The Commons: The Different Faces of UK Nationalism
Matthew Horwood
Last month saw a seemingly historic election result in Caerphilly, a town bordering the Welsh capital of Cardiff. The by-election was held following the untimely death of Hefin David, who had been a Member of the Welsh Parliament – known as the Senedd – for just over nine years. The election attracted much attention from the national press for Labour’s loss of a seat that it had held in the Senedd since its creation in 1999, and in Westminster for the past century.
Whilst the by-election saw a historic loss for the government, it also made headlines for how it reflected on Nigel Farage’s right-wing party, Reform. Having been leading in the polls for months, Reform had had its eye on taking the seat from Labour themselves, but instead, the win went to Lindsay Whittle, a member of Plaid Cymru, the party campaigning for Welsh independence.
Reform has been growing in popularity in Wales in recent months, as well as in other regions of the UK, such as Scotland. Reform had reportedly looked to “throw everything” at their campaign for Caerphilly, the party having only had one other member in the Senedd – a member, Laura Anne Jones, who has herself since been suspended due to their use of a racial slur.
Reform had still managed to beat Labour in winning second place in Caerphilly, after an election that saw a huge turnout, and the defeated Reform candidate Llŷr Powell predicting a Reform government at the Senedd general elections next year, stating “I think what we’re seeing, we’ve got more people turning out to vote now when they’ve got a party they believe in, and that’s what Reform is offering.”
Nevertheless, the election had ended up going to Plaid Cymru on 47% of the vote, representing a swing from Labour of almost 27%. Plaid Cymru leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, emphasized that this was a victory achieved through a campaign that spoke directly to the concerns of people in Wales, stating the electorate had “chosen hope over division, and progress over the tired status quo, and backed Plaid Cymru’s positive, pro-Wales vision.”
This has been mirrored in the other nations outside of England also. Whilst Reform has been continuing to perform well in Scotland and is expected to take second place, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is widely expected to retain its majority in the elections to the Scottish Parliament set for next year.
The recent win speaks to the relatively unique status that both the SNP and Plaid Cymru hold as Celtic nationalist parties. Celtic nationalism has been a growing movement within UK politics, based around the question of independence – or at the very least, greater autonomy – for the so-called Celtic nations of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, as well as other perceived Celtic regions such as Cornwall in England, and Brittany in France.
These movements had, up until the 1970s and 1980s, been seen as fringe positions that attracted very little popular support from within the regions they spoke for. This has changed more recently, however, especially following the Blair government’s policies of devolution in relation to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This had been expected to end growing demands for independence, but instead, the SNP went on to entirely replace Labour as the dominant party in Scotland.
Whilst the ‘Yes campaign’ narrowly lost the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014, repeated calls for a second referendum only became stronger in the wake of Brexit – an issue over which regions like Scotland stood in stark contrast to the rest of the UK. Now, it seems that Plaid Cymru may be likely to take a similar role in the traditionally Labour-dominated Wales.
So-called ‘nationalist’ parties have historically tended to be seen as more in keeping with the right-wing, anti-migration attitudes expressed by parties like Reform, with rhetoric around nationalism and a concern with ideas of national identity generally being seen as a hallmark of right-wing populists throughout Europe, such as the AFD in Germany and Vox in Spain.
Traditionally, nationalism had been something that British politics was largely averse to, with it often being stated that there was no real sense of English nationalism. This has begun to change in recent years, however, as demands have been made for England to have its own form of devolution. But, as seen with the recent controversy around the flying of St George’s flags, English nationalism is often still portrayed as being aligned with the political right and with an exclusionary form of nationhood. Celtic nationalism very much stands out in that it has generally tended to lean more towards left-of-center positions on issues such as migration, public spending, and inequality.
This has not always been the case. Parties such as the SNP had originally started as a broad coalition encompassing those on the left and more conservative figures, their common cause simply being independence from the United Kingdom. The SNP began in the 1930s as a merger between the center-left National Party of Scotland and the right-wing, pro-empire Scottish Party. As related by former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, the party had previously been dubbed “tartan Tories,” who were “very much dominated by fishing [and] farming interests of the North-East.” Political analysts have argued that in the 1960s and 70s, Celtic nationalists “were often ambivalent or hostile towards socialism and were drawn much more heavily from rural and small town Scotland and Wales,” often defining themselves in opposition to centralization from the government in Westminster.
This shifted in the 1970s and 1980s following the impact policies such as deindustrialization had on areas like Scotland and Wales under Margaret Thatcher. The Conservative government of the time was portrayed as distant and uncaring. This shift only deepened in the decades that followed, as Celtic nationalist parties have positioned themselves firmly against austerity and, later, Brexit. During the Scottish independence referendum, many campaigners emphasized that to leave the Union would mean a fresh start from Tory dominance at Westminster.
This plays into the established traditions around Celtic nationalism that have existed since the days of Ireland’s fight for independence. Political scientists have argued that, whereas English nationalism has been seen as largely synonymous with Britain as a whole, and therefore much more in line with traditional displays of patriotism, Celtic nationalism has had to define itself in opposition to this and therefore has naturally lent itself to more left-leaning positions.
As such, it exists in a relatively unique position in relation to other nationalist movements. It may be that UK politics is soon set to be dominated by competing forms of nationalism in the coming years. Commentators have speculated that this may be “a watershed moment in Welsh and British politics,” which could see all regions of the UK moving towards nationalism. Moreover, whilst there is still strong support for Reform, others have suggested that Reform may increasingly come around to supporting Celtic nationalists, as with several Reform candidates who have made pro-independence comments.
Regardless of who comes out on top in next year’s elections in the Senedd and in the Scottish parliament, the result may well put serious pressure on the future stability of the Union. Eleven years on from Scotland’s previous independence referendum, the tide appears only to have moved further in the other direction, with both parties set to win, seemingly pursuing their own distinct forms of nationalism.
