Is Britain disintegrating? Changing views of ‘Britain’ after devolution

Abstract:

It is generally assumed in media comment and in much academic analysis that devolution of power to Wales and Scotland signals the end of Britain. The article suggests that 'Britain' is more complex than constitutional structures. It is also political culture, and it is also a set of relationships among territories. Using data from election and social attitudes surveys between 1979 and 1999, it suggests that neither on constitutional grounds nor on cultural grounds is there any reason to suppose that popular attitudes are leading inevitably to the disintegration of Britain, even though there is now almost no popular opposition to devolution, and even though there is increasing divergence of culture.