New order in Britain

In Wales, the Secretary of State has been more like a governor, with almost absolute control over the budgetary allocation. Over the past 15 years the government at Westminster has devolved a great deal of its responsibilities to `quangos’ (quasiautonomous non-governmental organisations) which are run by people appointed by the Government. A mega-quango, the Welsh Development Agency, has effectively controlled the spending of most of Wales’ £7 billion budgetary allocation. Welsh Secretaries under the Conservatives have also tended to be `outsiders’ (the last one was the current Conservative Party leader William Hague), who did not speak Welsh and ruled from London.

In Scotland, the devolution debate has raged for years. Where once, the blue and white flag and the cross of St Andrew were symbols that appeared on football stands (all the British `countries’ play separate teams in international football), they have now become part of the paraphernalia of Scottish nationalists, led by the Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports the independence of Scotland. Recently, it is the nationalists who have, to some extent, set the terms of debate for other political parties over whether Scotland should have an independent elected Parliament, with powers to tax and pass its own laws.

While a majority of Scots do not support the idea of an independent Scotland, over the past several elections, the SNP has made significant gains in terms of vote share. In the general election in May this year, the SNP gained primarily against the Conservatives, the only party that has consistently opposed even the devolution of power to Scotland and the creation of an elected Scottish Parliament. Historically, Scotland has always been `different’. It joined Britain as an `equal’ following the Act of Union in 1707 and has, for instance, always maintained its own system of law. Under a special dispensation there are also a larger number of Scottish MPs at Westminster, as Scottish constituencies are far smaller than the English and Welsh ones.

The general view is that the Scots are overwhelmingly in favour of devolution, although they voted, by a very small margin, in support of a separate Parliament in the referendum held in 1979. The feeling, however, is that with a Labour Government at Westminster, and the Conservatives thrown out of Scotland, the Scottish demand for devolution may have cooled. But the government is taking no chances, and along with the very pro-devolution Scottish Secretary, Donald Dewar, will campaign for a yes vote over the next two months. Even some in the Scottish Conservative Party, which was wiped out in the May election, have suggested that they could support the idea of devolution. The Conservatives have consistently said that devolution was the first step towards secession and the break up of the British Union.

In Wales, the situation is far more ambiguous. In a referendum held 18 years ago, the Welsh people voted against having a separate Welsh assembly. While there has been an effort to revive the use of Welsh language (all signposts in the region, for example are in English and Welsh) and there is a Welsh identity, Wales has not seen the sort of nationalism that Scotland has. Plaid Cymru, the pro-independence Welsh nationalist party, does not do any where as well as the SNP in Scotland. Today, the feeling is that those in favour of a Welsh assembly slightly outnumber those against, and that the government may, with a concerted campaign, be able to push through its plan by a whisker.

But, just as in Scotland, the fact that there is a Labour Government at Westminster appears to reduce the urgency for `self-government’ in Wales. Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democratic Party are the only ones who support the idea unequivocally, despite the fact that Plaid Cymru feels that the white paper is a sop. The Conservatives are vehemently opposed to Welsh devolution and Labour is divided on this issue.

What is on offer to Scotland and Wales also differs qualitatively, reflecting, in a sense, the difference in attitudes to the issue in the two countries. The Scots, will have a full-fledged Parliament of 129 members, some of whom will be directly elected and some who will be elected through a system of proportional representation.

The members will choose their own `prime minister’ who will appoint a `cabinet’. Parliament will be able to raise taxes up to to 3 pence in the pound and have some tax varying powers. Importantly, it will be able to pass primary legislation, and have complete control over the budgetary allocation from Westminster. The Scottish Parliament will effectively function like a State government although how independent it will be will depend on the areas over which it is not allowed to legislate. Control of abortion and drugs policies as well as other key social and moral issues, are expected to remain with the Westminster Parliament. Crucially, the Scottish Parliament is likely to have the power to hold a referendum on full independence if it wants to. While this will be seen as a major concession to the nationalists the Government is confident that under the partial proportional representation system the SNP is unlikely to have a majority in the Scottish Parliament.

The Welsh Assembly of 60, of whom 20 will be elected by proportional representation, will, however, have no tax raising powers and will not be able to pass any primary legislation. It will, however, get control over the spending of the — 7 billion allocation from Westminster. The Welsh Assembly will be no more than a talking shop, and that Westminster will in effect still have the running of it.

Critics of the government’s plans for Wales say that this powerless assembly could be sidelined completely by an unfriendly government at Westminster, which could bypass it by passing primary legislation to counter any changes that the assembly makes through secondary legislation. There are many who feel the government is copping out by not giving a Welsh assembly the same powers as the Scottish Parliament. Some feel, that in the event that the Welsh vote for devolution, a Welsh Assembly would fight to have the power to pass primary legislation and to vary taxes.

It is fairly well known that the prime minister, and many members of the Cabinet, do not favour devolution. But it has to be said that they are pushing for change that is necessary for Britain to have a more properly representative democracy.