Independent Wales could cast aside ‘culture of corruption’ Guardian columnist argues

An independent Wales could “cast aside the culture of corruption” in the UK, a Guardian columnist suggested.

George Monbiot argued in the London-based newspaper that such a culture is “enabled” by “outrageous campaign finance rules”.

The activist said that he “struggled to understand the liberal enthusiasm” for the union.

He also suggested that Welsh independence is no longer an “eccentric hobby”, and pointed to an opinion poll that put support for it at an all time high of 39%.

Monbiot said: “The slow collapse of the United Kingdom creates an opportunity in all three nations to do things differently.

“An independent Scotland and Wales could cast aside the culture of corruption enabled – perhaps necessitated – by the UK’s outrageous campaign finance rules.

“They could reclaim their politics from Westminster’s gross subversions of democracy, its royal powers and the pompous rituals designed both to glorify and to conceal them.

“They could – and there are plenty of people in both nations with this ambition – create 21st-century governments built on proportional general elections, participatory democracy and continuous policy adjustment, distributive economies and an ethos of public service.”

‘Leave the union’ 

He added: “Until a few years ago, Welsh independence looked like an eccentric hobby; those in favour tended to peak at about 10%. But a poll in March showed that, of those who expressed an opinion, 39% of Welsh people said they would vote to leave the union.

“I have long struggled to understand the liberal enthusiasm for the UK. To me, it looks like a mechanism for frustrating progressive change and crushing political aspiration.

“The number of people in the three devolved nations who are reaching the same conclusion is rising at astonishing speed.”