Welsh independence
Charles III Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister (list) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS (L) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS (L) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS (PC) Leader of the Opposition Darren Millar MS (C) Shadow Cabinet Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP (L) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils (leader list) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums Welsh independence (Welsh: Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
[11][12] Fourteen years later the Norman invasion of Wales began, which briefly controlled much of Wales, but by 1100 Anglo-Norman control was reduced to the lowland Gwent, Glamorgan, Gower, and Pembroke, while the contested border region between the Welsh princes and Anglo-Norman barons became known as the Welsh Marches.
[14][15] Following the death of his brother, Dafydd ap Gruffydd led the initial revolts, until his capture by English forces and became the first person to be Hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason.
While fighting with the French in the Hundred Years' War, Owain Lawgoch also made a number of attempts to create an independent Wales with the support of France in the 1370s.
Wales was geographically and legally defined, and the laws allowed the Welsh equal status and representation in the English parliament.
Nevertheless, the Welsh did not share in legal or political sovereignty and English was insisted as the official language of government, administration and law, which proved to be unpopular.
[21] Although the majority of people in Wales belonged to nonconformist chapels, the Church of England enjoyed legal and social privileges.
The UK government considered home rule for Wales and Scotland to avoid making a special case for Ireland.
The party stated, at the time, that it felt that the EC's regional aid policies would "reconcile places like Wales to their subordinate position".
Successive Conservative Party victories in Westminster led to suggestions that only through self-government could Wales achieve a government reflecting the votes of a Welsh electorate.
[21] However, the heavy defeat for a proposed Welsh Assembly offered by Labour in the 1979 devolution referendum "suggested that the vast majority of the inhabitants of Wales had no desire to see their country having a national future".
[21] In the early 1990s, Labour became committed to devolution for both Scotland and Wales, and in 1997 it was elected with a mandate to hold referendums on a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly.
In 2020, the group claimed that they had had a sudden rise in membership with 17,000 members by the end of 2020, partly influenced by the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[53] In July 2020, Plaid brought forward a motion to discuss a referendum on Welsh independence, but it was rejected by 43 votes to 9.
[57][58] On 11 December 2020, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price stated that if his party won a majority at the 2021 Senedd election, an independence referendum would be held in its first term in office.
[59] At Plaid's special conference on independence, held on 13 February 2021, party members formally approved Price's pledge to hold a referendum in or before 2026.
In response, First Minister Mark Drakeford stated that in order for a referendum to be held, a pro-referendum party would have to win the most seats in an election.
[68] In August 2020, a YouGov poll showed that 39% of Welsh Labour voters would vote for independence "if there was a referendum tomorrow".
[83][84] In January 2021, Guto Harri, who was Boris Johnson's communications chief when the latter was Mayor of London, wrote in The Sunday Times that "the idea of independence is taking off, with new recruits from very different backgrounds."
The prospect of being attached to a leftover English rump of the UK, if Scotland and Northern Ireland head off, seems bleak to many people.
And having argued against pooling sovereignty with our neighbours to facilitate trade and maximise our influence, Brexiteers should not be surprised if the same logic is applied in a different setting.
[91] The interim findings of the commission outlined three viable options for Wales including independence, to be explored in more depth in 2023.
The report outlined the option of a Free Trade Association during a transition period to independence where an agreement could be made for e.g England responsibility for matters such as defence.
The report also identified a confederation of Britain and Ireland as a potential option and key questions on independence to be addressed in 2023.
[93] The report concluded that there are "significant problems" with the way Wales is currently governed within the Union of the United Kingdom and independence is a "viable" option.
[95] On 23 December 2022, think tank Melin Drafod announced the first ever Welsh independence summit,[96] which was held in the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea on 28 January 2023.
Speakers at the summit included Adam Price, Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter and Councillor Rachel Garrick of Welsh Labour for Independence.
[98] Proposals revealed by the Boundary Commission in 2020 would reduce the number of Welsh seats from 40 down to 32 as part of efforts to equalise constituency sizes.
Ireland is said to have benefitted from EU membership in 1973 and by International Monetary Fund and had an economic growth called the Celtic Tiger from the 1990s.
[108] Think tank Melin Drafod suggests that an independent Wales would have newly found abilities to raise an additional £3 billion a year in public services funding via different tax and other policies.
