Abstract
The text we are going to study is an extract from the autobiography of Edward Heath published in 1998 and entitled ?the course of my life: My autobiography'. Edward Heath was a member of Parliament; a leader of the Conservative party from 1965 to 1974 and Prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974. In this extract, we are going to Heath's thoughts on devolution, which is defined as the process whereby the central state gives most of its power to local governments. Devolution was indeed a very important issue in the British political life of the 1970's after the discovery of oil in North Sea, and the strong audience of nationalist parties. The period described in this text recounts around 8 years, from 1968 to 1976. This period saw the following Prime Ministers: Harold Wilson until 1970, Edward Heath until 1974, Wilson again from 1974 to 1976 and James Callaghan until 1979. To what extent can we say Devolution is a bone of contention and a necessity at the same time?
