THE UNITED Kingdom is no more. All socialists, wherever they live or come from, should celebrate the death blow dealt by the Scottish and Welsh people to this imperialist monster.
The union has been responsible for death and destruction both across the globe and nearer to home. Now there is a chance to build something ditferent Scotland's double victory was a foregone conclusion. Not even the distraction of the royal funeral worried confident actlvists. For Wales a nall-biting agony was yet to come before a majority for the Assembly was finally secured.
The difference was not surrising tor a number orrcasons National consciousness was already higher in Scotland than in Wales - but this should have meant more was done to ensure a positive outcome in Wales. In fact the reverse was true.
Scotland was offered a Parliament with teeth - even If only milk teeth - while the Welsh Assembly has far fewer powers. It cannot make laws no raise taxes.
An opinion poll not long before the referendum showed that a comfortable majority of people in Wales would have voted for an Assembly with comparable powers to that in Scotland.
Further the campaign in Scotland started long before the election of a Labour government on May 1. The formation of the Constitutional Convention in Scotland ensured that there was wide debate about the principle of self-government as well as its particular form.
Near defeat
The absence of this process in Wales strengthened the hand of the No campaigners - apathy and lack of information came close to losing the vote.
It is now vital to ensure there Is no back-sliding on the part of the Labour leadership. A majority is a majority and the Assembly in Wales must proceed as well as the Scottish Parliament.
The No campaign has been wound up and the rebel MPs have conceded defeat. It would be difficult for Blair to retreat as he has staked a good deal on the results. His plans for the English regions rest on the reults in Scotland and Wales. But we must be vigilant.
As Marxists we favour the election of Constituent Assemblies for Scotland and Wales. By this we mean elected bodies that define their own powers both legislative and economic and are not subject to veto from Westminster. What has been won so far clearly falls far short of that, and will any event not be established by ballot alone but through the struggles of the Welsh and Scottish workers.
Nevertheless we celebrate the victories of the Yes campaigns as a stepping stone in that struggle. The votes in the referenda were a symptom of the relative decline of the imperialist state.
The existence of these bodies have the potential to further deepen the political crisis of the British state and act as a rallying point for struggles. We will campaign and organise to try to ensure that they do fulfill that role.