Yesterday, the Welsh government announced new guidelines to make school uniforms gender-neutral, which would mean an end to trousers being advertised for boys and skirts for girls. You can imagine the outrage if the UK government now tried to over-ride that decision, saying it was a load of silly nonsense.
The rumblings in Cardiff would bring down a building or two: how dare you interfere with the decisions of Wales’ democratically-elected government, would come the cries. And they would have a point.
When the Welsh voted – very narrowly – for devolution in 1997 that was that. Many areas of governance were handed over to the Welsh and they were allowed to get on with it – even if it meant, as eventually it did, to long waiting lists at Welsh hospitals as a result of different decisions on the NHS being made in Cardiff compared with Whitehall.
It seems to be a very different matter, however, when it comes to gay marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland.
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