Why the Welsh said yes, but the Northerners no: the role of political parties in consolidating territorial government

This article focuses on the role played by the Labour Party in two devolution referendums, in Wales in 1997 and in the North-East region in 2004. Comparing the positive vote of the Welsh and the negative vote of the North shows how the governing party – the Labour Party which has also been historically dominant in each of these regions – contributed to the contrasting outcome. Our argument is that dominant parties impact both in their formal (structural, institutional) and non-formal (cultural, identity) aspects. The crucial role of the leading party is thus to enable (or constrain) a sub-state space for politics and popular mobilisation on territorial grounds.