Devolution in Great Britain – the Welsh example

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze, on the example of Wales, the process of devolution in Great Britain – a systematic reform launched by Tony Blair’s government in the last decade of the twentieth century, involving the transfer of powers from the central government to local authorities. The author puts forward the following thesis: despite the fact that the devolution in Wales in comparison to Scotland and Northern Ireland had the most limited scope, the last amendment of the “Act of Wales” brings much closer the Welsh model of devolution to the Scottish most autonomous approach to this process. Moreover, this development coincides with an increase of national pride among Welsh people, which was reflected in the results of the referendum of 2011, whereby the legislative powers of the National Assembly for Wales has been increased.