The meeting of nationalist leaders from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland was more than a symbolic display of unity. It offered a glimpse of a more fragmented, politically assertive United Kingdom—and a warning to organisations whose public affairs strategies still begin and end in Westminster.
For decades, British public affairs operated according to a familiar geography. Westminster made the decisions, Whitehall controlled the machinery and organisations seeking influence concentrated their attention on ministers, MPs and civil servants in London.
That map of power is becoming increasingly unreliable.
The meeting in Cardiff between Wales’s First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald was presented as an unprecedented show of cooperation between nationalist parties governing across the UK.
Their message was deliberately provocative: Westminster’s time, they argued, is coming to an end.
That claim will divide opinion. It does not mean that the UK Government or Parliament is about to become irrelevant. Westminster still controls taxation, defence, foreign affairs, immigration and significant areas of economic policy. The Treasury’s spending decisions continue to shape what every devolved government can afford to deliver.
But the Cardiff meeting captured an important political reality. Power within the UK is no longer exercised through one government, one parliament or one political conversation.
For businesses, charities, professional bodies, campaigners and trade associations, devolution is no longer a specialist interest. It is becoming one of the central facts of political life.
A new alliance across the devolved nations
The leaders used their meeting to establish a closer working relationship between Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party and Sinn Féin.
Their agreement identified several areas for cooperation, including economic fairness, renewable energy, European relations and the right of each nation to determine its constitutional future.
Wales and Scotland also signed the Cardiff Agreement, committing their governments to closer cooperation on child poverty, the cost of living, economic growth, climate change and the role of language, culture, media and sport in national identity.
These may appear to be broad political aspirations, but they could develop into practical cooperation between governments.
Shared policy positions can lead to coordinated lobbying of the Treasury, joint demands for additional funding, common approaches to regulation and greater pressure on Westminster to devolve further powers. They may also encourage civil servants, parliamentary committees and political parties in different nations to exchange ideas and borrow policies from one another.
A proposal that begins in Cardiff can now influence debate in Edinburgh. A Scottish policy can provide a model for Wales. Developments in Northern Ireland can affect UK-wide conversations about public services, trade and relations with the European Union.
Public affairs professionals must therefore follow not only where formal power currently sits, but where political momentum is developing.
Devolution is creating multiple centres of influence
The UK’s constitutional arrangements have always been untidy. Devolution has made them more complex—and more politically important.
The Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru and Northern Ireland Assembly possess different powers, operate under different electoral systems and have distinct political cultures. The English regions are also gaining greater prominence through elected mayors and combined authorities.
The result is not one neatly decentralised system. It is a collection of overlapping institutions, responsibilities and relationships.
Health, education, housing, agriculture, transport, planning and environmental policy may be handled differently across the four nations. Even when Westminster retains formal authority, implementation may depend on devolved governments, local authorities, regulators or regional bodies.
For organisations operating across the UK, this creates both risk and opportunity.
A campaign based exclusively on an English policy problem may fail to resonate in Wales or Scotland. Research presented as “UK-wide” may turn out to rely almost entirely on English data. A legislative recommendation aimed at Westminster may concern a matter already devolved elsewhere.
Even language can create difficulty. Referring casually to a UK health service, education system or housing policy can expose a lack of understanding because no single, uniform system exists.
Conversely, organisations that understand the differences can use them strategically. Success in one nation can become evidence for reform in another. A pilot introduced by one devolved government can demonstrate that a national proposal is achievable. Parliamentary scrutiny in Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast can generate evidence, political pressure and media coverage that later influences Westminster.
Devolution does not simply create more institutions to monitor. It creates more routes through which change can happen.
The European question is returning through the nations
The Cardiff meeting also placed relations with Europe firmly on the agenda.
The Republic of Ireland remains a member of the European Union, while Northern Ireland occupies a distinctive post-Brexit position because of the arrangements governing trade across the Irish border and with Great Britain.
Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Féin are all pro-European parties. Their leaders argued that Brexit damaged their economies and reduced opportunities for their citizens. All three see closer relations with Europe as part of their political and constitutional vision.
The UK Government controls foreign affairs and the formal relationship with the EU. Nevertheless, devolved governments can shape European engagement through trade missions, cultural partnerships, research cooperation, regional networks and the implementation of policies affected by retained EU law.
This creates a more complicated environment for organisations working in sectors such as agriculture, energy, higher education, manufacturing, food production, environmental protection and cross-border trade.
