Parity Is a Ceiling, Not a Goal
Wales deserves equality with England, not a hand-me-down version of devolution
There’s been a lot of noise lately about Wales reaching “parity” with Scotland. Devolution, powers, control over our economy, our justice system, our media. And sure, on the face of it, who could argue? Scotland has more powers than Wales. Always has. So it stands to reason, some say, that Wales should simply be brought up to their level.
But here’s the problem with that framing.
It assumes that Scotland is the bar to aspire to, not the fellow traveller on the road to something far bigger. It assumes that our liberation is about catching up, not moving forward. And worst of all, it assumes that England will always be the default. The centre of power. The seat of legitimacy and control.
I reject that entirely. I don't want equality with Scotland. I want equality with England. Wales deserves to stand as an equal partner, not as a poorer cousin begging to be brought up to the same tier.
The Problem With “Parity”
The language of parity sounds progressive, but it’s rooted in the same tired thinking that’s held Wales back for decades. It reinforces the idea that we are dependent. That our political maturity is something that must be given to us, drip-fed through legislation and compromise.
But we don’t need parity. We need power.
Parity assumes Scotland is the ceiling. But Scotland is also shackled, unable to fully realise its ambitions because of Westminster's stranglehold on finance, foreign policy and constitutional authority. Why would we accept that as the end goal?
And let’s be honest. Most of those calling for parity have no intention of delivering it anyway. Whether it’s Labour’s cowardly U-turns or the Lib Dems’ newfound allergy to self-determination, the political establishment has no interest in real empowerment for Wales. They want a quiet corner of the UK, not a confident country.
England Is Not the Default
It’s astonishing how often the debate around Welsh devolution ends up comparing us to everyone except England. Scotland, Northern Ireland, even the EU. But not the state we are supposedly “united” with.
That’s not an accident.
The British state was never designed to treat its nations equally. England was, and still is, the blueprint. Everyone else is expected to carve out their own little exceptions. Carve them out, defend them, beg to keep them, while England remains untouched. Its power taken for granted.
But Wales is not a region of England. And we shouldn't behave like one.
We should be asking, loudly, why England isn’t being made to devolve power the way Wales and Scotland have been forced to negotiate theirs. Why isn’t England held to the same democratic scrutiny we are? Why should their centralised, bloated, Whitehall-centred state be the model we measure ourselves against?
A Nation That Knows Its Worth
When we talk about equality, it should not mean trying to reach the same rung on a broken ladder. It should mean taking the ladder down and building something better. Together, but on our own terms.
Wales is not a junior partner in the UK. We are not a satellite office. We are a nation, with a language, a culture, a history of resistance, and a right to self-govern. We have our own Parliament!
The only way we’ll ever achieve true equality is if we stop asking for parity and start demanding power.
We don’t need Westminster’s permission to believe in our own future.
The Fight Ahead
Let’s not be fooled. The current political establishment, in both Westminster and Cardiff Bay, will always tell us to wait. To be reasonable. To let the grown-ups in London sort it out. But that time has passed.
Wales is waking up. More and more people are asking the big questions. Why can’t we control our energy? Why don’t we have a justice system of our own? Why are we told we’re too small, too poor, too weak, while either Westminster or the Crown Estates hoard our wealth and sells off our assets?
Those are not questions that will be answered by chasing parity with Scotland. They are questions that demand a much more radical answer.
The question is not “how do we catch up?” It’s “why are we still asking permission?”
Wales deserves more than parity. It deserves power. And it deserves to stand as an equal, not to Scotland, but to England.
Let’s stop asking to join the grown-up table. We built our own table centuries ago. It’s time we sat back down at it.