How to make Westminster’s relations with Wales and Scotland work
Nine former Scottish and Welsh ministers reflect on Westminster’s approach to devolution.

The latest series of Ministers Reflect interviews reveal lessons for how Keir Starmer can meaningfully reset relations with the Scottish and Welsh governments, write Millie Mitchell and Akash Paun
Relations between the UK government and the devolved administrations have not always been smooth over the last decade. Westminster has viewed Holyrood with suspicion. Relationships between first ministers and prime ministers have faltered - or even been non-existent. So what lessons can be taken from this often fractious period?
Based on nine interviews with former Scottish and Welsh ministers, including first ministers Nicola Sturgeon, Mark Drakeford and Humza Yousaf, we set out three key findings that highlight the need for action across all levels of government to deliver the ‘reset’ of relations that the Labour government has set out to achieve.
The prime minister’s approach sets the tone
How seriously the prime minister takes devolution determines whether it is considered a priority for the rest of government. Drakeford described how, between 1999–2019, prime ministers from across the political spectrum displayed a “basic respect for devolution.” However, he explained that the last five years of Conservative leaderships saw this attitude change significantly.
As prime minister, Boris Johnson took a ‘muscular’ approach to the union – an attitude that Sturgeon told us made him “impossible” to work with. Relations further deteriorated under Liz Truss, who didn’t undertake the customary phone calls to the first ministers upon taking office – a move Drakeford described as “a deliberate act of disrespect.”
By comparison, Sturgeon noted that Rishi Sunak “intellectually got” devolution, although her successor Yousaf told us that Sunak “was not one for hanging on the phone for longer than he had to with the Scottish government.”
Keir Starmer has taken positive steps to change the tone. He embarked on a tour of the nations within days of entering office and Scottish first minister, John Swinney, is reported to have said that the relations are “incomparably better” than before. 4 BBC, ‘PM and FM have ‘helpful’ talks over two-child cap’, 6 December 2024, retrieved 29 January 2025, www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjr241g0x8zo Even as other issues compete for the prime minister’s attention, it is vital that this approach persists. As Sturgeon reflected on Theresa May’s tenure, “I think Brexit just overwhelmed her […] I just don't think she had the bandwidth to really work out devolution.”
UK ministers should seek to build a partnership with their devolved counterparts
Good relationships between ministers at all levels is crucial to addressing shared challenges and making a success of working within the limitations of the devolution settlements. Former Welsh transport minister Lee Waters expressed his frustration at “being dealt with as stakeholders not as fellow governments” by UK ministers, while Humza Yousaf recalled that “the UK government looked at us with extreme suspicion – even more so than they normally would” during Brexit negotiations.
Inherent power imbalances between UK and devolved ministers also cause tensions. Former Scottish Green minister Lorna Slater described her frustrations at how the UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA) was invoked to override her deposit return scheme “at the whim of [the minister] who had the power and could use it without having to justify it”, while Sturgeon criticised UK ministers for using both UKIMA and “obscure provisions of the Scotland Act, to effectively ride roughshod over democratic decision making” at Holyrood.
But there are also plenty of examples of positive working relationships. Fergus Ewing, the former Scottish tourism minister, was able to work well with all but one of the “20 or 30” UK ministers he interacted with during his 14-year ministerial career, while Ash Regan, the former Scottish minister for community safety, spoke positively of the effort ministers went to always make “a point to ask the devolved governments for their input” during the pandemic. Drakeford, in reference to preparations for Brexit, found it “genuinely extraordinary” that ministers from “Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales were all members of a Conservative cabinet subcommittee chaired by the prime minister.”
Officials in Whitehall lay the foundations for making devolution work
A key theme in several interviews was a perceived shallow understanding of devolution among civil servants in Whitehall. Sturgeon described a “fundamental inability […] to recognise the roles and responsibilities of devolved administrations”, with Waters blaming this on a “structural arrogance” in Westminster.
Information sharing, or a lack of it, was also a source of frustration. Former Scottish health minister Michael Matheson received reports from the UK Health Security Agency “an hour or two before the meeting, whereas [the UK government] had them the night before”, and Hannah Blythyn, the former Welsh minister for social partnership, only found out about policies with implications for devolved matters from press releases.
These insights from our Ministers Reflect interviews illustrate that a genuine reset of UK-devolved relations, as promised by Labour on entering power at Westminster, will require action at several levels. Ministers should seek opportunities to work in partnership with devolved counterparts and send the signal to their officials to do likewise. The civil service should continue its efforts to improve devolution capability across the system, and consult devolved colleagues throughout the policy process, whenever decisions at Westminster will have an impact on devolved matters. Above all, however, Keir Starmer must continue to make clear that improving relationships and respecting devolved autonomy is a priority.
- Topic
- Devolution
- Keywords
- Scottish independence
- Political party
- Labour Scottish National Party Conservative Green Party Plaid Cymru
- Administration
- Starmer government Truss government May government Johnson government Sunak government
- Devolved administration
- Welsh government Scottish government
- Public figures
- Nicola Sturgeon Humza Yousaf Mark Drakeford
- Publisher
- Institute for Government