Council of the Nations and Regions

The council's members are the holders of the offices of prime minister of the United Kingdom, first minister of Scotland, first minister of Wales, first and deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, and the 14 English strategic authority mayors.

The council is separate from the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council, which brings together only the heads of the UK's central and devolved governments, or from the British-Irish Council, which brings together the heads of the UK's central and devolved governments, the governments of the Crown dependencies, and the government of the Republic of Ireland.

History

Background

In 2022, the Labour Party published a report on constitutional reform proposals by Gordon Brown titled A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy.

A chapter of the report was dedicated to the matter of improving intergovernmental relations and devolution. One proposal was for the formation of a "Council of the UK", which would bring together the UK prime minister and the heads of the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to manage relations and coordinate efforts between the four governments. A second proposed body was a "Council of England", chaired by the prime minister, which would bring together the mayor of London, combined authority mayors, representatives of English local government, and other English stakeholders. A third proposed body was the Council of the Nations and Regions, which would bring together the UK prime minister, the heads of the three devolved governments, the mayor of London, and England's combined authority mayors.

Establishment

Plans for a council of the nations and regions were included in the Labour manifesto for the 2024 UK general election. Following Labour's victory in the election, on 9 July the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer met the mayors of England's combined authorities and combined county authorities and the mayor of London and announced plans to establish a council of the nations and regions. The Scottish Government said that they had not been informed of the plans prior to the announcement.

At the 2024 Labour Party Conference, Labour reiterated its commitment to the proposals, saying that all areas of England "should eventually be covered by mayoral devolution", which would then mean all areas of England would be represented on the Council.

The first meeting of the Council of the Nations and Regions took place on 11 October 2024 in Edinburgh. The work of the council will be supported by a secretariat of UK government officials.