A public affairs strategy that monitors only UK–EU negotiations may miss the political pressures being generated within the devolved nations.
Independence is not the only issue that matters
It would be easy to view the Cardiff summit entirely through the question of independence.
All three participating parties want fundamental constitutional change. Plaid Cymru intends to make the case for Welsh independence, while not proposing a referendum during the current Senedd term. The SNP continues to seek another Scottish independence referendum, and Sinn Féin wants a referendum on Irish unity.
Those ambitions are significant, but public affairs professionals should not allow the constitutional drama to obscure the immediate policy consequences.
Devolved governments still have hospitals to run, budgets to balance, legislation to introduce and public services to reform. They face pressure over NHS performance, educational standards, poverty, housing and economic growth.
Opposition parties have already accused nationalist leaders of concentrating on constitutional politics instead of public services. The UK Government has responded by emphasising cooperation, jobs and household finances rather than referendums.
This tension—between constitutional ambition and day-to-day delivery—will shape political decision-making.
Campaigners who can connect their proposals to practical priorities such as reducing waiting lists, creating jobs, lowering household costs or tackling regional inequality will be better placed to secure attention than those who approach devolution as an abstract constitutional argument.
Westminster still matters—but it no longer acts alone
The phrase “Westminster’s time is coming to an end” is effective political theatre. It is not yet a description of constitutional reality.
The UK Government remains immensely powerful. Funding settlements, Treasury rules and reserved powers continue to limit the freedom of devolved administrations. Decisions taken in Westminster can determine the scale and pace of policy development elsewhere.
However, Westminster’s monopoly over the political agenda is weakening.
Devolved governments increasingly present themselves not as regional administrations but as national governments with their own democratic mandates. They are building direct relationships with one another, challenging Whitehall publicly and developing alternative policy models.
At the same time, elected mayors in England are demanding more control over transport, skills, housing and economic development. Local and regional leaders have become national political figures in their own right.
For public affairs teams, the old “Westminster first, everywhere else later” approach is becoming increasingly risky.
The better question is no longer simply: Which minister should we approach?
It is:
- Which government controls the policy?
- Which parliament or assembly can scrutinise it?
- Which administration controls implementation or funding?
- Could another nation provide a stronger route to reform?
- Where is political momentum building?
- Which committees, advisers, officials and regional leaders can influence the outcome?
- How should the message change between Westminster, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and the English regions?
Public affairs must become genuinely four-nation
Effective engagement across the UK requires more than sending the same briefing paper to four sets of politicians.
Each nation has its own political narratives, legislative processes, media environment and stakeholder networks. An argument framed around UK competitiveness may need to become one about national economic development in Wales, regional inequality in England, public-service reform in Scotland or cross-border opportunity in Northern Ireland.
Timing also matters. Elections do not always coincide. Budgets follow different processes. Committee structures vary. Political relationships that carry weight in Westminster may have little influence elsewhere.
Organisations therefore need a strategy that distinguishes between shared objectives and nation-specific routes to achieving them.
That means mapping powers before launching a campaign, identifying the correct decision-makers, understanding how devolved legislation is made and coordinating engagement without erasing national differences.
The Cardiff summit should serve as a warning. The constitutional future may remain uncertain, but the decentralisation of political influence is already happening.
Organisations that continue to treat devolution as a secondary consideration risk arriving late to decisions that directly affect their work.
Those that understand the new political map will find more opportunities to influence policy, build alliances and turn successful ideas in one nation into momentum across the others.
Build a stronger devolution public affairs strategy
Parli-training’s Devolution Public Affairs Strategy training is designed for public affairs, policy, campaigns and communications professionals who need to operate confidently across the UK’s changing political landscape.
The practical training will help participants:
- understand where powers and responsibilities sit across Westminster, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland;
- identify the correct political, parliamentary and governmental targets;
- distinguish between reserved, devolved and shared areas of policy;
- adapt campaign messages for different national political audiences;
- coordinate a four-nation strategy without relying on a one-size-fits-all approach;
- identify opportunities to use policy developments in one nation to influence another;
- build relationships with ministers, officials, parliamentarians, committees and regional stakeholders; and
- anticipate how constitutional and political change could affect their organisation.
As power becomes more dispersed, successful public affairs will depend on knowing not only who makes the decision, but where the decision can be shaped.
To discuss forthcoming dates, individual places or bespoke in-house delivery of the Devolution Public Affairs Strategy course, contact Parli-training.