Financing Devolution: the Centre Retains Control

Abstract In Chapter 2 we said that the greatest tensions in the devolution settlement would arise over finance. It is one of the main sources of friction between central and regional governments in other countries, and the same is likely to happen here. What is different about the British model of devolution is the extent to which the centre will retain financial control. There is to be extensive devolution of political power, particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but the new governments will have little or no revenue-raising power.