It is full steam ahead for Welsh devolution. But is it really what people want?
Over a decade after devolution, the Scottish parliament has gone from strength to strength. In contrast to the Welsh Assembly, Scotland was granted tax-raising powers and has gone on to make wide-ranging changes. On St. Andrews Day, Alex Salmond, the First Minister for Scotland, raised a white paper for a referendum on the complete independence. So could this be the end of our glorious union?
It seems unlikely. In Wales, the idea of devolution has always been met with mild indifference. From an outright no in the original 1979 referendum – 86.9 percent of Cardiff residents voted for no devolution – to an only-just yes in 1997, it seems as if Wales is in no hurry to separate itself from Britain. Welsh patriotism is everywhere, demonstrated by the recent resurgence of the language. So why do the Welsh not seem keen on ruling themselves?
Signs of Welsh patriotism can be found all over Cardiff
The All Wales Convention claims to have the answer. After a year of consulting with the Welsh people through public meetings, opinion polls, and its website (and £1.3 million later) the convention believes that the Welsh people are for stronger devolution after all. The move towards devolution has been slow and the process complex, leading to a ‘great fog’ of confusion. People cannot understand it, so don’t feel engaged with the Assembly.
The devolutionary process has not been consistent or transparent; the transfer of power “opportunistic, rather than strategic,” says the convention. Since 2007, powers have been granted through a series of Framework Bills, relying on parliament to approve each transfer individually. The whole process is therefore in the hands of Westminster’s whims. This complicated system has led to a lack of understanding and support.
The convention was put in place as part of Labour and Plaid Cymru’s coalition agreement in 2007. Their programme of government, One Wales, committed to the convention and, depending on the results, a further referendum on more powers for the Assembly. This is enshrined in Part Four of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Sir Emyr Jones-Parry, who headed the convention, made far-reaching claims for their findings, arguing that the solution would be to hand over all devolutionary powers at once, rather than stumbling through case-by-case.
The All Wales Convention claims there is a 'great fog' of confusion over devolution
The convention directly consulted with several organizations, including the Wales Council for Voluntary Action, representing the third sector. “I would agree with Sir Emyr’s conclusion that there is a ‘fog’ surrounding the settlement and the process,” says Michelle Matheron, a senior policy officer for the WCVA. “We very much support the convention’s recommendation to move to Part Four, as we feel that this would enable the third sector to better understand what is devolved and what isn’t, and would enable organisations in Wales to campaign effectively for legislative changes.”
This sense of a ‘fog’ over current devolutionary process was one of the convention’s key findings, but it would be hard to say that they found overwhelming support for further devolution. Only 47 percent of those polled said that they would vote ‘yes’ in a referendum, compared to 37 percent against, and 16 percent undecided. Hardly enough to prove that the tide has turned in favour of devolution.
Plaid Cymru, albeit rather predictably, argue that: “Our communities are tired of the broken politics of Westminster but trust the Welsh Assembly government to get on and get the job done,” says Deputy Leader Helen Mary Jones AM. “This cumbersome system is failing all of the communities of Wales.” Jones may here have inadvertently stumbled onto the reason some people do not support devolution – they don’t agree with the party-politics of the current government.
The Welsh Assembly Government has made itself known with popular policies like free prescriptions
But for many the WAG has proved itself through a succession of popular policies. “We found that if people had come into contact with some of the policies, such as free prescriptions, or getting rid of SATs in primary schools,” says a spokesperson for the convention, “then they were more supportive. They knew what WAG had been doing. It’s things that affect them in everyday life, really.”
It is true that support for the Assembly has consistently increased since its inception. The convention found that 71 percent of people were now in favour of the Assembly, compared to the lukewarm 50.3 percent who originally voted in support of it. As the ‘great fog’ clears, support grows, and the convention believe further devolution will do this for good. So maybe the Welsh are coming round to the idea of self-rule. They just need a little getting used to it, that’s all.
