Skip to main content

Devolution - The View from Scotland

A fascinating view from North of the Border from the Scotland on Sunday columnist Hardeep Singh Kohli.

I don't think we are as Machiavellian as that, are we?

Are Scots paving the way?

I spent a couple of days in Pembrokeshire last week. I was in St Davids, the United Kingdom's smallest city. I have a lot of time for Wales and the Welsh. There are many parallels between them and the Scots – the sense of nationhood, self-identity, the pride in our respective cultures.

Yet there are two very marked and highly significant differences between us and them. The Welsh have managed to protect their native language with great success; yet it is the Scots that came out the winner in the devolution debate: we got a Parliament, they were fobbed off with a glorified talking shop called an Assembly.

Having spent a lot of time in Wales of late, witnessing the urban regeneration of Cardiff and the re-birth of BBC Wales and the independent television sector in the city, I can't work out why the Welsh haven't exactly busted a gut pushing for a more meaningful democratic representation.

There have been moves to give their Assembly more powers, but it has very much been a softly-softly approach. Perhaps our wily Celtic cousins are biding their time, letting the Scots fight the battle for independence, softening up the Union before they, the Welsh, step in and claim their sovereignty. Cynical? Me?

Comments

Anonymous said…
cynical us welsh, maybe bored and fed up is more true of the current situation and we are also badly led as a nation, whether you agree with Alex Salmond or not, at least he has a vision of where he wants to take Scotland, do Rhodri Morgan or Ieuan Wyn Jones have that sort of vision for Wales?
April 20, 2008 11:00 pm
Anonymous said…
Old Scottish saying : " It's no the gun that counts, it's the man behind it ". Applies aptly to the current WAG set up.Lots of guns, no men !
April 21, 2008 9:03 pm
Ian Titherington said…
There are far fewer parallels between Scotland and Wales than many believe. Scotland has laways had more autonomy and less influence from England, with a tiny border and few English settlements close to it. Compare that with Wales, where Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol are a stones throw from Offa's Dyke.
They also have a meaningful media while we still rely almost entirely on London and 20% of our population was born in England.

Dare I say that a fleeting holiday in Pembs is hardly a sound basis to define the future of Welsh governance?
April 22, 2008 7:45 pm
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE IMPORTANCE OF FRANCHISING

When we talk about start-ups and entrepreneurship, rarely do we discuss the potential of franchising not only as a way of establishing new ventures in the economy but also as a method of growing existing businesses. According to the British Franchising Association, franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to own and operate their own business under the brand, systems and proven business model of the franchisor. The franchisee also receives initial training and ongoing support, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business. This enables individuals to start their own businesses without having to develop their own ideas and utilising an existing brand and established market. Of course, whilst each franchise business is owned and operated by the franchisee, the franchisor controls the quality and standards of the way in which the business is
Read more

Change your business through change

All business organisations, especially entrepreneurial small firms, must cope with an ever changing business environment. However, small firms have a very limited ability in being able to control and relate to changes in the environment, although this can depend on the context of change. For example, if a major customer changes increases its order, the entrepreneur should be able to predict events and actions with regard to the timing and consequences of such a change and forecast any changes in the required resources and cashflow. Given this, the entrepreneur can undertake rational short-interval planning activity in order to underpin organisational control. However, much of the change facing business today is largely unpredictable in terms of its timing and its consequences. In other words, such change is open-ended, with it often being unclear what is changing or why it is changing. For example, the effect of the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Centre was largely unexpected and its
Post a Comment
Read more

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CREATIVE CLASSES

One of my favourite academic books of the last two decades must be the “Rise of the Creative Classes” by Professor Richard Florida.  This was one of the first detailed studies of the growing group of individuals who use their creativity and mental labour to earn a living and not only included those in arts and entertainment, but also people working in science and technology as well as knowledge-based professions such as healthcare, law, business, and finance.  Fast forward to 2022 and Professor Florida has written an updated report on the creative classes although he and his team now identify a different type of individual who is taking full advantage of the growth in digital platforms, social media, and online marketplaces.  Such ‘creators’ are defined as those who use digital technology to make and publish unique creative content, whether in the form of video, film, art, music, design, text, games, or any other media that audiences can access and respond to.  They also make their mon
Read more