Welsh Government to consider the future of the UK
The Welsh Government has announced plans to prepare a report on the future of the United Kingdom and described the current Tory government as a threat to the integrity of the UK.
In a statement First Minister Mark Drakeford wrote: “I strongly believe that Wales’ future is best served by being a part of the United Kingdom. The Welsh Government has consistently argued for changes to the settlement over the last two decades to both strengthen our parliament and government but also to strengthen the union.
“Like many others I have been dismayed at the carelessness with which the new UK Government has treated the future integrity of the Union. The Counsel General spoke at the National Eisteddfod about our Union as being a family of nations working together for our common good. The Counsel General also spoke about the voluntary nature of the Union and the impact on the whole if any of its constituent parts choose to exercise their right of self-determination to leave the Union.
“It is my determination to work harder to create, shape and fashion a Union which is not only strong enough to endure the current pressures as a consequence of Brexit but a Union which works harder to reflect the interests of each constituent nation and where every member of this family has a place in decision-making. I want the future UK to be a more equal and a fairer Union.
“I have therefore asked Alun Davies AM to lead a project on my behalf to explore the future of the United Kingdom were we to leave the European Union on 31st October. I want Alun Davies to provide challenge, insight and to produce a report on his conclusions which I hope to publish by Easter next year.”
Responding to the statement Plaid Cymru’s Shadow International Relations Minister Delyth Jewell AM welcomed the move but called for the formation of Welsh Constitutional Convention.
She said: “As the British Prime Minister writes the final, tragic chapter in the history of the United Kingdom by closing down parliament, the Welsh Government is right to commission work about the future of the union.
“But this work is too important to be given as a long-term project to a backbench AM, this needs to happen before the October 31st Brexit deadline, needs Ministerial authority to lead it and needs to consult widely with the people of Wales about their future constitutional preferences.
“If the Prime Minister succeeds in crashing the UK out of the EU with no deal then a second Scottish referendum and an Irish border poll become almost inevitable, which means that we in Wales will need to be in a position to be able to call our own independence referendum within a matter of months.
“So while this is a step in the right direction the step needs to be bigger and bolder – this work needs to be expanded immediately to become a full-blown Welsh Constitutional Convention with a tight deadline if the Welsh Government wants Plaid Cymru’s support with this project.”
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You are in a minority
Am I ? in a 100 years of existence when did wales give Plaid Cymru a majority?
Facts hurt don’t they.
Why does he think this ? “In a statement First Minister Mark Drakeford wrote: “I strongly believe that Wales’ future is best served by being a part of the United Kingdom.” Perhaps as a conquered and occupied nation we should grasp the opportunity to join our fellow Britons (Scotland and N. Ireland) and rebel against English colonialism. I think Machiavelli describes our current state very well. “Machiavelli describes three ways to hold states that have been accustomed to living freely under their own laws. The first is to devastate them. The second is for the conqueror to occupy them. The… Read more »
Constitutional Convention now.
Link with our European friends.
What a load of angry drivel Norm
What a farce.
Any document prepared on the ‘wondrous union’ will be copy and pasted from the English Labour Party’s songbook.
It’s just another devious attempt by Drakeford to try to stop his supporters deserting in droves to other parties.
I don’t mind you having an opinion Norm but unfortunately I find it quite tiring that as a fellow Welshman (if indeed you are) you are one of those who have an inferiority complex. Too scared to take responsibility, too scared to look to the future and too scared to dream of a better future. If you think that for one moment that Westminster will look after you in the future then you’re sadly mistaken because since the 1980s Wales has been neglected. Whatever you think about the Assembly, I strongly recommend that you look at the good work that… Read more »
By the way Norm , Britain is not a ‘nation’ but rather an unequal union of four nations. Also, please remember to capitalise letters when referencing Wales or Welsh. It isn’t rocket science and as a cheerleader for John Bull I expect better. The Daily Mail would be ashamed of you I’m sure.
Think you’ll wales isn’t a real nation outside of sport, neither is England.
Welsh nationalism is all about victimhood and blame, why do you think wales with its tiny population should keep having more funding per head than regions of England?
You might get a good hearing on this echo chamber of a site where there is no alternative opinion but you are a tiny minority in wales with no hopes of your weird dreams coming true
If Mark Drakeford and Alun Davies want to start from the premise that the ‘union’ is a beneficial asset worth preserving at all costs, then good luck to them with their report. However, I’m having difficulty predicting how such a report could be of any use, partly because the ‘union’ is proving a busted flush, and partly because Westminster and Whitehall will ignore it anyway. I, too, agree with those, like Sian Gwenllian, who propose a Welsh Constitutional Convention. By all means try and save the UK if you really feel it’s in Cymru’s interests, First Minister, but be prepared… Read more »
It would be nice to read about this so-called union they keep referring to. You wouldn’t happen to know of any books on the subject I could read, since I seem so behind on this apparently widely understood matter of history?
Mark Drakeford, the fake internationalist who thinks London rule is some sort of utopia world communism……… he even contradicts himself by saying that uk nationalism is fantastic and then says its not fair …. o dear
The fundamental problem is that the UK has always been run for the benefit of the Westminster/Whitehall elite who in the main reside in the Home Counties around London. With decades of unbalance development, the SE of England is now suffering from the consequences of over-development, and areas of England more remote, together with Scotland and Wales, having severe problems of infrastructure underdevelopment. Too often in the past we saw some of our most prominent politicians sent to Westminster from Wales, sucked into this Westminster/Whitehall elite, with Liberals like Lloyd George and Socialists like George Thomas being prime examples. For… Read more »
Bill Phillips, below. If you’re going to quote Machiavelli you should get the quote right.
His manual for princes is specifically for newly conquered or acquired states. This is not 1284, nor is Wales’ situation in anyway comparable to the French King’s struggle with the Italian states over Milan in the 15th century.