Wales: Act of Union with England in 1536.  The beginning of a Welsh nationalist movement: the birth of Plaid Cymru (at first primarily a cultural organization).  The Welsh political life was dominated by he Labour Party in the 20th century; the dominant figure being Aneurin Bevan from the 1940s (Minister of Health in the Attlee Government).  1945: no Plaid Cymru member elected out of 8 candidates.  The creation of a Welsh Secretary of State considered in 1948; after all, a Council for Wales was set up: of minor importance for decades.  1949: a `Parliament for Wales' movement started: ill-organized.  1951: the Conservative Government (committed to unionism) set up a Ministry of Welsh Affairs.  Early 1960s: more aggressive and effective promotion of Welsh language (demonstrations, sit-ins).  February 1964: the BBC started broadcasting programs in Welsh.  The Welsh Language Act in 1967: gave Welsh equal validity with English; 4.3% of Welsh votes went to Plaid Cymru.  The first Plaid Cymru MP was elected in 1966: Gwynfor Evans.  1969: a royal commission was set up to consider the prospects for governmental devolution in Scotland and Wales.  1970: the first time that Plaid Cymru had fought for all 36 seats; received 11.5% of votes, but gained no seats in Westminster.  1974: the Labour Government "White Paper" entitled Democracy and Devolution: proposed executive powers to a Welsh parliament and executive and legislative ones to the would-be Scottish one.  Wales: moderate support because of fears of losing financial allocations from the Consolidated Fund.  A Devolution Bill was killed after the Second Reading in 1976.  The bill was reintroduced as separate Welsh and Scottish Bills in July 1977 with a clause in the latter requiring that at least 40% of the Scottish electorate should favor the bill.  A referendum on March 1, 1979: 11.8% in Wales were for and 46.5% were against the devolution.  Labour Party platform in 1996: devolution in Wales and Scotland; after Labour's victory at the election in May, 1997, a bill was passed in Westminster, which provided for the creation of a 60-member Welsh Assembly in 1999; the electorate will have two votes: one for constituency Member of Welsh Assembly and one for a candidate from a parliamentary list system; the Assembly will have no tax raising or primary legislative powers; the Welsh Secretary will further represent Welsh views in the British Cabinet.

Scotland: Act of Union in 1707: the birth of Great Britain.  Scotland retained independence in the fields of religion, education, and legal matters.  Jacobite uprisings in 1715 and 1745.  The establishment of the Scottish Home Rule Association in 1886.  The foundation of the Scottish National Party in 1933 from other nationalist organizations.  Debates within the organization if a cultural or a political agenda should be given preference.  Labour Party domination in the political life: Labour usually gained twice as many seats in Scotland as the Conservative Party after 1945.  1950: a government committee was set up to determine the financial arrangements between England and Scotland: the Goschen Formula (11/80ths of the budget went to Scotland).  Demand for devolution: at March 1979 referendum, 23.9% of the total, though a majority of those voting (52%) favored devolution.  The Labour blueprint of Scottish independence nowadays: a Scottish Parliament to be set up in January 2000 in Edinburgh; Parliament will have wide legislative powers, but Westminster will retain control over areas such as foreign affairs and defense;  the Scottish Parliament will be able to raise income tax by up to 3%, but main funding will come from a block grant from Whitehall; the 129 MPs will be elected for 4 years (73 directly on constituency basis, while 56 in proportion of votes); Scottish representation in Westminster (72 seats) is likely to be cut; ministers from the Scottish Parliament will be able to deal with the EU directly.

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