Welsh nationalism

   Welsh nationalism has always been concerned more with preserving the Welsh culture and language than with the pursuit of self-government. It has tended to thrive in times of economic difficulty and a general sense of dissatisfaction with Westminster rule. It ends to be stronger in the Welsh-speaking areas of rural North and central Wales, rather than in the traditionally Labour valleys of the South. It often expresses itself in support for Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party. Wales is often seen as less of a nation than Scotland, not least because of its smaller size and different history as a conquered territory; it has never retained its own distinctive identity to the same extent as Scotland. The overwhelming rejection of devolution in 1979 and the very narrow vote in favour in 1997 suggested that there was less demand for devolution in the principality than there was in Scotland. Hence the decision of ministers to offer a weaker form of devolution as a means of meeting the demands of Welsh nationalists.