Shocks, resilience and regional industry policy: Brexit and the automotive sector in two Midlands regions

This article draws upon novel survey evidence to examine the possible regional impacts of Brexit as a ‘disruptive process' to manufacturing operations and logistics in the automotive industry, in the context of the regional resilience literature. The current Brexit (and Covid-19) context, along with the sector's need to re-orientate towards electrification, provides renewed urgency to reconsider industrial policy in spatial terms. The findings have salience not only in the context of anticipating and reacting to Brexit-induced economic shocks at a regional level, but also over the role of decentralized regional bodies. In this regard, the UK government's agenda of ‘levelling up' will be challenging, especially in the context of the place-based shocks likely to arise from Brexit as well as the impact of Covid-19. The article concludes that a more place-based regional industrial policy is required both to anticipate and to respond to shocks and also to reposition the sector in the region going forward.

The dilemmas around digital citizenship in a post-Brexit and post-pandemic Northern Ireland: towards an algorithmic nation?

Northern Ireland (NI) has pervasively been a fragile and often disputed city-regional nation. Despite NI's slim majority in favour of remaining in the EU, de facto Brexit, post-pandemic challenges and the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) have revealed a dilemma: people of all political hues have started to question aspects of their own citizenship. Consequently, this article suggests an innovative approach called 'Algorithmic Nations' to better articulate its emerging/complex citizenship regimes for this divided and post-conflict society in which identity borders and devolution may be facilitated through blockchain technology. This article assesses implications of this dilemma for a city-regionalised nation enmeshed within the UK, Ireland and Europe. This article explores digital citizenship in NI by applying 'Algorithmic Nations' framework particularly relating to intertwined (i) cross-bordering, (ii) critical awareness, (iii) digital activism and (iv) post-pandemic realities and concludes with three dilemmas and how 'Algorithmic Nations' framing could better integrate NI's digital citizenship. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Citizenship Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Stress Testing the Fiscal Framework

The part of the UK fiscal framework which determines how UK government funding is allocated across the four home nations has undergone profound change since 2012, given tax and social security devolution. The UK government's post-Brexit plans for regional development funding, state aid, regulation and trade negotiations have led to significant disagreements about the nature of the devolved fiscal and constitutional settlement. And the COVID-19 pandemic provided a major shock to a fiscal system with limited flexibility for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved governments. This paper reviews the changes and challenges faced during these reforms and policy shocks. We find that: tensions about reforms to funding arrangements reflect the inconsistency of principles guiding the reforms;that the UK government's post-Brexit plans do reduce the policy autonomy of the devolved governments, but reflect powers central governments often have in even highly decentralised countries;and that temporary changes to rules and the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented a subnational fiscal crisis, but that more systematic change may make the system more robust to future shocks. This suggests that a review of the principles underpinning the UK's subnational fiscal and economic policies would be highly worthwhile.

Implementation of Federalism in Nepal: The Devil is in the Detail

After a long period of instability, Nepal adopted a new Constitution in 2015, creating a multiparty federal republic. Previously Nepal had been a unitary state, albeit with a long period of political instability and insurgencies. In 2017 the two competing communist parties merged to form the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which operated with a 2/3rd majority in the House of Representatives. The implementation of federalism has been slow and uneven. Despite assurances to the contrary, the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been lacking, with Constitutional obligations ignored. The machinations of the then Prime Minister have exacerbated this, apparently supported by the President to overcome constitutional norms to keep the Prime Minister in power. The paper analyses the devolution of powers to the provincial and local levels described in the constitution. There have been successes and failures. There appeared to be a concerted effort from the federal parliament and some in the bureaucracy to continue to centralize power. This early inaction has hindered its response to the pandemic. Of even more concern is the then prime minister's role as he sought to maintain his hold on power by ignoring the provisions of the Constitution. © 2022, Universitas Negeri Semarang. All rights reserved.

STRESS TESTING THE FISCAL FRAMEWORK

The part of the UK fiscal framework which determines how UK government funding is allocated across the four home nations has undergone profound change since 2012, given tax and social security devolution. The UK government's post-Brexit plans for regional development funding, state aid, regulation and trade negotiations have led to significant disagreements about the nature of the devolved fiscal and constitutional settlement. And the COVID-19 pandemic provided a major shock to a fiscal system with limited flexibility for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved governments. This paper reviews the changes and challenges faced during these reforms and policy shocks. We find that: tensions about reforms to funding arrangements reflect the inconsistency of principles guiding the reforms;that the UK government's post-Brexit plans do reduce the policy autonomy of the devolved governments, but reflect powers central governments often have in even highly decentralised countries;and that temporary changes to rules and the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented a subnational fiscal crisis, but that more systematic change may make the system more robust to future shocks. This suggests that a review of the principles underpinning the UK's subnational fiscal and economic policies would be highly worthwhile.

Intergovernmental dynamics in responding to COVID-19 in English and Australian cities

This comparative study, conducted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, explores how the contrasting governance systems in Australia and England responded to complex and rapidly evolving problems presented by the crisis. Comparing how national and local governments worked together and alongside other forms of subnational governance, the findings highlight the efficacy of multi-scalar governance arrangement in Australia over the fragmented, overly-centralised and inconsistent arrangements in England. As nations plan their recovery paths from the economic and social challenges of the crisis, the findings encourage a reset of spatial policy towards one that values and resources greater decentralisation and place-based recovery.

