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Leaked memo that Keir Starmer sent to members of the cabinet says that the UK Government should directly spend in the devolved nations "even when devolved governments may oppose this.” He adds that: "An overly deferential or laissez-faire approach to devolved government engagement almost inevitably creates political challenges or misses positive opportunities."

Okay, long I'm afraid. Darien's real role in 1707: Darien wasn't the cause of Union but a lever used to secure it. The scheme was conceived by William Paterson, a Scottish financier resident in London and co-founder of the Bank of England (1694). He was closely connected to Robert Harley, England's leading strategist in both the financial reconstruction of the English state and the coercion of Scotland into Union. Paterson first offered the Panama project to England. It was rejected because Spain claimed the territory, and England's foreign policy (especially under William III) relied on alliance with Spain against France. England therefore prohibited English and Dutch investment in the Scottish company, while English ministers actively warned Spain about the venture. Scotland, isolated by decades of English trade exclusion, saw Darien as a lifeline. The failure wasn't simply mismanagement, it was sabotage through deliberate obstruction: English colonies were forbidden by royal proclamation from trading with or assisting the Scots; Spain was tacitly authorised to attack them; and when the colony collapsed, England exploited the resulting losses to political advantage. The scheme was privately funded, not state so all losses were private liabilities. Around a quarter of Scotland's liquid capital was wiped out: the money of the burgh merchants, lesser nobility and urban investors, not the state. The Scottish government had no national debt. But many members of the political class were ruined, making them susceptible to bribery during the 1706-07 negotiations leading up to 'Union'. These were forced onto Scotland as a result of threatened economic blockade, and military invasion (see attached). The Equivalent was presented as compensation for Darien investors and to offset Scotland's future share of English debt. In practice it was an inducement: much of it was never paid in cash, and much of what was was immediately recycled into English securities. So while Darien didn't "force" Scotland into Union, it created the social and financial conditions England needed: an impoverished, demoralised elite and a desperate nation under economic blockade.