Wales, Devolution and the Scottish Independence Debate

Abstract

The chapter begins by noting a recent historical tendency for Wales to take an interest in Scottish political developments, alongside deficiencies in the Welsh media landscape and a lack of Welsh media engagement with Welsh politics. It is observed that yet fewer Welsh media consumers have the opportunity to engage with indigenous media than counterparts in Scotland. Awareness of the potential implications of Scottish constitutional developments for Wales produced substantial coverage of the Scottish referendum. The tightening of the polls just ahead of the referendum caused a spike in Welsh coverage, in which however the Welsh media faced challenges in adopting a view differentiated from London coverage. The chapter concludes with observations about absences in the Welsh media ecology.

Brexit, the Press and the Territorial Constitution

“…Recent figures suggest that the former has a circulation of around 11,700 and the latter around 18,000 (Sharman, 2019). While the Western Mail styles itself as a Welsh national paper, its readership is confined largely to south Wales, whereas the Daily Post is read primarily in the north and is not sold in the south (Powell, 2016). Crucially, the Daily Post is a regional paper -an important characteristic to bear in mind when considering the results.…”