Shocks, resilience and regional industry policy: Brexit and the automotive sector in two Midlands regions

This article draws upon novel survey evidence to examine the possible regional impacts of Brexit as a ‘disruptive process’ to manufacturing operations and logistics in the automotive industry, in the context of the regional resilience literature. The current Brexit (and Covid-19) context, along with the sector’s need to re-orientate towards electrification, provides renewed urgency to reconsider industrial policy in spatial terms. The findings have salience not only in the context of anticipating and reacting to Brexit-induced economic shocks at a regional level, but also over the role of decentralized regional bodies. In this regard, the UK government’s agenda of ‘levelling up’ will be challenging, especially in the context of the place-based shocks likely to arise from Brexit as well as the impact of Covid-19. The article concludes that a more place-based regional industrial policy is required both to anticipate and to respond to shocks and also to reposition the sector in the region going forward. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

The Unaccountability of Tax Devolution: A Case Study of Business Rates

This article examines the accountability arguments for business rates devolution and shows them to be weak. They are undermined by the economic incoherence of the tax, the complexity of devolved powers and a lack of transparency around the use of powers. These problems resonate with a widely held belief that business rates ought to be repealed and replaced with a more carefully designed tax, especially in response to the pressures placed on the system by COVID-19. We are not hostile to these ideas but doubt the likelihood of rapid implementation, and therefore focus on the existing system, paying special regard to the COVID reliefs of 2020 and 2021. We suggest incremental improvements that could reinforce the accountability justifications for devolution;these might be useful even in the event that radical reforms are enacted. © 2021 Thomson Reuters and Contributors.

Rethinking spatial policy in an era of multiple crises

After more than thirty years of post-war relative regional convergence, since the 1980s geographical inequalities in economic prosperity and social conditions have widened again in most capitalist countries. In this paper we argue that this resumption of spatial inequality is in part explained by the significant changes observed in the role of the state and in public intervention in the shift from the post-war 'Keynesian' regime of state regulation to the 'Neoliberal' regime that has held sway over the past four decades. We argue that most public policies enacted in this latter period have actually exacerbated socioeconomic - and spatial - polarization, favouring a few metropolitan areas and regions at the expense of a substantial number of what are now commonly referred to as 'left behind places'. We contend that we are now at a new juncture in the evolution of capitalism: in the space of little more than decade the global system has been destabilized by a major financial crisis (2008) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), both with enduring socio-economic aftershocks, while the climate emergency is reaching existential proportions. In this Editorial Introduction we call for a bold 'rethinking' of public action - and especially spatial policy - to face these recurring crises, and we outline some pointers for more effective and inclusive policies.

The dilemmas around digital citizenship in a post-Brexit and post-pandemic Northern Ireland: towards an algorithmic nation?

Northern Ireland (NI) has pervasively been a fragile and often disputed city-regional nation. Despite NI's slim majority in favour of remaining in the EU, de facto Brexit, post-pandemic challenges and the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) have revealed a dilemma: people of all political hues have started to question aspects of their own citizenship. Consequently, this article suggests an innovative approach called 'Algorithmic Nations' to better articulate its emerging/complex citizenship regimes for this divided and post-conflict society in which identity borders and devolution may be facilitated through blockchain technology. This article assesses implications of this dilemma for a city-regionalised nation enmeshed within the UK, Ireland and Europe. This article explores digital citizenship in NI by applying 'Algorithmic Nations' framework particularly relating to intertwined (i) cross-bordering, (ii) critical awareness, (iii) digital activism and (iv) post-pandemic realities and concludes with three dilemmas and how 'Algorithmic Nations' framing could better integrate NI's digital citizenship.

English Devolution and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Governing Dilemmas in the Shadow of the Treasury.

This article explores the question of devolution in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic's impact on English local government. Criticism of the government's handling of the crisis is widespread and tends to focus on the highly centralised nature of the British state. Here, we attribute the challenges faced by regional and local government in responding to the pandemic primarily to the asymmetric nature of power relations that characterise financial planning and control mechanisms, devised and overseen by the Treasury. We argue that the ongoing crisis underlines the need for a democratic form of devolution-including further fiscal powers for regional and local government-to support the economic recovery. In a context of increasing fiscal uncertainty, the Treasury should seek to unlock the existing powers of local leaders by reforming centralised budgetary constraints and taking accountability and monitoring mechanisms closer to citizens.

Herd-immunity across intangible borders: Public policy responses to COVID-19 in Ireland and the UK.

The responses to COVID-19 in Ireland and the UK differed, and will have consequences for life in these islands that will extend far beyond the current crisis. Ireland went into lockdown relatively early on 12 March, while after a slow initial response, with plans for herd immunity, the UK started introducing restrictions around 20 March and quickly became a world leader in cases. While the UK has also presented similar responses seen elsewhere in Europe, one further area of note sees the devolved responses in different parts of the UK diverge considerably. These differences cannot be explained purely in terms of epidemiological conditions, as the trajectories of the virus in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are broadly similar. The reality is that the leaders of the devolved governments reached different political judgments from PM Johnson, which may bring further pressure to bear on the UK's constitutional makeup.