How do we make Wales prosperous? By finally playing to our strengths
Franck Banza
Wales is at a crossroads. For too long, our economy has drifted without a clear destination. We are not manufacturing enough. We are not producing enough. Our connectivity is weak. Transport links are poor. Internet access—especially in rural Wales—is unreliable.
Farmers are drowning in bureaucracy instead of being enabled to do what they do best: produce food. Energy production is underdeveloped. Hospitality is struggling, despite some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe.
Culture and the arts are seeing declining support. Talented, hardworking people are overlooked. Ambition feels constrained. And too many of our young people are leaving Wales in search of opportunity elsewhere.
These are not isolated problems. They are symptoms of a deeper issue: Wales does not have a clear economic strategy rooted in what it is genuinely good at producing in an open, competitive world.
The Mistake We Keep Making
In a global economy, countries and regions succeed when they focus on what they do best. Wales, however, has spent years trying to copy others instead of backing its own strengths.
We have attempted to import industries that were never deeply rooted here—often with generous public subsidies—only to watch them fail or leave once the support ended.
We have seen this story before:
- LG in Newport, once heralded as a manufacturing revival, eventually collapsed.
- Aston Martin at St Athan, supported with public funds, shut down production.
- TVR, another high-profile automotive project, failed to materialise as promised.
- The Circuit of Wales, meant to be a global motorsport hub, absorbed public money but never delivered.
The lesson is clear: we cannot build prosperity by chasing prestige projects that do not align with Wales’ long-term economic DNA.
And we should stop trying to replicate places like Singapore, New Zealand, or even Scotland. Wales is not them. We should not aspire to be.
We should aspire to be the best version of Wales.
What Wales Already Has — And Undervalues
Despite the challenges, Wales is not poor in assets. Far from it.
We have:
- Extraordinary coastlines, not just for tourism but for renewable energy.
- Hardworking farmers, willing to adapt, diversify, and innovate if freed from unnecessary burdens.
- A powerful “Made in Wales” brand, associated with authenticity, quality, and trust.
- A strong hospitality base, capable of innovation rather than decline.
- Young people who love Wales, but cannot see a future here.
- A world-class cultural reputation, producing global icons.
Wales has given the world talents like Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Sheen, Richard Burton, and today, creators like Russell T Davies. These are not just cultural successes—they are economic assets.
We are also becoming a more culturally rich and diverse nation, with new ideas, skills, and energy shaping modern Wales.
The problem is not a lack of potential.
The problem is that we do not organise our economy around it.
Energy, Food, Culture: Where Wales Can Lead
If Wales is serious about prosperity, we must focus on sectors where we already have natural advantages—and then build the infrastructure around them.
Energy
Wales should be an energy-producing nation.
- Tidal energy projects like the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon should have been built years ago.
- Nuclear energy must be part of the conversation if we want reliable, cheap power.
- Cheap energy makes everything else more productive: manufacturing, food processing, data, innovation.
Food and Farming
Farmers should be supported to farm—not buried under regulation.
- The collapse of local slaughterhouses is a perfect example of policy failure.
- Farmers in South Wales having to travel to Wrexham or even Birmingham for processing is economically absurd.
- We should rebuild local food supply chains, support food and drink manufacturing, and export quality Welsh produce to the world.
Hospitality and Tourism
Wales’ hospitality industry should be thriving, not surviving.
- Innovation, not decline, should define tourism.
- Food, culture, landscape, and experience must be linked into a high-value offering.
Culture and the Creative Economy
Why shouldn’t Wales create its own global film and TV hub?
India built Bollywood.
Nigeria built Nollywood—now worth billions.
Wales could build “Wollywood”.
The supply chain would be enormous: writers, actors, technicians, designers, musicians, digital artists, caterers, builders, marketers. We already have the talent. What we lack is coordination, ambition, and political will.
Connectivity: The Basics We Keep Ignoring
None of this works without infrastructure.
- Better roads and strategic transport links
- More accessible air travel
- High-speed internet everywhere, not just cities
In today’s economy, poor internet access is economic exclusion. Young people could be content creators, developers, gamers, designers, entrepreneurs—but without connectivity, they are locked out.
This is not a luxury. It is economic survival.
Young People, AI, and the Future
There is growing fear that AI will replace human jobs. That fear is misplaced.
AI works with humans, not without them. The real danger is not AI—it is being unprepared for it.
Wales should:
- Teach young people how to use AI creatively and productively
- Encourage problem-solving, innovation, and big thinking in schools
- Support young people to start businesses when jobs are scarce
- Link education directly to local industries like farming, food, hospitality, energy, and creative arts
If we don’t prepare our young people for the future, they will leave—and Wales will shrink.
