The British Coalition government, Scotland and independence

Devolution in the UK was not born out of any constitutional or political ideology or principle. The three asymmetrical systems of devolution reflect political pragmatism and circumstance in each territory, both in terms of inception and development. The union is elastic. One of the problems the UK Coalition faced was that the process of devolution and constitutional change has developed its own dynamic in each of the Celtic countries. The constitutional changes set in motion by the previous Labour Government mean that agenda control has slipped away from Westminster. Legally, devolution may mean power devolved is retained, however politically as the events of 2010‑2015 demonstrate, the political agenda in each territory developed differing trajectories. These developments reflect political priorities, agendas and processes in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh rather than London.