Council of the Nations and Regions

Intergovernmental body in the United Kingdom

Council of the Nations and Regions

Cyngor y Cenhedloedd a’r Rhanbarthau (Welsh)

Logo

Type
Type|

Quasi-intergovernmental
body

of United Kingdom

History
Founded| 2024 (2024)
Leadership

Chair

Keir Starmer, Prime Minister

Structure
Seats| 19

Political groups

* Labour Party (12)
* Conservative Party (2)
* Reform UK (2)
* Democratic Unionist Party (1)
* Scottish National Party (1)
* Sinn Féin (1)

Meeting place
First meeting of the council in Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh, Scotland, 11 October 2024
Website
Council of the Nations and Regions
This article is part of a series on

Politics of the United Kingdom

Constitution

* Magna Carta
* Bill of Rights
* Treaty of Union (Acts of Union)
* Parliamentary sovereignty
* Rule of law
* Separation of powers
* Other constitutional principles

The Crown

* The Monarch (list)

King Charles III

* Heir apparent

William, Prince of Wales

* * *

* Royal family
* Succession
* Prerogative
* Counsellors of State
* Republicanism in the United Kingdom

Executive

* Privy Council

Charles III
(King-in-Council)

* * *

* HM Government

* Cabinet (list)

Starmer ministry (L)

* Prime Minister (list)

Keir Starmer (L)

* Deputy Prime Minister

Angela Rayner (L)

* * *

* Departments
* Ministers
* Agencies

Legislature

* UK Parliament

(King-in-Parliament)

* * *

* King

Charles III

* * *

* House of Lords

* Lord Speaker
The Lord McFall of Alcluith

* * *

* House of Commons

* Speaker
Sir Lindsay Hoyle

* Leader of the Opposition
Kemi Badenoch (C)

* * *

* 59th Parliament
* Opposition
* MPs
* List of MPs

Judiciary

Charles III
(King-on-the-Bench)

* * *

* Supreme Court

* President

The Lord Reed

* Deputy President

The Lord Hodge

* Justices of the Supreme Court

* * *

* United Kingdom
* England and Wales
* Scotland
* Northern Ireland

Bank of England

* Governor

Andrew Bailey

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Monetary Policy Committee

* * *

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Elections and referendums

* Censorship
* UK Parliament constituencies (2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies)
* Political parties
* Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000
* Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022
* Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions
* Senedd constituencies and electoral regions

UK general elections

* * *

* 1801 co-option
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Endorsements

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European Parliament elections (1979–2019)

* * *

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Scottish Parliament elections

* * *

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* Next

Northern Ireland Assembly elections

* * *

* 1998
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* 2022
* Next

Senedd elections

* * *

* 1999
* 2003
* 2007
* 2011
* 2016
* 2021
* Next

UK referendums

* * *

* 1975
* 2011
* 2016

Devolution

* Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom
* Legislative consent motions
* Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council
* Council of the Nations and Regions

* * *

England

* Governance of England
* English votes for English laws
* Greater London Authority
* 1998 referendum
* Greater London Authority Act 1999
(2007 Act)
* Mayor of London
* Sadiq Khan
* Mayoral cabinet
* London Assembly
* London Plan
* Combined authorities
* Metro mayors

* * *

Northern Ireland

* Northern Ireland Act 1998
(2006 Act)
* First Minister
* Michelle O'Neill
* deputy First Minister
* Emma Little-Pengelly
* Executive
* Assembly
* Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly
* Law of Northern Ireland

* * *

Scotland

* Scottish devolution
* 1997 referendum
* Scotland Act 1998
(2012 Act, 2016 Act)
* First Minister
* John Swinney
* Government
* Scottish Parliament
* Act of the Scottish Parliament
* Scottish statutory instrument
* Scots law

* * *

Wales

* Welsh devolution
* 1997 referendum
(2011 referendum on law-making powers)
* Government of Wales Act 1998
(2006 Act, Wales Act 2014, Wales Act 2017)
* First Minister
* Eluned Morgan
* Government
* Senedd
* Measure of the National Assembly for Wales (1999–2011)
* Act of Senedd Cymru
* Welsh law

Administration

England

* History
* Subdivisions: Regions
* Ceremonial counties (list)
* Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties
* Metropolitan county
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* Greater London
* Unitary authorities (list)
* Districts (list)
* Metropolitan Borough
* Non-metropolitan District
* London Borough
* Civil parishes (list)
* Historic counties

* * *

Northern Ireland

* History
* Subdivisions: Counties
* Districts

* * *

Scotland

* History
* Subdivisions: Sheriffdoms
* Council areas
* Community council areas
* Civil parishes
* Shires of Scotland

* * *

Wales

* History
* Preserved counties
* Principal areas
* Communities (list)
* Historic counties

