Territorial Politics in the Post-Devolution Britain

Devolution, the establishment of directly elected legislatures and associated governments for Scotland and Wales, represents one of the most momentous developments in the recent political history of the UK. Its significance has been widely recognised by leading political commentators. Anthony King, for instance, has judged devolution to Scotland to be a transfer of powers on ‘a scale unprecedented in the history of mainland Britain and possibly without precedent in the history of the democratic world’ (2007: 347). Some observers believe that it may even unleash forces that lead to the dissolution of the UK.

Yet, despite its importance, devolution remains remarkably little understood. Senior politicians at Westminster rarely acknowledge how devolution limits their powers. Civil servants, and those working for the BBC, are regularly exhorted to be ‘devolution sensitive’ - to remember that the UK now comprises four distinct policy and political spaces. That they need to be so reminded is telling. And the London-based print media largely avoid reporting politics at the devolved level, ignoring all but the most momentous of developments. Even in Scotland and Wales, the focus tends to be exclusively on developments in one’s own country. In all of this, the big picture’ of devolution - what it means for the UK as a whole - remains largely unexamined. This is what this chapter aims to draw attention to, while also focusing on recent developments in both Scotland and Wales.