State Devolution and National Identity: Continuity and Change in the Politics of Welshness and Britishness in Wales

The articles addresses the relative neglect in the literature on comparative national identity of the study of national identity in Wales since devolution. The article assesses a range of quantitative and qualitative data on the extent, characteristics and implications of Welshness and Britishness in Wales. It also assesses the role of political party strategies both as key indicators and shapers of identity politics in Wales since devolution. It concludes that there are a number of indicators of an increase in the assertion of Welshness but the extent of population identification with Welshness and Britishness in Wales has in fact changed little since devolution. Nor has an increased assertion of Welshness led to clear trends in identity loyalities among those who feel either Welsh or British; nor has it fed through into support for independence. Consequently, identity loyalties appear to have sustained both the stability of devolution and the UK as frameworks for political life