The devolution settlement has been bypassed once. Will it happen again?

The Government’s eleventh-hour political solution to Stella Creasy’s abortion amendment to the Queen’s Speech could create an unhelpful precedent within the delicate balance of the devolution settlements. I have long opposed the abhorrent abortion policies both north and south of the Irish border, so my concerns about last Thursday’s funding fudge to allow women from Northern Ireland to receive funding for abortions in England via the Government Equalities Office are purely technical. While the decision will address one form of inequality, it will also highlight the many other inequalities across the borders.

The lack of understanding of our system of devolution is staggering. Devolved governments of every political persuasion, will, at some point, enact policies distasteful to other areas of the nation. Skirting the settlements to provide an alternative not only disrespects the nature of the devolution agreements, it also removes the incentive for the electorate to eventually punish the government in question at the ballot box.