Tony Blair states the obvious

If there is more joy in Heaven over one devolutionist who repenteth, the celestial jubilations must be in full roar over a belated admission from Tony Blair. In an interview with ITV News, the former prime minister reflected: ‘I do think one of the weaknesses in the way we approached devolution was not to build real cultural ties and emphasise the enormous things that the different countries in the United Kingdom have in common.’ 

Although, in familiar self-exculpating fashion, Blair insisted ‘the Union would already be in tatters’ had the Scottish and Welsh parliaments not been established, the semi-penitent constitutional vandal did allow that ‘we were wrong… in believing that devolution would end the argument of independence — it hasn’t ended it’. 

No indeed. A new dawn has broken for nationalism in Scotland and, as the Holyrood elections are likely to confirm, things can only get better. Before devolution, the SNP held just six out of 72 Scottish seats, half its electoral high point of 11 in October 1974.