‘England’ does not mean ‘UK’: a thread about devolution and lockdown measures in Wales. [1/10]

I've seen a lot of confusion over the lockdown, especially in Wales. However, contrary to what mainstream media suggests, Boris Johnson's announcements have virtually no effect on lockdown measures in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Why? Because they're devolved nations.

For those who don’t know, devolution is the process of transferring power from the UK Parliament over to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland's respective governments and first ministers: Mark Drakeford, Nicola Sturgeon, and Arelene Foster.

These devolved governments aren't completely independent from the UK as a whole (a topic for another post!), but they have control over how a lot of things work in their nations, including education, transport and - crucially - lockdown measures.⁣

I've lived in Wales all my life, but even I sometimes get confused by what's devolved and what isn't, especially when the BBC's breaking news alerts tend to refer to the UK as a whole when they actually just mean England. It’s confusing and downright misleading at times.

Of course, it’s not surprising that we get a bit distracted by this: England accounts for over 80% of the UK population and is therefore naturally more prevalent in our press and social media. But that doesn’t mean Wales, Scotland and N. Ireland should be forgotten.

It’s vital for the sake of clarity that journalists remember that Boris Johnson's announcement on Sunday will have virtually no impact on Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as all three nations have already made their announcements this week.

To quote Mark Drakeford's press office in today’s letter to Westminster journalists: "Power to impose the lockdown in Wales rests with the Welsh Government [...] and any decisions the UK Government take and subsequently announce relate to England only."⁣

This isn’t to say that Wales and the other devolved nations are ignoring England and just doing their own thing simply for the sake of it - they’re doing what’s right for their countries’ specific needs.

By all counts, keep watching Boris’s announcements and reading mainstream news - I am! It’s good to stay up to date with what’s happening across the UK; just remember that Wales is part of it, too.