Crown Dependencies

* Bailiwick of Guernsey

* Guernsey
* Alderney
* Sark

* * *

* Bailiwick of Jersey

* * *

* Isle of Man

* * *

* British Islands
* Common Travel Area
* UK-CD Customs Union

Overseas Territories

* Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* Anguilla
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* Saint Helena
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* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Turks and Caicos Islands

* * *

* British Overseas Territories citizen
* Visa requirements
* Visa policies

* * *

* British Overseas Territories Act 2002
* UK-OT JMC
* Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute
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Foreign relations

* Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
* Foreign policy (history)

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in the United Kingdom

* * *

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* * *

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* * *

* Ireland
* politics of Northern Ireland
* Good Friday Agreement
* UK–Ireland border
* Northern Ireland Protocol
* British–Irish Council

* * *

* European Union (history)
* Brexit
* Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union
* UK–EU withdrawal agreement

* * *

* The Commonwealth
* member states

* * *

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* * *

* NATO
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United Kingdom portal

* England
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

The Council of the Nations and Regions (Welsh: Cyngor y Cenhedloedd a’r Rhanbarthau) 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 13 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 central and devolved governments.

## History

[edit]

### Background

[edit]

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]

### Establishment

[edit]

First meeting of the council, 11 October 2024

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 the 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]

## Membership

[edit]

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][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]

Name  | Authority  | Position within authority

|
|

| Keir Starmer | Government of the United Kingdom | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Minister for the Union
Minister for the Civil Service
| John Swinney | Scottish Government | First Minister of Scotland
| Eluned Morgan | Welsh Government | First Minister of Wales
| Michelle O'Neill | Northern Ireland Executive | First Minister of Northern Ireland
| Emma Little-Pengelly | Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland
| Sadiq Khan | Greater London Authority | Mayor of London
| Paul Bristow | Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority | Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
| Claire Ward | East Midlands Combined County Authority | Mayor of the East Midlands
| Andrea Jenkyns | Greater Lincolnshire Combined Authority | Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire
| Andy Burnham | Greater Manchester Combined Authority | Mayor of Greater Manchester
| Luke Campbell | Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority | Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire
| Steve Rotheram | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority | Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
| Kim McGuinness | North East Combined Authority | Mayor of the North East
| Oliver Coppard | South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority | Mayor of South Yorkshire
| Ben Houchen | Tees Valley Combined Authority | Mayor of the Tees Valley
| Richard Parker | West Midlands Combined Authority | Mayor of the West Midlands
| Helen Godwin | West of England Combined Authority | Mayor of the West of England
| Tracy Brabin | West Yorkshire Combined Authority | Mayor of West Yorkshire
| David Skaith | York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority | Mayor of York and North Yorkshire

## Meetings

[edit]

Keir Starmer chairs a meeting of the council in May 2025

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

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

Meetings of the Council of the Nations and Regions

Date  | Location  | Host
11 October 2024 | Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh[15][14] | Scotland
23 May 2025 | Lancaster House, London[16][17] | England

## See also

[edit]

* 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

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ While the press release states that the deputy prime minister and the minister for intergovernmental relations will attend, neither have attended a meeting as of 2024.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "How will Starmer's new Council of the Nations and Regions tackle the challenges of power-sharing?". Independent.co.uk. 11 October 2024.
2. ^ a b Mason, Rowena; Brooks, Libby (4 December 2022). "Labour unveils plan to overhaul constitution and replace the Lords". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
3. ^ Lynch, David (9 October 2023). "Unserious to suggest Wales is sole blueprint for a Labour government: Drakeford". The Independent. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
4. ^ a b c d Ross, Hunter (9 July 2024). "Scottish Government given no detail on Labour's new 'council of nations'". The National. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
5. ^ a b Commission on the UK’s Future (5 December 2022), A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy (PDF), Labour Party, Wikidata Q115628668
6. ^ "Serving the country". The Labour Party.
7. ^ "UK politics live: Keir Starmer departs for Nato summit after making first speech to Parliament as PM". BBC News. 9 July 2024.
8. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (9 July 2024). "Starmer praises Abbott and hails diverse Commons in first speech to parliament as PM – as it happened". The Guardian.
9. ^ White, Hannah; Thomas, Alex; Tetlow, Gemma; Pope, Thomas; Davies, Nick; Davison, Nehal; Metcalfe, Sophie; Paun, Akash (26 September 2024). "Seven things we learned from the Labour Party Conference 2024". Institute for Government. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
10. ^ a b "Council of Nations tackles challenge of UK power-sharing". BBC News. 10 October 2024.
11. ^ a b c "Council of the Nations and Regions: Terms of Reference" (Press release). UK Government. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
12. ^ "Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
13. ^ Torrance, David (12 September 2024). "Council of the Nations and Regions". House of Commons Library.
14. ^ a b "Council of Nations tackles challenge of UK power-sharing". BBC News. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
15. ^ Paton, Craig (12 October 2024). "John Swinney pushes Keir Starmer for investment at Edinburgh meeting". Aberdeen Live.
16. ^ Deans, David (23 May 2025). "I won't get all the money I want from Starmer - FM". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
17. ^ "Straight to the top – Mayor meets with Prime Minister". Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority. 23 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.

