ABSTRACT
The creation of devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has added a new tier of government to the United Kingdom's multi-level polity. Devolution also secured strong elite support, particularly in the Labour Party. Labour's conversion to devolution was crucial to the prospects for a Scottish Parliament. Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party (SNP) promoted their respective national cultures and sought greater political autonomy. Political and economic change brought opportunities for the nationalists. Most civil servants who worked in the old territorial ministries were transferred to the devolved institutions, aiding continuity and informal contacts. The rise of sub-state nationalisms brought fresh academic thinking on the nature of UK territorial politics. The territorial ministries were responsible for a range of government activities in their respective nations but had only limited influence within Whitehall. Power was concentrated in Whitehall as the Thatcher governments appeared unsympathetic to Scottish distinctiveness, notably when imposing the poll tax in Scotland a year before England.
