Council of the Nations and Regions

Council of the Nations and Regions Cyngor y Cenhedloedd a’r Rhanbarthau (Welsh)
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Type
Type	Quasi-intergovernmental body of United Kingdom
Leadership
Chair	Keir Starmer, Prime Minister
Structure
Seats	17
Political groups	Labour Party (12)   Scottish National Party (1)   Sinn Féin (1)   Democratic Unionist Party (1)   Conservative Party (1)
Meeting place
First meeting of the council in Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 October 2024
Website
Council of the Nations and Regions

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The Council of the Nations and Regions (Welsh: Cyngor y Cenhedloedd a’r Rhanbarthau), also known as the Council of Nations and Regions, is a quasi-intergovernmental political body in the United Kingdom.

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, mayor of London, and the 11 English combined authority mayoralties.^[1]

The council is separate from the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council, which brings together only the heads of the UK's four governments.

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.^[2]

A chapter of the report was dedicated to the matter of improving intergovernmental relations and devolution.^[3][2][4] 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.^[5] 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 local government, and other stakeholders in England. 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, and the mayor of London and combined authority mayors in England.^[5]

Plans for a council of the nations and regions were included in the Labour manifesto for the 2024 UK general election.^[6] Following Labour's victory in the election, on 9 July the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer met England's combined authority mayors and the mayor of London and announced plans to establish a council of the nations and regions.^[7][8][4] The Scottish Government said that they had not been informed of the plans prior to the announcement.^[4]

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.^[9]

The first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions took place on 11 October 2024 in Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh.^[10] The work of the council will be supported by a secretariat of UK government officials.^{[11][clarification needed]}

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 finister of Northern Ireland, mayor of London, and the 11 English combined authority mayoralties.^{[1][4][12][13]}

According to a press release issued by the UK government, the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom and the minister for intergovernmental relations will also attend the council,^[a] and that other ministers may be invited to attend on an ad hoc basis.^[11] The membership of the council is expected increase as new mayoral combined authorities are established in England.^[11]

The current members of the council are:^[14]

The first meeting of the council took place in October 2024.

The council is expected to meet twice a year.^[10]

• East–West Council
• Inter-Parliamentary Forum
• Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom
• Local Government Leaders' Council
• Mayoral Council for England
• Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council

Media related to Council of the Nations and Regions at Wikimedia Commons

• Council of the Nations and Regions
• UK Parliament: Council of the Nations and Regions