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Level 2 – Pre-intermediate
Elections in Scotland and Wales
An important and historic event took place in Britain in May 1999. The Scottish people elected their first parliament since 1707, the year in which Scotland and England united to form Great Britain. The Scottish people have never been very happy about this situation, and today many Scots want independence.
The new Scottish Parliament is in Edinburgh and is responsible for many things in Scotland: housing, transport, health, education and certain taxes and laws. The British government at Westminster is still responsible for defence, foreign affairs, most lawmaking and economic policy. Election results showed that most Scottish people still want their country to stay in the United Kingdom. Tony Blair's Labour Party won 56 of the 129 seats, while the Scottish Nationalist Party won 35 seats.
In Wales, people elected a National Assembly for the first time in the history of the principality. It does not have a lot of power, and although it controls things like housing and education, it cannot make new laws. In Wales, Labour won 28 of the 60 seats. The Welsh Nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, won 17 seats. The Welsh Nationalists do not want independence from England, but they do want more home rule.
Many people are worried about Scotland. They fear that one day the Scottish Nationalists will become very powerful and will call a referendum on independence. Other people believe that it is important to give the regions more control in their own affairs. This would be enough for most people, and they would not want to become completely independent. Nobody knows what will happen in the future, but these regional elections were the first step towards a new United Kingdom.
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Answer the questions below to check how well you understand the text.
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C2 Mastery
