It has been stated before, on this blog, that the best thing for the cause of a Welsh Parliament and Scottish Independence would be a Conservative government. As it turns out we have gone one better and elected a Liberal Conservative government. Although Labour have introduced devolution into the British Isles (which they believed should be regional devolution) events overtook them and what we are seeing is a growing demand for national, not only regional, devolution. If we carry the logic further the result would eventually be the break-up of the "United" Kingdom and Scotland and Wales would become independent countries within Europe as Ireland is today. That is not what Labour intended.
The antipathy which exists in Scotland, and to a lesser degree in Wales towards a Conservative administration at Westminster, which generated feelings that still rankle over the excesses of the Thatcher years when local industries were closed down forever and the unemployed were expected to retrain as yuppies or cease work entirely to survive on social benefits and later tax credits, will doubtless increase. The people of Wales and Scotland will see that they are not represented as they would wish, and must be aware that they are governed by parties which overwhelmingly represent the English electorate and not their own.
Thus, the desire to turn inward and support their own national institutions and systems of government will become stronger, leading them inevitably farther in the direction of the establishment of a Welsh Parliament, and will strengthen the cause for Scottish independence. The final act of this scenario is that following Scottish independence Wales will take the same path and opt for an independent Cymru.
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