Hwre for the Commission!

I hope with this commission the findings are implemented. I can recall both Richard's & Silk commissions where it highlighted the then Welsh Assembly (Senedd Cymru) flaws and mentioned the institution needed more powers and increased capacity but UK Labour kicked both findings into the long grass and nothing was done. And sure things are moving in the right direction. We now have a Senedd Cymru which will soon see it's capacity rise from 60 to 96, no thanks to UK Labour, so the institution can finally function after 24 years. But the irony is. It was the the Conservatives, not UK Labour , who devolved the power so Welsh Labour change the name of our institution & capacity. But it's still it's not enough. The Senedd still lacks powers most nations take for granted. We have a Welsh Parliament that can legislate , enforce laws like the 20mph default speed limit, but is bound by an English criminal justice system. We need the devolution not only of Policing , Criminal & Youth Justice and other powers devolved to Scotland & Northern Ireland but cynically denied to Wales. Why ask yourselves?. And to those Unionists hostile to further devolution to our Senedd can't use the separatist arguement like Conservative Minister Penny Mordaunt recently stated because those powers requested such as Policing & Criminal Justice are enjoyed by the other home nations within the framework of the United Kingdom. Sometimes I think the English Conservatives still think of Wales as being England's first trophy nation and their rightful property. And I find it ironic that those far-right Tory extremists who wear blue & gold pins on their lapels in solidarity with Ukraine whilst arguing against Russia annexing the Crimea hypocritically deny Wales similar freedoms & sovereignty who are happy to see Wales under their thumb seeing we were similarly annexed by their beloved England in 1535, but oh that's okay isn't it. So later in the year It's highly likely Labour's Keir Starmer will be the next Prime Minister seeing Rishi Sunak's idocracy is in terminal decline, and no amount of sweeteners , fiscal bungs or dodgy dealings will sway the electorate or save their bacon. We have the situation where UK Labour will be in power in late 2024 where by then the Conservatives would have scuppered HMS Britannia giving Labour a poisoned chalice, which would mean for Wales any devolution however small would be put on the back burner. I can see it now. We'll have a new Welsh Secretary argue how, "now is not the time, there are far more pressing matters than devolving more power to Wales" he or she will say. Not forgetting Welsh Labour by this time will have a new leader & First Minister be it Vaughan Gethin or Jeremy Miles. It'll be interesting to hear their excuses when UK Labour in London deny powers requested by the Welsh government like the Tories continually have over the years. Labour can pledge and promise all they like but seeing Starmer's recently reneged on many promises made which elected him as leader doesn't bode well for Wales. All I can say is. Watch this space.

Erthygl da iawn Gwern.

'Hwre' wir! Gwaith a chasgliadau eithriadol o dda gan aelodau'r Comisiwn - pob clod iddynt. Hefyd, neges hanfodol gan Gwern Gwynfil yn y paragraff gobennol. ~ 'Hooray' indeed! Exceptional work and conclusions by members of the Commission - thoroughly deserving of praise. A vital message also from Gwern Gwynfil, in the penultimate paragraph.

Gwern nails it in terms of his analysis of the options. A federal UK with Westminster as the seat of central government does not work because England is too big to accept its voting power being diluted within such a union. The problem with further devolution is the primacy/sovereignty of the HoC. This is a particular principle for fundamentalist Tories. That and FPTP is their route to their majoritarian democratic dictatorship of the UK. Our Senedd is not safe so long as that constitutional arrangement persists. What I found most disappointing but not the biggest surprise, is that a majority of people in Wales fear the economic impact of independence. We are not pointing out sufficiently the obvious fact that our present economic predicament is the consequence of historic UK economic strategy which has seen our GDP/capita fall away from the UK average linearly, decade on decade for over a century. This is what Tom Nairn explains as a driver of the break up of the UK. The UK is the old empire. It's not fit to deliver on the aspirations of the contemporary Welsh nation. It has failed in discharging its state responsibilities to us as a nation. What wales needs is an economic and green industrial strategy that delivers renewal. It is not forthcoming and has not been seen these last hundered years or so. So yes, short term pain, long term gain. I want a Welsh Democracy because I want to vote for a green industrial revolution and a just transition in Wales. I want to be governed by the party our electorate mandates all the time (as opposed to occassionally if we're lucky). I want to live in a state in which our culture, language and communities are valued and where the economy is managed equitably and sustains public services of the highest standard. Westminster has a track record of delivering the opposite. We cannot keep doing the same thing and hoping for a different outcome. That's why it's independence for me. I'd rather have a shot at improving my lot than guaranteed continued decline. I'm interested in a mutually beneficial confederation but there is no way on earth the UK State will deliver what Wales needs. We need a constitutional paradigm shift.

This article is a considered and balanced evaluation of the three viable options identified by the Future of Wales Commission. It could also have been part of the Commission's balanced conclusion, were the Final Report to have been a little more explicit in its findings.