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Devolution reduced to footnote in Labour celebrations of 1997-2010 government

01 May 2022 2 minute read
Get the microscope out: Devolution mentioned on the Labour poster of 1997-2010 achievements

A Labour video celebrating the UK Government of 1997-2010 makes no mention of devolution, and a poster of their achievements reduces Wales and Scotland’s parliaments to footnotes.

Labour have released a video fronted by Tony Blair that mentions the London Olympics as one of the main achievements of his government, even though the event took place five years after he left office, but makes no mention of devolution.

A poster made available on the party’s website also makes mention of over 40 Labour ‘achievements’ after they swept to power in 1997, from creating a right of access to the English coast to the car scrappage scheme, but only mentions devolution in very small text in the bottom right of the page.

Labour swept to power 25 years ago today, on 1 May 1997, winning a huge majority of 418 seats at Westminster.

Welsh Government minister Lee Waters pointed out on Twitter that devolution was also among Labour’s achievements.

It was claimed last year in a BBC documentary, Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution, by Richard Wilson, who was Cabinet Secretary, that Tony Blair was “not interested in” Welsh devolution.

The former Prime Minister also said last year that devolution had not ended the desire for independence in Scotland and Wales as had been intended.

“I do think one of the weaknesses in the way we approached devolution was not to build real cultural ties and emphasise the enormous things that the different countries in the United Kingdom have in common,” he told ITV.


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The Original Mark
The Original Mark
2 years ago

Anyone with a passing interest in Labour history will know that Devolution is Blair’s biggest regret. So it’s no surprise that they’ve played it down.

Cathy Hill
Cathy Hill
2 years ago

The thing all of the people of Cymru, Ireland, Scotland and England have in common is that we are all seeing our lives, cultures, incomes, well-being, health, hope and faith in humanity destroyed by rich people in Westminster.

arthur owen
2 years ago

What do you expect?they have no chance in Scotland,they regard their Welsh seats as safe so this is aimed at the English.

Gareth
Gareth
2 years ago

What do people expect from a unionist party? No doubt all of the things on the leaflet will be promoted by Labour in Cymru, as benefits of being part of this useless, lop sided, corrupt union.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

If Welsh Labour of stupid enough to think English Labour & Keir Starmer care one iota about Wales or Welsh devolution are living in another reality. Take off your rose-tinted BritNat glasses and wake up Wales! Besides devolution & Wales being a mere footnote in Labour’s back slapping video to remind them of their acheivemnts, they also omitted the negatives such as being the ones who first employed ATOS the private French agency that terrorised the poor, unemployed & disabled in which the Tories voted for with Labour at the time. Says everything doesn’t it. London Labour also whitewashed the… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Y Cymro
Jack
Jack
2 years ago

Isn’t everything on that poster a footnote? The whole point of it is to contain as much information as possible, so none of it is very big.

Doctor Trousers
2 years ago

A party that could actually be trusted to deliver on constitutional reform would be far more proud of what they’d already achieved with devolution.

Llinos
Llinos
2 years ago

We are an embarrassment and they want us to vote for them?

Leigh Richards
Leigh Richards
2 years ago

Labour once again shows characteristic contempt for people in Wales but on thursday people in Wales will likely once again vote for that same labour party in large numbers – go figure!

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