Ex-Chancellor George Osborne leads the campaign for high-speed rail lines to link Liverpool and Hull.
Ministers want divorces and cross-border consumer claims resolved "in a clear and sensible way".
The first ministers say the UK government wants to impose its will on the other parts of the UK.
Public inquiries are long, complex procedures but they can arouse fierce passions.
This is the moment Big Ben chimed for the last time before major restoration work starts.
The two Conservative councillors had made offensive posts on Twitter before being elected.
Tactical voting reached new heights as voters tried to game a broken system, reform campaigners say.
