'Human shield' to protect Senedd from Westminster 'power grab’

(Alleged not sledged)

Yes Cymru, yes.

I totally agree that powers won back from Brussels should be shared among the nations and not concentrated in London. But I do find it a bit hypocritical of this protest to claim that it is NOT okay for London to have these powers while it WAS okay for Brussels to have them. Getting powers from Brussels to London is power moving in the right direction. It will be possible get those powers devolved from London to Cardiff and Edinburgh. It is virtually impossible to get them from Brussels. The undemocratic EU only extends its power, never relinquishes. Which is why we got out while we still could.

Glasiad - under EU Wales had control over agriculture. Welsh ministers actually represented Wales in meetings. With Brexit, it's very likely that Westminster will take agriculture away from the Assembly. So, no agri department in the assembly. The agri civil servants who work in Aberystwyth will not be needed as their job will be done in Whitehall. We, of course will still trade with EU - 90% of Welsh meat goes to EU, so we'll have to follow all the rules but now 1. we won't have a distinct Welsh voice there nor 2. will Welsh farmers have a designated department with Welsh govt. they will be part of a very obscure agri department in Wm where I'm guessing they'll come a very far second to the concerns of the grain barons. I've no doubt that Wm will also take over the economy and transport brief from the Assembly. It'll be done in the name of 'smoothing things', 'cooperation'. With David Davies Monmouthshire as Chair of the Welsh Select Committee at Westminter and with Henry VIII powers, I thing you have to be very optimistic to think there won't be a Westminster power grab from the Assembly. The Tories effectively debowled the Wales Bill with, in many respects, Wales having less powers than before or certianly not the new clear powers which was expected when the Wales Bill was part of the Coalition deal between the Tories and LDs. I've no doubt that the Tories true aim is either to get rid of the Assembly, building up years of lies and silly stories in the Daily Mail (then faithfully reproduced in the BBC) as they did with the EU - they've learnt what works. There will then be a referendum on 'Assembly waste' 'Taffia' 'beaurocracy' 'failed Assembly' pushed by tabloid press. If not get rid of the Assembly then emasculate it to something similar to the London Assembly - but without control over transport. Maybe control over education, culture and possibly health (cos health is a hospital pass - let Assembly take blame for failing to improve health in an ageing population starved of funds which come from Wm). One thing the EU perspective did was that Wales made sense within the EU because there are many other small nation states (Estonia, Malta etc) and 'regions' (Lombardy, the German Laender) or sub-nation states (Catalonia, Basque Country). So it was natural that Wales would also fit into this and with cross EU transport routes - roads and rail (which included the route from Holyhead) it was normal for Wales to be responsible for it. Had the UK not been in the EU Wales would not have devolution, not because the EU supported Welsh devolution but because the idea of 'little Wales' with a larger continent made of other small nations made sense, and, for many people, didn't feel like a leap in the dark - we weren't 'leaving' the UK we were part of a larger continent which included many other partners. This, of course, is the core reason the English/British nationalists hate the EU, because the EU gave legimiacy to some sort to regions (and in our case nations). It's not that the EU is pro Welsh nationalism, but it was, in the name of balance in favour of states having regional policy - one reason why France created it's regions in the 1980s. The Tory (and many Labour MPs) English/British nationalists hate this. They want a centralised British state as it was in the 1950s. Brexit will without doubt be used to salami slice and take away powers from Wales and Scotland - that is the whole point of Brexit. Brexit grew out of English/British nationalism partly in reaction to Celtic nationalism and it's a right wing monetarist project. Getting out of the EU gives the British nationalists the excuse to claw back powers from EU (but more importantly from Wales and Scotland) and to implement the most right wing monetarist policies which will be brought about from 'necessity'.

An excellent analysis from Sionyn

Careful! While politicians in London may be unsympathetic or uninterested in the idea of (say) Wales having exclusive fishing rights over water in the Irish Sea and Bristol Channel they may be very happy indeed if Cardiff Bay were (say) to take responsibility for payment of agricultural subsidies and dealing with farmers’ protests should there be a return to the agrarian militancy of the past Why this protest now? What we’ve been told, is that powers will first be transferred to London then devolved on. That is because it the UK that is leaving the EU and there’s no mechanism by which powers could be transferred directly to the devolved administrations even if the EU and UK agreed that this was the thing to do . I don’t think we’d be seeing this protest now from Cardiff if Mr Corbyn was in power in Westminster. It’s an opportunity for Labour to agitate against the Tories. If you much more substantial “devo-max” devolution or support full independence for Wales you may nevertheless see this protest as a passing band wagon going in the direction you want to go and be tempted to jump on. However, those who want to maintain the status quo will recognise that dealing with these issues now while still in the murky water of Brexit is better than leaving it until after the UK has left the EU and it becomes entirely a London v Wales issue. Then people in Wales might get round to thinking about another “naked power grab” by London: the one that happened in 1282 and confirmed in 1536 and start to think that perhaps Wales should have ALL its powers back from London.

Tame - this isn't a Labour protest. It's a YesCymru one. It's about making sure MPs know that a mass movement is being slowly formed to bring issues of who has the power and the probability of a Westminster power grab to the fore. It'll be too late in a few years time. You may have noticed how the Tories (with Welsh Labour MPs help) watered down, gutted the Wales Bill from what was meant to be the implementation of the Silk Report (and Richard Report before that). Do you seriously think that Westminster will wilfully devolved agriculture back to Wales post Brexit. Really? And do you still believe that if they didn't then Wales would rise up and fight for it?! Really? No, Wales won't, unless it's been an issue and that we Welsh through making protests and organising events like this, start to educate people about who rules Wales. The idea that Wales or the Welsh working class will rise up is laughable. It's the same wishful thinking in 1979 when some left wing radicals thought the Thatcher government would be good for the left as it would show to the working class the true meaning of the Tories and they would then get radicalised and overthrow the soft left in Labour and the Tories in government. It didn't happen. It won't happen in the Welsh perspective to devolution either. Sorry to break it to you but Wales is a heroic nation. It doesn't even know it's own history or even what powers Devolution has. It's a slow, long and at times boring battle. Events like the Senedd Chain start to create that movement. Brexit has given the anti Devolutionists, and yes, anti-Wales-as-a-nation brigade, the once in a century opportunity to kill off devolution and Welsh nationality. And do not for one moment think that they won't use that opportunity. Brexit is the Trojan Horse they've been waiting for. That's why despite the economic mess Brexit will cause when (if) the UK does exit, they don't care. The Tories and their families will be economically ok, and the most important thing is they can grab powers back to Westminster and keep Wales a vassal state to it.

Typical bickering Welsh! Naa-naa-naa-naanot one of you have asked how it went on Sunday ffs! Actually, it was rather brilliant and got the 'out for a Sunday stroll' promenaders stopping, talking, asking questions and generally getting stuff off their chests! The ones I talked to went home with our website address with the intention of looking YesCymru up! And, I got to meet Iestyn ap Rhobert in person. (Lovely Boy!). However, the (real) highlight was meeting other true patriots willing not just to stand up for Cymru, but to link arms to defend her! Diolch yn fawr iawn to everyone else that turned up and made more than just my day! Dafydd ap Gwilym