That's exactly why the constitiution says "bordering provinces with common historic, cultural and economic characteristics, insular territories and provinces with a historic regional status".
To be fair, the intent of the "Fathers of the Constitution" was that the Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia and Andalusia, and maybe the islands, would organise themselves as Autonomous Communities and the rest would remain under the uunitary state, but I suppose the rush not to be the last province to be left out of Autonomy should have been a predictable outcome.
This was called "coffee for everyone" in a disparaging way, but I think by diluting the confrontation of the peripheral regions with a large "Spanish" unit, it actually helps fend off partition as a serious prospect. The Basques have a very advanced level of self-government already, and many of the poorer regions have benefitted immensely from having a strong intermediate level of government with the ability to engage in infrastructure development. Those whom the Gods wish to destroy They first make mad. -- Euripides
However ... London Could be half a dozen diverse communities ruled by Ken I. Similarly Lake District, Cornwall, Yorkshire (by dale, but probably most of it together), the "Riviera", The Geordie Republic on Tees ...
Realistically the South-East with London would remain one, which would make the rest of the country either very poor or dependent on tourism if they broke away. -----sapere aude