## External links

[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom

Intergovernmental bodies|

* Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council

Quasi-intergovernmental bodies|

* Council of the Nations and Regions
* East–West Council
* Islands Forum

Local government bodies|

* Local Government Leaders' Council
* Mayoral Council for England
* Partnership Council for Wales

Interparliamentary bodies|

* Inter-Parliamentary Forum

* v
* t
* e

Devolution in the United Kingdom

Devolved areas|

| National level|

* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Scottish devolution
* Wales
* Welsh devolution

|

Regional level (in England)|

* Combined authorities
* Directly elected mayoralties
* Greater London Authority

Referendums1|

* English mayoral referendums
* London
* 1998
* 2012
* North East England
* 2004
* Northern Ireland
* 1998
* Scotland
* 1979
* 1997
* Wales
* 1979
* 1997
* 2011

Heads of devolved
governments|

* Metro mayors
* Directly elected mayors
* London (Mayor)
* Northern Ireland (FM and dFM)
* Scotland (FM)
* Wales (FM)

Devolved legislatures2|

* London Assembly
* Northern Ireland Assembly
* Senedd
* Scottish Parliament

Devolved administrations3|

* London (Mayoral cabinet)
* Northern Ireland Executive
* Scottish Government
* Welsh Government

Organisations and laws
of the legislatures and
governments of the UK
and the devolved areas|

| Commissions (UK Parliament)|

* Kilbrandon Commission
* Holtham Commission
* Silk Commission
* McKay Commission

|

Commissions (devolved legislatures)|

* Senedd
* Richard Commission
* Holtham Commission
* Thomas Commission
* Scottish Parliament
* Calman Commission
* Smith Commission

Referendum and devolution acts|

* Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998
* Greater London Authority Acts
* 1999
* 2007
* Northern Ireland Acts
* 1998
* 2006
* Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act 1997
* Wales Acts
* 1998
* 2006
* 2014
* 2017
* Scotland Acts
* 1998
* 2012
* 2016
* Post-EU Referendum United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020

Select committees|

* Northern Ireland Affairs
* Scottish Affairs
* Welsh Affairs
* Housing, Communities and Local Government

Grand committees|

* Legislative Grand Committees (2015–2021)
* Northern Ireland
* Scottish
* Welsh

Departments and Territorial Offices (MOJ)|

* Cabinet Office - Devolution Secretariat
* Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
* Ministry of Justice – Devolution Directorate-General
* Office of the Advocate General for Scotland
* Northern Ireland Office
* Scotland Office
* Wales Office

Elections|

* London
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales
* Combined authorities and combined county authorities

Related articles|

| Current|

* Agreements/Treaties
* Anglo-Irish Treaty
* Good Friday Agreement
* Budget
* Barnett formula
* Block grant
* Constitution of the United Kingdom
* Reserved and excepted matters
* West Lothian question

|

Proposals|

* Cornwall
* Cornish Assembly
* Cornish Constitutional Convention
* Mebyon Kernow
* Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament
* Devolved English parliament
* Separatism in the United Kingdom
* Federalism in the United Kingdom
* Campaign for an English Parliament
* Northern England
* Campaign for the North
* Yorkshire Party
* Other parts of Southern England
* Wessex Regionalist Party
* Scotland
* Full fiscal autonomy
* Wales
* Proposed justice system

Historical|

* Administrations of England
* English Regional Assemblies, 1998–2010
* Administrations of London
* London County Council
* Greater London Council
* Administrations of Northern Ireland
* 1922–72
* 1974
* Legislatures of Northern Ireland
* 1922–72
* 1973–74
* 1982–86
* Northern Ireland-related legislation of the UK Parliament
* Ireland, 1886
* Ireland, 1893
* Ireland, 1914
* Ireland, 1920
* Irish Free State, 1922
* Northern Ireland, 1974
* Irish Home Rule movement
* Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
* Scotland Act 1978
* Scottish Office
* Sunningdale Agreement
* Wales Act 1978
* Welsh Office

* 1\. Rejected referendums are italicised. The others were fully or partially approved.
* 2\. There is no law-making body for any regionally devolved area.
* 3\. Administrations of regionally devolved areas are omitted.

* Category

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