The Office of Internal Colonialism . (2)

Only a few days ago I wrote that

There have been calls that after devolution that the Welsh Office should be abolished. After the farce of renaming  the second Severn  to crossing to the Prince of Wales Bridge    Welsh food at the Royal Welsh is being branded as British. It is clear that Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns sees his job to remind Wales of its subservient  role as a English colony,
Indeed why doesn't the PM merge the Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish  Offices into "The Office of Internal Colonialism "?
At least it will be a name that truly reflects its nature.

Now it appears this scenario is moving closer,


The BBC report that

"The UK government should reconsider if Wales needs its own cabinet minister after Brexit, MPs have said.

They called for a review to ask whether it is necessary to keep separate departments for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Leaving the EU means it is time to look again at how devolution works, a House of Commons committee said.

The UK government said it wanted a Brexit deal that worked for the whole of the UK.

A report by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said political rows over a key piece of Brexit legislation could have been avoided if the devolved administrations had been involved earlier. "

"This review should also consider whether the role of the territorial offices in Whitehall and corresponding Secretaries of State are still necessary and, if they are, whether they might be reformed to promote better relations across Whitehall with the devolved administrations," it says.

The committee includes two former Welsh Secretaries among its members: Tory MPs David Jones and Cheryl Gillan.

Neither of the two can be regarded as a success or even seen as  putting Welsh Interest first

As there e ever been a Welsh Secretary who has?

MPs also say people in England risk becoming disconnected from the political system unless its regions are fairly represented.

Decentralising more powers and funding to English authorities and mayors should be considered, it said, as should allowing English regions to join committees of ministers from around the UK.

Complaints that Whitehall has a "tendency to hold on to power and resists devolving" were a "persistent theme" during the inquiry.

Wales' top civil servant - Permanent Secretary Shan Morgan - said "the quality of engagement (with London) had been severely constrained at times by a lack of transparency from the UK government".

PACAC chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin, said:

 "Leaving the EU will change the UK's constitutional arrangements, so it needs a re-think.
"We recommend the government sets out a clear devolution policy for the Union as we leave the EU. Failure to do this just prolongs misunderstandings which are the basis for more conflict.
"The present machinery for developing inter-governmental relations is flimsy, and there is nothing to give the various parts of England a say.
"Ignoring this risks the future relations within the UK. We set out a path to reconciling differences and building strong relationships across the UK, which recognises that many parts of England have more in common with parts of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland than they do with London and the South East."

Whilst this welcome  there is a danger that the  "Internal Colonial Office" will see its role as equalising the English Regions with the current devolved  legislature not by granting them real powers but reducing those of the Scottish , Welsh and Northern Ireland  governments withe further power grabs.

In a statement, the UK government said: "We are committed to securing a deal that works for the entire United Kingdom and have been absolutely clear that when devolved powers are returned from Brussels, the vast majority will go straight to the devolved administrations."


Remember Scottish Secretary of State David Mundell has controversially claimed that Scotland is not a partner in the UK, but is merely a part of the UK.

The Conservative MP’s comments came during a debate in the House of Commons which covered the so-called Power Grab which will see Westminster seize control of devolved issues for up to seven years.

During the debate Mr Mundell took issue with a description of Scotland as an equal partner in the United Kingdom. Responding he said:

“Scotland is not a partner of the United Kingdom, Scotland is a part of a United Kingdom.”

There  appears to be a thinking among Unionists that Brexit will give them the opportunity to treat Wales and Scotland  as regions and that they ambitions should be no more than those of England.

Indeed the "that many parts of England have more in common with parts of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland than they do with London and the South East." could be used for merging Wales into a English region

Though for now I can't see that happening.however there have already plans to  is to divide Wales and make us subordinate to English Cities.

It of course will not be called the office of Internal Colonialism. Indeed it will deny that Wales, Scotland Northern Ireland (and lets not forget Cornwall) are Nations but regions of the UK.

Though England will exist as a nation with regional government

In the era of devolution we must surely  question the role of the Welsh and Scottish Secretary and its counterparts, but the answer  of what would exist if it was abolished from Westminster,may well be very different to that of Cardiff and Edinburgh.