Devolution, nationalism and the British state

The period between 1979 and 2007 saw power move away from the centre of British politics in a number of areas. After resistance to giving up power, in particular to Scotland and local authorities more broadly, during the Thatcher and Major governments, Tony Blair’s New Labour administration initiated sweeping devolution. Meanwhile, European integration entered a new phase in the 1990s, leading some critics to say Britain had surrendered significant levels of national sovereignty. Globalisation also shifted power, in general, from smaller, domestic firms towards mobile giant corporations. As a result, these trends have both dampened and fuelled populism and boosted English nationalism.