A further development in devolution was the 2004 North East England Devolution Referendum, which failed by a large margin. The original proposal was alongside planned referenda in North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber, but these were cancelled after the referendum in the North East failed. The proposal, as well as facilitating an elected assembly, would have also reorganised local government in the area. After the failure of this proposal, the concept of city regions was later pursued. The 2009 Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act provided the means for the creation of combined authorities based upon city regions, a system providing cooperation between authorities, and a single directly elected mayor. The first such, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, was established in 2011, followed by four in 2014, two in 2016, two in 2017, and one in 2018, with further proposals for other conurbations. In 2014, the Scotland voted to remain in the UK, though a plurality of Scots wanted greater autonomy within the UK. This culminated in the Scotland Act of 2016 which declared that Scotland's devolved institutions were permanent and granted the Scottish Parliament and government powers over taxation and welfare.