And finally ... this is much more than a local news programme. It's the beginning of the end

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been prevented from broadcasting their own version of news at 6pm because the government wants to preserve an element of nationhood by maintaining one national news programme. This one programme implies that everyone in the United Kingdom has shared interests. There is also an element of control by London in dictating what is broadcast. The government fears that Scotland will come to see itself as a separate country if it has its own programme.