The question of nationalism within the United Kingdom is not a new one. The popularity of self-governance and separatism has ebbed and flowed, but it has been a constant force that has strafed against the Union. If Boris Johnson is truly intent on preserving the United Kingdom then he would do well to look to others who have navigated the nationalist question.
One such figure is surely David Lloyd George, the architect of the modern UK settlement who secured the union of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by resolving the Irish question during the post-war coalition. For all this, however, he spent much of his career as the gadfly on Welsh issues. During the 1890s, the ambitious MP for Caernarfon was the unofficial leader of Wales in all but office and name, heading the patriotic Welsh group Cymru Fydd (Young Wales). His dedication to issues that were the cornerstone of Welsh Liberalism – such as disestablishment and land reform – meant he often clashed with his own Liberal government, who were prioritising events in Ireland over Welsh issues.
Many of his priorities for Wales could only be achieved by using the levers of the British state
Lloyd George’s nationalism was at its peak by 1894 as he became increasingly frustrated at how Wales was overlooked by successive governments.
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