3.2.2.1 - Comparing Devolution, Federalism and Legislatures
This lesson compares UK devolution with US federalism, and the UK Parliament with the US Congress. It focuses on powers, composition, structure, strengths and weaknesses, and on how similar legislative roles can produce different political effects. It uses structural, rational and cultural approaches where they help explain UK-US comparison. It does not reteach the whole UK or US constitution, executives, judiciaries, rights, electoral systems or parties except where needed for this comparison.
Comparative Frame
This lesson has one central question: when power is spread away from the centre, who can say no, and on what basis?
In the UK, power is spread in two main ways relevant here. Devolution transfers powers from Westminster to institutions in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and some English areas. Parliament also has two chambers, so legislation is examined by the House of Commons and the House of Lords. But both arrangements sit inside parliamentary sovereignty: the UK Parliament remains the highest legal law-making authority.
In the USA, power is spread differently. Federalism divides and shares power between the national government and the states under the Constitution. Congress is separate from the President and is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Congress is not legally sovereign in the UK sense, because it must act within the Constitution, but it is more institutionally independent from the executive.
| Comparison question | UK answer | US answer | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| How is territorial power organised? | Devolution by Acts of Parliament, with different arrangements in different parts of the UK. | Federalism under the Constitution, with states as constitutional actors. | UK territorial power is politically important but less legally entrenched; US state power has stronger constitutional status. |
| How equal are the two legislative chambers? | Unequal bicameralism: the Commons is dominant and the Lords revises, scrutinises and delays. | More equal bicameralism: House and Senate are both needed for ordinary federal legislation. | UK lawmaking can be faster; US lawmaking has more veto points. |
| How close is the executive to the legislature? | Fused: the government is drawn largely from Parliament and usually controls the Commons agenda. | Separated: the President and cabinet do not sit in Congress. | UK scrutiny is often weakened by party majority; US oversight is structurally stronger but can become partisan deadlock. |
| What is the strongest legal source of power? | Parliament. | The Constitution. | Parliament can change constitutional arrangements by statute; Congress and states operate within constitutional limits. |
AQA expects comparison, not two country summaries. The three comparative approaches help:
| Approach | What it asks | Example in this lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Structural | What rules and institutions distribute power? | UK devolution is statutory and asymmetric; US federalism is constitutional and linked to equal state representation in the Senate. |
| Rational | What incentives do actors face? | A UK government with a Commons majority may push legislation through; a US President must bargain with Congress and may face state resistance or litigation. |
| Cultural | What beliefs and traditions make the system work as it does? | UK politics has often accepted flexible constitutional change; US politics treats state identity, constitutional text and rights claims as central political language. |
Territorial Power
Devolution and federalism both distribute power territorially. The difference is their constitutional status.
Devolution
The transfer of power from the UK Parliament to elected institutions in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and some English areas; it is not the same as independence.
Devolved bodies can make important decisions, especially in areas such as health, education, transport and aspects of taxation, but they act within powers granted by Westminster legislation.
Federalism
A constitutional system in which power is divided and shared between national and state governments.
In the USA, states are not just administrative regions. They have constitutionally recognised authority. The Tenth Amendment reserves powers not delegated to the United States, nor prohibited to the states, to the states or the people. At the same time, the Supremacy Clause means valid federal law is supreme over conflicting state law.
| Feature | UK devolution | US federalism | Comparative consequence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Acts of Parliament, such as the Scotland Act, Government of Wales legislation and the Northern Ireland Act. | The US Constitution, including federal structure, Article I, Article VI and the Tenth Amendment. | UK devolution is easier to alter legally; US federalism is harder to abolish or redesign. |
| Symmetry | Asymmetric: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and English areas have different powers and institutions. | More symmetrical in constitutional status: every state has two senators and statehood cannot be removed by ordinary federal law. | UK territorial politics varies sharply by nation and region; US state identity is built into national institutions. |
| Powers | Devolved or transferred matters sit with devolved institutions; reserved matters remain with Westminster. | Federal government has enumerated and implied powers; states retain broad police powers unless constitutionally limited or preempted. | UK disputes often ask whether Westminster should respect devolved autonomy; US disputes often ask whether federal or state authority prevails legally. |
| Consent | The Sewel Convention says Westminster will not normally legislate on devolved matters without consent, but it is political rather than legally enforceable. | States can challenge federal action in court, but valid federal law is supreme. | UK devolution relies heavily on political restraint; US federalism gives states stronger legal routes. |
| Policy variation | Strong in devolved areas, but uneven across the UK. | Strong across states, especially where federal law leaves room. | Both systems create territorial diversity, but US variation is more constitutionally normalised. |
Two process maps show the difference.
| UK devolution dispute | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 | Westminster proposes a bill affecting devolved matters or devolved competence. |
| 2 | A devolved legislature considers legislative consent. |
| 3 | Consent may be granted, limited or withheld. |
| 4 | Westminster may amend, pause or legislate anyway. |
| 5 | The main cost is political: conflict over consent, trust and the Union. |
| US federalism dispute | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 | Federal and state policy collide, or a state claims federal government has exceeded its powers. |
| 2 | The dispute may become a constitutional or statutory case. |
| 3 | Courts consider federal power, state power, preemption and rights claims. |
| 4 | If federal law is valid, it is supreme; if federal action exceeds constitutional power, states may win. |
| 5 | The main cost is legal and political: litigation, delay, policy divergence and national-state conflict. |
Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization is useful US federalism evidence. In 2022, the Supreme Court held that the federal Constitution did not confer a right to abortion and returned regulatory authority to the people and elected representatives. The key point for this lesson is not the full rights debate. It is that constitutional interpretation shifted policy space toward state-level decision-making. In the UK, an equivalent shift would be more likely to come through Parliament altering statute or devolved competence, not through states asserting constitutional sovereignty.
Structural judgement: US federalism is more legally entrenched than UK devolution. Rational judgement: UK devolved governments often use political pressure, consent debates and identity claims; US states can also use courts, state legislation and constitutional argument. Cultural judgement: UK devolution is often discussed as managing a multinational union, while US federalism is tied to a founding culture of state authority and suspicion of concentrated central power.
Legislature Design
The UK Parliament and US Congress both do these jobs, but their structures make their power work differently.
Legislature
A law-making body that represents citizens, debates public issues, scrutinises the executive and authorises taxation and spending.
| Feature | UK Parliament | US Congress | Comparative impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chambers | House of Commons and House of Lords. | House of Representatives and Senate. | Both are bicameral, but UK bicameralism is less equal than US bicameralism. |
| Lower chamber | Commons: 650 elected MPs representing constituencies. | House: 435 voting representatives, with state representation based on population. | Both claim democratic representation, but House members have fixed two-year terms while MPs sit until dissolution or a general election. |
| Upper chamber | Lords: mainly appointed life peers and bishops; the 2026 Hereditary Peers Act removed the remaining hereditary connection as a route to membership. | Senate: 100 elected senators, two from each state, serving six-year terms. | The Lords offers revision and expertise but weak democratic legitimacy; the Senate has strong legitimacy but gives small and large states equal representation. |
| Executive relationship | Government is drawn largely from Parliament and usually controls the Commons if it has a majority. | President and cabinet cannot sit in Congress. | UK fusion aids efficiency but can weaken scrutiny; US separation aids checking but can produce gridlock. |
| Internal structure | Commons majority, whips, opposition, select committees, public bill committees, Lords revision. | Party leadership, standing committees, House Rules Committee, Senate committees, filibuster and cloture rules. | UK party control is often stronger; US committees and chamber rules can give legislators more independent leverage. |
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