How united is the United Kingdom?
The heads of government of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland signed a joint declaration on Monday calling for greater self-determination for their regions, which form part of the United Kingdom. Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney, called for a new independence referendum for his nation within five years. Commentators assess the significance of the meeting.
The nationalists’ moment of glory
History is in the making, La Repubblica puts in:
“The revolution began in a five-star hotel on Cardiff Bay. ... At ten o’clock in the morning, the four musketeers of independence entered the luxurious St Davids Hotel for a 'historic event': an unprecedented summit designed to tear the United Kingdom apart, culminating in a joint memorandum of understanding that not only paves the way for the independence of the individual nations, but also for their accession to the European Union. ... This was their moment of glory. Never before have the heads of government of the three nations of the United Kingdom all been nationalists and, above all, advocates of independence.”
Leave your wallet on the mantelpiece
These three regions would not be able to get by without financial support from London, The Daily Telegraph quips:
“They are happy to take subventions paid for by the English taxpayer but resent the country's power and dominance. The late Gerry Fitt, leader of the nationalist SDLP in Northern Ireland, put it this way: 'Their slogan is Brits out – but leave your wallet on the mantelpiece.' How the three other parts of the UK would survive without English taxpayer support is a mystery. Payments under the Barnett Formula, which allocates public funds to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations, amounted to £45bn, £20bn and £18bn respectively last year.”
The powerlessness of the London elite
The granting of extensive autonomy in recent years and decades is now coming back to haunt the UK, writes Stephen Daisley in The Spectator:
“Viewed from London, devolution was a way of making Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish problems go away. Let them run their own affairs. Well, they've tried that and now they want more. They have outgrown the (extremely expansive) boundaries of devolution and want the full powers of independence. ... I'll doubt there will be sustained interest in reining in devolution in England and Wales. The news cycle will turn again and everyone will return to the comforts of complacency. Britain's elites – and not just her elites – no longer believe in her enough to defend and preserve her.”