The change from Welsh Assembly to Parliament is overdue
Ifan Morgan Jones
There has been some predictable blowback to the Welsh Assembly Commission’s decision that the Welsh Assembly should change its name to Welsh Parliament next year.
A lot of this has come from those who just don’t want to see the institution flourish. Their objections alone might suggest that it’s a good idea.
But some has also come from those who are supportive of Welsh devolution, who either:
- Think it’s pointless
- Think it’s a waste of money
- Believe it doesn’t have the public’s backing
- Bristle at the idea that the word ‘Parliament’ has more authority than ‘Assembly’
- Would rather the Welsh-language name Senedd was used all the time
- Believe it will lead to confusion between the Welsh and Westminster Parliaments
Although I understand these concerns, I’m fully behind the change as I think it will help solve the problem of a lack of understanding of devolution we have here in Wales.
The public consultation carried out by the Assembly found that the public felt that parliament was the best name for the institution.
But the name change is really a belated response to a far bigger poll: The 2011 Referendum in which 63% backed giving the Welsh Assembly law-making powers.
People understand that this is what a Parliament does. It passes laws and makes decisions that govern our lives. Unless they’re au fait with French (or Bulgarian) politics, the function of an Assembly needs far more explanation.
The Assembly has struggled to get the attention it deserves in the British (or even at times Welsh) press, and so anything that makes it easier to explain what it does is worth doing.
No confusion
I’m sympathetic to the argument that Senedd should be used in all contexts in order to normalise the use of the Welsh language, in the same way as Oireachtas is in the Republic of Ireland.
Using the name ‘Senedd’ all the time might represent a small victory for the Welsh language.
Giving their political institutions Irish-only names doesn’t seem to have done the Irish language much good, however.
And there is a danger that it could further confuse or alienate non-Welsh speakers who don’t understand what the legislature does.
I’m not convinced either by the argument that people would confuse the Welsh and Westminster Parliaments.
The Scottish Parliament has never suffered as a result of such confusion. There are also over 50 other parliaments around the world that are easily distinguished from Westminster.
Some countries, such as Australia, have a number of devolved parliaments and the public understand their function perfectly well.
The name of the country denotes the unique brand, while the ‘Parliament’ simply makes it clear what the body’s function is.
No-one confuses the Welsh Rugby Union with the RFU, or the Welsh FA with the FA, so there’s no reason to believe that the Welsh Parliament would confuse anyone either.
One step
Changing the Assembly’s name to Parliament isn’t a silver bullet that will dispel people’s ignorance of what the institution does.
It’s one of a range of measures the Assembly must employ in order to ensure that the public understands its function.
The report of the Assembly Commission’s News and Digital Information Taskforce, published next week, will hopefully suggests further measures for tackling this problem.
The Assembly’s Culture, Welsh-language and Media committee are also looking at ways in which the media in Wales could be further strengthened.
Solving the problem of ignorance of Welsh devolution will be a long and difficult journey – changing the name is just one step. But it’s a step in the right direction.
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Totally agree Ifan. This is long overdue. I do agree also that given the politics of the UK, the word parliament carries much more weight and authority. I understand that France has an Assembly, but that’s irrelevant. The peoples of the British Isles only have experience by and large of being represented in a parliament, and establishing a Scottish Parliament, but a Welsh Assembly, hardly did anything to expell the myth that an assembly is a lesser institution. Given the lesser powers the Assemblies in NI and Wales were given compared to Scotland may have confirmed that in the British… Read more »
I fully agree with Cymdeithas yr Iaith that calling it “Y Senedd” could be an opportunity to normalize the use of Welsh, for Welsh-speakers and non-Welsh-speakers alike. One example (Ireland) does not negate this possibility. Wales does have two languages, however only one is at a structural disadvantage. And disagreeing with you doesn’t make me a “Grangetown zealot” … I would also argue that Welsh or English the name should be “Y Senedd” (or “The Parliament”), not “Senedd Cymru” (“Welsh Parliament”). It’s in Wales – it does not need this descriptor. If anyone gets confused we can always refer to… Read more »
Only one is at a structural advantage, that I agree with. But in the specific context of our devoloping independent polity and public political space, respecting both languages should be the priority. It’s not as if it’s not bilingual. There are other spaces and spheres in which we can work to further normalize Welsh. It’s important that all understand what this institution does: on the whole only to Welsh speakers can Senedd mean parliament: not all English speakers will know this. I strongly believe a Welsh only name will put a certain amount of emotional distance between the institution and… Read more »
In this context I think of, say, “Y Senedd”, as a name rather than as a Welsh-word describing what the institution is (even though it serves both purposes). Which is why I think that it could be inclusive to all speakers of both languages in Wales. That being said I can appreciate that it may be something of a hindrance to monoglot English-speakers, I just don’t have a feel for how big an issue it would be, if it is an issue. And I’ll admit that having a Welsh-only name pulls at my heartstrings. Either way there needs to be… Read more »
Firstly on the vocabulary, from my experience of Welsh and German, read as much as you can according to your level. Read read read. That’s the way to build up knowledge of vocabulary in my opinion. Confidence can only be improved by using the language though and nobody will care if you make mistakes. While I absolutely detest the phrase, a monolingual Welsh name wouldn’t be tantamount to ramming it down people’s throats, but it would be tantamount to saying that the English language in Wales should be marginalised in the political context just so we can normalise Welsh. There… Read more »
“Parliament” would help people understand more of what it’s all about, but I think “Y Senedd” would also be good as just one title. And it’s not a complicated word for non Welsh speakers. I suppose it depends how much weight needs to be put on using parliament to help people understand devolution – or could changing it to Y Senedd also act as an education?
I agree with you, and I think already people are very familiar with the word senedd because that’s what the building is already referred to. I’d go further to suggest that those who could potentially be confused or hostile by just using the Welsh term would only be those who don’t have any interest in politics, or those who rabid anti-Welsh bigots who foam at the mouth on hearing anything in the Welsh language, ( and paradoxically also confirm their Welshness, as I know of no other nationality who exhibit such pavlovian reflexes in response to hearing the Welsh language).… Read more »
As a Grangetown Zealot perhaps I could link to my blog post where I talk about the name change
http://sharkfishinginwales.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/tower-blocks-welsh-parliaments.html
I commented on the name change survey to say that I thought there should be a place for state occasions or our equivalent of Whitehall further up the Taff, perhaps close to it’s origin in sight of Pen-y-fan, called “Tŷ-Gwyn-ar-Daf”. This alos being the name of the place in Whitland, where Hywel Dda drew up his laws of Wales, but equally apt to place it on the other Taff or Taf and effectively call it (but in Welsh only of course) the White House, which seems to work for the USA. It is too good a play on words and… Read more »
I was all for just “Senedd” without the English but I can see the argument that for better or worse “Parliment” might give an impression of more power or raise awareness of the powers it does have. Which will of course only be of any real use if actually backed up with some!