The Bingham Lecture in Constitutional Studies is an annual lecture series, established in 2014 in honour of Lord Bingham of Cornhill (History 1957, Honorary Fellow and Visitor) through generous gifts from a former colleague of Bingham’s. The lectures aim to encourage a greater understanding of, and interest in, constitutional matters amongst members of Balliol — past, present, and future.
Relationships between the UK and devolved governments are central to the effective functioning of devolution and ultimately to the stability of the Union. Intergovernmental relations (IGR) can help manage interdependencies, foster cooperation in the face of common policy challenges, and help to prevent and resolve intergovernmental disputes. Or, conversely, poor IGR can generate competition, tensions and mistrust.
Yet, IGR have long been the weak link in the UK’s system of devolution and in the years following the Brexit referendum, they were placed under considerable strain. The Labour Party entered office with a commitment to resetting those relationships.
This lecture will reflect on developments in IGR since the general election, set within a broader context of intergovernmental dynamics over the past decade. In so doing, it draws upon the family metaphor and concepts from the study of families and relationships to lend insight into evolving relationships between the UK’s four governments.
Professor Nicola McEwen is a Professor of Public Policy and Governance in the College of Social Sciences and Director of the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow.
She was previously at Edinburgh University from 2001, first as Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer in 2006, and as Professor of Territorial Politics from 2014. She was founding Co-Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, where she remains a Research Fellow. Nicola completed a Senior Research Fellowship with the ESRC UK in a Changing Europe, having previously been Principal Investigator of one of its prestigious Brexit Priority Grants.
Her project, entitled A Family of Nations? Brexit, Devolution and the Union, explored intergovernmental relations in UK-EU negotiations, and the implications of Brexit for devolution and the future of the Union. From 2019-2022, she was Research Fellow in a major ESRC-funded project, Between Two Unions: The Constitutional Future of the Islands after Brexit, where she led the research strand charting the evolution of intergovernmental relations.
She has published widely in the field of territorial politics, nationalism, multi-level government and policy-making, and multi-level parties and elections. She is actively involved in informing debate within the wider policy and political community, through with extensive experience in providing analysis in broadcast, print and social media, public engagement, advice to governments and parliamentary committees, and consultancy.
