Can devolution solve the division within the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom is comprised of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, along with some territories. Historically, the country was formed through centuries of wars, won by England, who conquered the other states (Little, 2023). Despite the decades between then and now, some people in these states still harbour nationalist tendencies and discontent towards England to this day: “Amongst many crises affecting the UK currently, there is one that has a long fuse, has been burning for some time, and has the power to blow the United Kingdom to pieces” (Black, 2021).
There are many legends in the history of nationalism in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – from William Wallace, to Owain Glyndŵr, to guerilla rebels in the woods during the plantation. These figures famously fought to prevent English conquering of their lands, but, ultimately, were unsuccessful (National Army Museum). However, their legacies live on in the nationalist movements today. Famous examples of these include nationalist political parties such as the Scottish Nationalist Party, Plaid Cymru and Sínn Féin.
So, how does the government in the UK solve this issue? Currently, the solution appears to be devolution. By December 1999, three devolved governments were introduced in the UK. The first of these devolved governments was technically formed in Northern Ireland in 1920, however, since this was scrapped in favour of direct rule during the troubles, the longest running devolved government is currently the Scots Parliament, opened in 1998, a year before the Senedd and the current Stormont (Senedd Cymru, 2020). Although tamer today, the threat of these states separating from the United Kingdom is a growing possibility so long as these nationalist movements gain traction.
The Senedd, governing building in Wales (Encircle Photos, 2018).
Over the years, many advantages to the system of devolved government have revealed themselves in the UK. One of the most practical benefits to devolved government is the ability for that government to regulate the rates and taxes of its state. This is useful as Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have vastly different income brackets and necessities to England, and the acknowledgement of that both benefits them financially and shows respect for these devolved governments (Paun and Cheung, 2018).
Overall, devolved government can be seen as a compromise between the English parliament and nationalist movements throughout the UK. This way, nationalists can be in control of their state’s governance without requiring an independence movement, and the United Kingdom stays united: “What is clear from the British Future research is that devolution is working to the extent that the public has a clear thirst for greater autonomy” (Diffley, 2012).
However, devolution comes with its own disadvantages. The leading problems with devolved government come from its limits and miscommunication. The systems in place often involve requiring approval from the English Parliament in order to set into motion any serious legislation, which is often time-consuming and inefficient (McHarg, 2023). The devolved governments lack the real power to make decisions independent of parliament that you would see from a fully federal system like in the United States of America. This can lead to frustration from the devolved governments, which goes hand in hand with a want to gain independence.
Most importantly, as we saw during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolved government is fickle, and direct rule can be easily reinstated. This happened more recently, also in Northern Ireland, during the government shutdown (Simpson, 2022). This system does not provide nationalists in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland the security in their right to govern themselves, and therefore does not fix the issue it sets out to in its inception.
There are other factors that play a part to UK nationalist politics. One of the biggest issues that has plagued the UK is the vote on Brexit. Two of the three devolved powers voted against Brexit, but the country was pulled out of the European Union anyway (de Búrca, 2018). Under a federal system, something like this would not have been allowed to happen. The results show a lack of equality within the nations. It seems that devolution cannot make up for underlying issues that reveal themselves during important events like this.
Since Brexit, nationalism has shown a steady incline in all three devolved states. In Scotland, the latest opinion polls show that 7 out of 10 people would vote for independence were the referendum to reopen, a stark increase from just under half of the voting body choosing independence originally (Curtice, 2023). In Wales, Plaid Cymru has risen from 10 percent to 30 percent of the Senedd population (Nation Cymru, 2021). Historically, in Northern Ireland, the first ever nationalist majority government was formed (Gleeson, 2024).
Despite devolution, nationalism is still, clearly, on the rise. One could argue it has risen more since devolution than before it. The devolved states still wish to split from each other and form their own countries, and division between the four nations is high.
CITATIONS
Associated Authors, Irish Rebellion of 1798, National Army Museum [online]. Accessible at: https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/irish-rebellion-1798.
Associated Press (2020), History of devolution, Senedd Cymru [online]. Accessible at: https://senedd.wales/how-we-work/history-of-devolution/.
Associated Press (2021), Plaid record ‘highest support this century’ in YouGov Westminster poll as Labour see slump, Nation Cymru [online]. Accessible at: https://nation.cymru/news/plaid-record-highest-support-this-century-in-yougov-westminster-poll-as-labour-see-slump/.
Black, Dr. A. (2021), Nationalisms in the UK and their implications for the Westminster System of Governance, Global Policy Institute, The Federal Trust [online]. Accessible at: https://fedtrust.co.uk/nationalisms-in-the-uk-and-the-implications-for-the-westminster-system-of-governance/.
