Politics class: English devolution ‘comes of age’ as Manchester takes on the buses

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Specification:

• AQA Component 1, Section 3.1.1.5: Devolution: debate around devolution in England.

• Edexcel Component 2, Section 1.4: Debates on further constitutional reform: the extent to which devolution should be extended in England

Background: what you need to know

Labour Mayor Andy Burnham has announced that Greater Manchester is to resume public authority responsibility for bus services, almost 40 years after the Thatcher government introduced deregulation. Burnham has celebrated this as an extension of powers granted to elected mayors under devolution. It will, however, require a combination of local and central government funding to make it viable in the long term.

Click the link below to read the article and then answer the questions:

English devolution ‘comes of age’ as Manchester takes on the buses

Question in the style of AQA Politics Paper 1

• ‘English devolution should be further extended.’ Analyse and evaluate this statement.

  In your answer you should draw on material from across the whole range of your course of study in Politics. [25 marks]

Question in the style of Edexcel Politics Paper 2

• Evaluate the argument that English devolution should be further extended.

  In your answer you should draw on relevant knowledge and understanding of the study of Component 1: UK politics and core political ideas. You must consider this view and the alternative to this view in a balanced way. [30 marks]

  TIP: A possible Component 1 topic is the ideas and policies of the main UK political parties. Andy Burnham’s comment about reversing a Thatcher-era policy and running a public service ‘for the benefit of people’ links to the core ideas of the Labour party

Graham Goodlad, Portsmouth High School