter - the case against
But Northern Ireland (1998) cuts the other way: Power-sharing manages the constitutional dispute rather than settling it; the post-Brexit Irish Sea border strained it further.
Stable settlement
Point - the case for
Scotland (1998-2016) supports this: Expanded by statute three times; the 2016 Act made the Parliament permanent in statute.
Counter - the case against
But England cuts the other way: The one experiment, English Votes for English Laws (2015), was abolished in 2021.
Asymmetry deepened
Point - the case for
England supports this: Around 84% of the UK population has no devolved legislature - the asymmetry at its sharpest.
Counter - the case against
But Internal Market Act (2020) cuts the other way: Applies uniformly, cutting across all three settlements.