Curtice, J. (2023), What do polls say about independence?, BBC News Scotland [online]. Accessible at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65989779.
de Búrca, G. (2018), How British was the Brexit vote?, Brexit and Beyond: Rethinking the Futures of Europe, UCL Press.
Diffley, M. (2012), Support for devolution across Britain is growing as ‘national’ identity outweighs feelings of ‘Britishness’, IPSOS [online]. Accessible at: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/support-devolution-across-britain-growing-national-identity-outweighs-feelings-britishness.
Encircle Photos (2018), The Senedd National Assembly Building in Cardiff, Wales.
Gleeson, C. (2024), Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill elected first ever nationalist First Minister of Northern Ireland, The Irish Times [online]. Accessible at: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/02/03/sinn-feins-michelle-oneill-elected-first-ever-nationalist-first-minister-of-northern-ireland/.
Little, B (2023), How Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Became a Part of the U.K., History [online]. Accessible at: https://www.history.com/news/united-kingdom-scotland-northern-ireland-wales.
McHarg, A (2023), The contested boundaries of devolved legislative competence, Review of the UK Constitution, Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
Paun, A. and Cheung, A. (2018), Tax and devolution, Institute for Government Explainer [online]. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/tax-and-devolution.
Simpson, M. (2022), Half a century since Stormont was replaced by direct rule, BBC News [online]. Accessible at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60895989.
This was a really insightful post. I liked how you highlighted the strengths of devolution while also showcasing the shortcomings of the overall system. It was interesting to see how the Brexit vote favored England and made some of the other nations feel that they do not have equal say on such issues. I wasn’t aware that nationalistic views in devolved states had risen so much. It will be interesting to see what this increase in nationalism may mean for the future of the UK and the broader European community. As the devolved nations are among the very last in England’s former empire to gain full independence from the UK, it is possible that such a split could mark the official end of an era. While independence may rise as a priority in the future, previous issues with Stormont as well as the Scottish parliament’s recent end to power sharing between the SNP and the Greens may reduce public faith in such transitions for the foreseeable future.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-68895400
This post has great contextualisation, which makes it more accessible to the reader. The discussion on the importance of legends in nationalism is extremely fascinating and I found it very engaging. The summation of the benefits and disadvantages of devolution was clear and thorough, and the discussion on Brexit’s effects on nationalism was eye-opening. In that same vein, one could also explore the effects of English nationalism as a driving force behind the success of Brexit: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/campaigners-harnessed-english-nationalism-in-brexit-vote
The beginning of this post and the context of nationalism in the UK was a great hook and extremely insightful, this set the tone for a very concise, informative piece by an author who is clearly well read on the topics. The use of all 3 assemblies and the growth in nationalist feeling and representation was also well done, particularly on the topic of Wales where Plaid Cymru have grown but are still not usually mentioned as they are in the shadows of nationalist parties in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The blog could however have spent a little more time on emphasising Blair’s introduction of devolution and how it was specifically targeted at combating these nationalist ideas from growing further. (https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/tony-blair_0.pdf)
This is a really insightful blog and it succinctly puts together the concept of Devolution really well and is a great summary. The historical context was really important and interesting and this was a well balanced piece in which it speaks to the problems and the merits of devolution. It may have been helpful to mention even recent calls for Northern Ireland to gain financial powers e.g. Tax, and how this overall relates to the devolved governments (and their electorate’s ) dissatisfaction and upset with the Westminster government. Overall, really informative.
This blog provides a balanced review of devolution and how it relates to nationalist movements. The discussion on whether devolution is an appropriate response to nationalist movements is particularly important when discussing divisions within the United Kingdom. Recent data has shown a growth of support for independence in Scotland, despite the increased powers being granted via devolution. The author could have spent more time discussing the impact of asymmetrical devolution as not all devolved governments have the same level of powers. It would be interesting to discuss if the level of devolved powers have any impact on the saliency of independence movements. This topic merits further discussion, especially as the increase in popularity of independence movements has coincided with increases in the level of devolved powers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-67949443
This post provides a timely summary of devolution in the United Kingdom, especially in relation to nationalist movements in the three devolved nations. The author is correct in saying that, far from ‘solving’ the problem of nationalist separatism, devolution has in some ways highlighted the persisting democratic deficit across the UK, strengthening the cause of separatism. As the author points out, Brexit is a major game changer, demonstrating that the historic dominance of England within the UK still persists.
One point of slight criticism is that the author paints an unnecessarily negative picture of the UK. To be sure, it is true that nationalist movements in some parts of the country are growing in strength, but the division of the UK doesn’t feel as existential as the author suggests. There is discontent everywhere, and one of the priorities of future governments is constitutional reform for the UK as a whole. Don’t underestimate the ability of the British constitution to adapt and accommodate.