ABSTRACT
Advocates of a federal UK could be forgiven for thinking that their case was unanswerable even before 'Brexit'. At the most basic level, a federal system is best understood as one in which political responsibilities are divided between a central government and sub-national authorities. The arrangement is usually expounded in a constitution in which the powers of the various levels of government are clearly defined and protected. While Wales and Northern Ireland might be contained within a federal UK, the 2014 referendum in Scotland had suggested such a high level of support for outright independence that a degree of instability would be built into any UK federation from the start. The Scottish referendum and the Brexit vote proved that constitutional issues can generate considerable excitement. In particular it is likely to have limited appeal among that much-courted constituency of people who voted for 'Brexit'.
