Think Twice Before Dismissing Devolution

With the upsurge of Scottish nationalism and the glaringly pitiful record of the Welsh Government, anti-devolution sentiment among conservatives seems to be on the rise. Many resolutely British conservatives seem to disregard the notion that devolution has a place within the United Kingdom and that it is a threat to British unity and I while I do not share this point of view, I can see how it arises. An emboldened Scottish National Party undoubtedly benefits from devolution and as a result the likelihood of Scottish independence increases. Likewise, the dismal failings of the Welsh Labour Government simply would not have occurred without devolution. However, abolishing devolution would be a disaster for the Union and a great boon for nationalism.

I think many unionists — those from England in particular — have a rose-tinted view of the state of Britain pre-devolution. It appears to me that many such people believe that pre-devolution, there was a very cohesive and unifying British identity shared equally by all inhabitants of Great Britain. It is my view that many unionists believe that devolution has engendered divisions that either did not exist or were minor prior to its creation and that, as such, devolution is a major and artificial threat to the Union. However, it is ahistorical to suggest that the UK was a happy, centralised nation-state pre-1999. When Scotland joined in union with England and Wales in 1707, she maintained her own education and legal systems as well as her own Church. These three things underpinned Scottish society for hundreds of years and allowed Scotland to enjoy a distinct Scots identity but also benefit from its union with England, particularly with the affluence brought by the British Empire. As Scots law and the Kirk ebbed in their importance and the Empire disintegrated, so too did Scotland’s affection for the Union. As Scotland’s fortunes waned throughout the 20th century, so did the obvious benefit to being British. Devolution became a necessity as Scots no longer felt the centralised Union was no longer meeting their needs; it was not an invention of the SNP, a result of their ideology or strategy, simply a natural occurrence.

The reason I’ve gone on that slightly long-winded tangent is because I think it is important to emphasise that the pre-1999 Union was not a polity where Scots unquestioningly accepted any and all diktats from Westminster and all of a sudden Tony Blair came along and decided it wouldn’t be that way anymore; it was an organic occurrence. The real artificial constitutional changes in Britain were the centralisation of the post-war years and the further centralisation of England under Thatcher. Britain was most cohesive when its diversity of nationality, its regional identities, its overall quirks were accepted and embraced. This is why it would be contrary to the spirit of the Union to re-centralise; artificial centralisation has brought us to where we are today.

While there is little to no mainstream appetite to reverse devolution in Scotland, around 26% of Welsh voters would opt to abolish the devolution there with a further 30% answering Don’t Know to the question of abolition. Likewise, polling for the next elections to the Senedd show the Abolish The Welsh Assembly Party in with a real chance of winning some seats. While some of this can be put down to the inherently different conceptions of national identity and affiliation in Wales, much of the blame for the apathy (and antipathy) towards devolution lies at the door of the Labour Party. Welsh Labour have governed Wales at best with lackadaisical abandon; their record in running the Welsh NHS is appalling, their indecision and then rejection of the M4 relief road has been a hit for confidence in decision makers and a regretful occurence for the people of South Wales, and their rollout of the coronavirus vaccine has been sluggish. Given the hegemony Labour have in Wales, it is easy to think that abolishing their source of power is an easy way to alleviate Wales of Mark Drakeford’s ineptitude, but abolishing the Senedd does not solve Wales’ Labour pains.

Even with no Senedd, Labour will continue to govern local authorities with the same carelessness they do Wales as a whole. Plus, I am a strong believer in subsidiarity — that decisions ought to be made at the lowest possible level. I do not believe overly centralised, overly bureaucratic big governments make good decisions — England is over-centralised as is. Rescinding Welsh devolution is not a silver bullet, if anything Wales’ malaise will only be exacerbated. Not to mention the legitimacy and renewed sense of self that it would give Plaid Cymru. Instead, those frustrated with how Wales is today must throw their weight behind the Welsh Conservatives. The manpower, the donations, the political energy, all of that can be put into campaigning for a Welsh Government that can meet Wales’ needs in the framework we have with devolution, all without both Labour incompetence and without the emboldening and justification of Welsh independence.

If you’re reading this and you’re still anti-devolution, picture this; Devolution is gone. An over-centralised, clumsy British state further alienates Scotland, Wales, and poorer regions of England. Scottish and Welsh nationalists go from strength to strength, with real talk of unilateral independence referenda and UDIs. This is not a pleasant image, but can you really see it going any other way? Scots aren’t going to suddenly start singing God Save The Queen and supporting England in the football just because Holyrood is gone, and while people in the Welsh marches may be content, the disaffected people in the Welsh Valleys and Deeside will remain disaffected and may be pushed towards Welsh nationalism. It does not have to be like this; conservatives, unionists, and those fed up of the divisiveness of the SNP and the ineptitude of Welsh Labour need to put their energy into bettering devolution, not fantasising about a halcyon Britain that never really existed. Instead, let us build a convincing, cohesive Union for all through — not in spite of — devolution.