ABSTRACT
The story of regionalism in the UK is a slightly unusual one since, unlike Belgium, France, Italy and Spain and despite marked cultural heterogeneity – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – no regional government has ever been created until the Northern Ireland Assembly was created in 1998. Confining devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is because there is much less public demand for regional bodies in England although the creation of English regions is on the Blair Government’s agenda. The Northern Ireland Secretary is more powerful on his home patch than either of his counterparts and comes closest to being a Prime Minister for his region. In 1972, as a result of the worsening sectarian conflict in the Province, and the unwillingness of the Northern Ireland government to relinquish its control of public order to the centre, Stormont was peremptorily abolished.