Politics: Choosing the Right Driver
Politics is the engine that drives all of this.
Right now, it feels like the driver has lost the address. The car is moving, but no one is quite sure where it’s going.
In less than six months, Wales will choose a new driver in the 2026 Senedd election.
So ask yourself:
- Would you trust a driver who has never driven before?
- Would you trust one who doesn’t know the destination but promises a “safe journey”?
- Would you trust someone intoxicated by slogans and anger?
- Or would you rather have a confident, experienced driver who knows the road and the destination?
That is the real choice facing Wales.
The Destination Wales Deserves
Wales deserves a government that is bold enough to:
- Focus on what Wales does best
- Remove burdens from farmers and producers
- Support food, drink, and energy manufacturing
- Invest in connectivity and infrastructure
- Back culture and creativity as economic drivers
- Keep young people here and help them innovate
- Put Wales on the world map for the right reasons
We do not need to be louder.
We need to be smarter.
We need to produce, build, innovate, and believe in ourselves again.
Wales can be prosperous.
But only if we stop drifting—and start driving with purpose.
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I agree, Wales appears to be heading out to sea with no one at the rudder. Farmers do need a better deal to produce food or they just sell out to solar farms. Then we have to import our food and that requires burning fossil fuel to transport them here. Nuclear sounds like the dream until you have to bury the waste. Where do we bury the waste? Sellafield is full.
North America trades extensively with Central and South America – that is not government led, their logistics organisations lead.
National Farmers Union Cymru has complained about lack of support for farmers; the public is not behind Welsh farmers – virtually all service stations only sell junk food – Greggs, KFC, Subways etc. In French Service Stations you can actually buy a meal that includes salad and vegetables.
Interesting stat; farming is 1% of Wales GVA. I live in a rural area, it’s important for us but I wouldn’t base our country’s economic strategy around it
Look at Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland in 1990s – their governments resource shared, same sovereign wealth funds (built through property acquisitions near where Air Canada / Air Transat / Sabena / Swissair created new routes), strong focus on professional services jobs (WSP, AtkinsRealis, NATO and United Nations offices); but more importantly Switzerland had financial services seminars / conferences in Winter months and Quebec had International Air Transport Association route planning conferences November to March in Casino de Montreal (next to Gran Prix circuit that was used in summer only). None of those countries focus on the latest transport type such… Read more »
Switzerland owes its small country success to a corporation tax structure that varies by canton and municipality.
Some interesting points here, but shouldn’t there be a declaration of interest somewhere noting that Franck Banza was a Lib Dem candidate in the last General Election? And why does the expensive, dangerous, toxic technology behind nuclear power have to be part of the energy solution? Look the Lib Dems’ page on “environment” and you will see that nuclear is not mentioned.
Face the facts Wales will never be prosperous until we are an independent nation and from under the English boot on our throats we are just treated as a colony of the old English empire
Is Franck still a Lib Dem Senedd candidate? He was announced, but now doesn’t appear on candidate lists.
Totally agree with all the points made, it’s hard not to. For far too many years, the default position from Welsh Government has been akin to a coping strategy combined with an embedded view amongst the civil service and it’s legal advisors of a primary function being to ‘protect minister’ as opposed to enacting policy. So despite the almost endless flow of words, found in imaginative policies and brave statements that seek to define the socio-political and economic landscape, what we find instead is a consistently underperforming economy, a degraded environment and record levels of absolute child poverty. Mediocrity reigns… Read more »
There are some fair points here (but also quite a few rather vague concepts). However, there is one glaring omission. Roughly two thirds of jobs in Wales are provided for by small and medium sized businesses. Wales needs to support these entrepreneurs.
It’s a nice article but not breathing anything new and mostly rhetoric. You point to LG, Aston Martin – but some FDI has been very successful – JCB, Toyota, Kellogg’s etc etc with thousands of jobs supported. Tidal energy has been trialled all around the world and unproven/expensive, with better options. Nuclear is being done but takes decades to implement. Cheap energy ‘does not make things more productive’; sometimes the opposite – plus the most productive parts of the UK economy don’t use high volumes of electicity. We’ve tried the film hubs, and roads, air travel and high-speed internet requires… Read more »
And learn from one of the wealthiest small countries in the world Singapore with its unique blend of free-market principles and significant government intervention with Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) accounting for a third of market cap.
we should be radical on tax. lower the top rate tax rate by a few points to differentiate versus england. reduce tax for under 25s and raise it for over 60s make wales a place attractive for workers.
A decent piece but the glaring omission is business. Both in terms of SMEs and attracting big companies to Wales. Radical ideas such as slashing corp tax should be given a try as this underpins everything.