From Rhuddlan to Rhyl: Why independence is 740 years overdue

Cllr Bleddyn Williams, Plaid Cymru, Rhuddlan Town Council

On 18 October 2025, Rhyl will host the next March for Independence. People from across Wales will come together to show support for a nation that makes its own decisions.

This part of North Wales, stretching from Rhuddlan down to Rhyl along the River Clwyd, has been shaped by centuries of challenge and endurance. Living in Rhuddlan, I see every day how our history still defines our present, and why Wales must control its own future.

The Statute of Rhuddlan

Long before Edward I built his castle, Rhuddlan was already a place of significance. In the late eighth century, the Battle of Morfa Rhuddlan saw Welsh forces defeated by the Mercians under King Offa, one of the earliest recorded clashes between Wales and its neighbours. The loss is remembered in the traditional lament Morfa Rhuddlan, and in the local names that still carry its memory.

Five centuries later, Rhuddlan again became the stage for conquest. Between 1277 and 1282, Edward I built Rhuddlan Castle to cement his control over Wales. From its walls he issued the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284, annexing Wales to the English Crown. The statute swept aside the native laws of Hywel Dda and replaced them with English common law, establishing counties under royal command. Rhuddlan became a template for English governance in Wales, a symbol of power imposed from outside.

The Statute didn’t just replace our laws; it created a system that ensured the Crown always took our resources and dictated our future. But while power headed east, the will for self-determination never disappeared. It simply moved downstream.

Rhyl Leading the Way

Just down the river, Rhyl later became a symbol of renewal. In 1956, Ysgol Glan Clwyd opened as the first ever Welsh-medium secondary school, a quiet revolution at a time when the Welsh language was in decline. Local people acted where governments would not, ensuring their children could be educated in Welsh. That decision transformed national education policy, proving that change begins in communities willing to act.

Though the school has since moved to Llanelwy, its roots in Rhyl still matter. Along the Clwyd valley, people have always defended their culture with determination and imagination. This spirit was captured in Caryl Parry Jones’s Cân y Dathlu, written for the school’s 50th anniversary, which celebrated: “Rhoi’r iaith i’r cenedlaethau sydd i ddod, i fyw a bod,” (giving the language to future generations, to live and to be). As a former pupil of Ysgol Glan Clwyd myself, I am profoundly thankful for that determination. It is a reminder that local action, grounded in belief, can shape a nation’s destiny.

Rhyl showed that local action can shape a nation; now we need that same courage to secure the future of Wales and its wealth.

The Crown Estate

The imbalance imposed in 1284 continues today, most visibly just off the coast of Rhyl. The Crown Estate claims ownership of the Welsh seabed. Renewable energy projects like Gwynt y Môr generate vast electricity and revenue, but the profits flow to the UK Treasury and the monarch’s Sovereign Grant, not to Welsh communities.

These are not just words. Welsh assets worth £853 million remain under London’s control, while the UK Treasury earns £1.1 billion in annual profit from the Crown Estate. Again and again, Wales is denied the powers over these resources, while Scotland can reinvest this money in their communities.

When Denbighshire County Council voted to support devolving the Crown Estate to Wales, it was a step toward fairness. Yet when the vote came in Westminster, our local Labour MP, Gill German, voted against devolving it. In doing so, she ignored the direct decision of the very Denbighshire councillors she had previously worked alongside. This is the clearest proof that what Wales wants, Westminster (and even our own representatives within it) will ignore.

This is why independence matters. It is not a slogan. It is a necessity. Only an independent Wales can ensure that the resources we generate serve the people who live here.

A Case for Independence

Independence allows Wales making its own decisions over education, healthcare, infrastructure and natural resources. By reclaiming control over what is ours, we can invest directly in our people instead of waiting for permission from others. It is about turning principle into action, giving Wales the power to shape its own future.

History tells a single story: Wales has survived. That survival is now our opportunity. We have the knowledge, the culture and the capacity to shape our own future.

The history of Rhuddlan reminds us what was taken. The actions in Rhyl show what can be reclaimed. Seven centuries after the Statute of Rhuddlan sought to erase Welsh sovereignty, it is time to restore it through democracy, culture and practical action.

As people gather to march in Rhyl on 18 October, we will not just remember our history. We will make a statement: Wales will lead, not follow. Wales will decide, not wait. The nation our people deserve is within our grasp.

From conquest to confidence: Cymru rydd.