Is it time to move Wales' capital from Cardiff?

Aberystwyth is the cultural capital of Wales as well being within a few hours drive of every part of Wales. The Senedd should be there. As for the Welsh bureaucracy, no need to concentrate it anywhere. Spread it around. If anyone can remember the post 1997 referendum farce regarding where to park the Assembly, it was clear to many that picking Cardiff was a major cock up.

Great idea but alas its too ambitious for the political classes of Wales!

I like this idea! Llandrindod Wells? Lampeter?

Hasn't Wales historically fluctuated between having four key towns - the important towns may have changed over time, particularly in the Industrially revolution. The essence could be decentralisation completely, with a coming together for general amendments and concensus. Utopian, but based on some form of a unique precedent?

I did see once a proposal I think on the archives of an email list while looking for something else, from way back before the Senedd was established discussing the location of a devolved assembly for Wales. Unfortunately I've not been able to relocate the link. I think it was on some kind of email list for Celtic language studies. One writer proposed a location at the hub of the rail network linking North and South Wales. It would at least mean that no area of Wales would be favoured such that others were missing out. Only problem being that it would be in England. I presume the proposal to site the Welsh Assembly in Shrewsbury was tongue in cheek!

Crewe or Shrewsbury- they have the best connections to the rest of Wales

English below. Dwi'n hoffi y syniad, ag yn cytuno ddyla fo fod yn Aberystwyth/Llanbedr ne ella yn nol yn Machynlleth oherwyth y hanes efo Glyndwr. Ond yn anfodus neith o byth gwithio. Fel da ni Di copio y Saesneg efo dewis y prif ddinas, da ni Di neud y run peth efor fath o pobl sydd yn rhedag y wlad, neith nhw byth cytuno efo hun. I like the idea, and agree it should be in Aberystwyth/Llanbedr or maybe back in Machynlleth because of the history of Glyndwr. Unfortunately it'll never work, as we've copied the English in choosing the capital city, we've also done the same thing with the type of people that run the country. They'll never agree to this.

Aberystwyth has what it takes.

A capital city without old architecture, history and deeply rooted establishments would only serve certain political ideologies. Creating a new city is completely out of the question. Out capital city should have old buildings in it, the more Georgian and Classical the better, to inspire aspiration in Wales' citizens. Pembroke has long felt like it is not a part of Wales, and placing it there would force the British Government to support proper railways through Abertawe and the West. It would also increase the use of Cymraeg in Pembrokeshire and show people who are staunchly pro-British the values of devolution. This would decrease summer homes in the west by giving Sir Benfro an administrative economic base, and turn one of Wales' two most anti-devolution counties into a powerhouse of an emerging pro-devolution establishment. Most importantly, it has old buildings, classical architecture, and a landscape as stunning as Edinburgh, and good available higher land to build national monuments and memorials to our nation's great achievements. That said, I dont think Welsh people have any appetite for such a rupture, and Cardiff is and will be the capitol for as long as I can foresee the future.

Owain Glyndŵr’s choice of Machynlleth was probably a wise one~1400 Today, the nation of Wales is subject to centripetal and centrifugal forces both internal and external Wales has 2 administrative capitals- one in Cardiff one in London (a 3rd in Brussels?) Is there over centralisation? – YES! Some people say the capital of North Wales is Liverpool Shrewsbury is a rail hub “capital” for much of Wales and the Wales and Borders rail franchise The capital of North Severnside may yet move to Bristol What is the proposed administrative centre for the proposed Arfor region ? The biggest challenge for Wales is economic development- and to ensure all parts of Wales benefit from that. If moving the capital would further those ends, then the logical choice would be somewhere in the middle –perhaps a new town.- but wherever, the problem of infrastructural links with all other parts of Wales will remain to be to addressed

Llangurig it's on road signs at Dolgellau, ,Welsh pool,Aberaeron,Builth Wells.

All the examples of purpose built capitals given are capitals of nation states. All but one, Canada doesn't have a much bigger and more powerful country on their door step. In an independent Cymru setting up the capital elsewhere, having two or more "capitals" with different roles or having a capital that moves from place to place could/ should be part of the national discussion. However influential and powerful people are already beavering away on creating an economic region that binds South Wales with the West of England. The creation of a western "Powerhouse" where these "Severnsiders" see the break up Cymru as necessary collateral damage, a bonus or even one of the main reasons for the whole project. I can't see talk of moving our capital away from Cardiff as being anything other than encouraging them and assisting them in their work.

Why not multiple capitals? The legislature in Aberystwyth, ceremonial Machynlleth, political Cardiff, financial Swansea, educational Wrexham. Etc etc.

Builth is very central, and has the bonus of being across the river from the RWAS grounds at Llanelwedd. Come to think of it, I'm sure they could spare a shed or two for senedd meetings! Ideal.

I agree 100% that the Capital should be moved. As Royston Jones once said, it is highly ironic that Cardiff, a city which voted against Welsh Devolution, has been the greatest beneficiary of it, with all its third sector beneficiaries, along with all the bureaucrats and what have you. Aberystwyth is a no brainer. It's in the middle of Wales, so it doesn't favour either North or South. The town already has national institutions located there - the National Library and not to mention the University. Making Aber the capital would further justify building the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen railway line, and linking Porthmadog to Bangor via Caernarfon. Aberystwyth would also become much more of a proper centre for Mid-Wales and I think would do the town a lot of good. It's very sad that this wasn't thought of in 1997. If Aberystwyth had been made the capital of Wales back then with the Assembly set up there, Aberystwyth would no doubt be a much better place 20 years on. Aberystywth is a beautiful town but it has been very badly ruined since then by monstrosities - the two retail parks on either side of the train station, plus the great big Tesco, and not to mention the supermarkets out by the roundabout in Llanbadarn, and that big expanse of orange could-be-anywhere suburban houses near the Mcdonalds. If Aberystwyth had been made the Capital back then, I'm sure all of this development would have been of a higher quality - preferably more respectful of traditional Welsh styles, such as Stone and Slate colour. Thus, I definitely advocate making Aber the capital now, but much damage to the town has already been done.

I've jokingly lectured and written on this subject a few times, before coming to the sharp realisation that it isn't a joke at all. It is something we need to consider. If you want a successful model of a country where the capital is not the largest city, look no further than Scotland. The model of supersized capital dominating their country is one that is predominant in old imperial powers, such as the UK, France and Russia. It is not one to which we in Wales should aspire. Furthermore, within the context of these islands, the capitals of each constituent part (Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, London and Cardiff) are all in the east, and mostly the south-east, of their patch. In our histories, that's the direction of power, money and influence - it always slides down to the bottom-right of the map. As long as that continues, so too will the inherent imbalances that afflict our economic, social and cultural development. I'm not sure that we need a Utopian new town in mid Wales (see my notes here on the National Library's map blog about this idea from the 60s: https://www.llgc.org.uk/blog?p=15378), when we have such a terrific candidate already: Aberystwyth. My proposal suggested a job-share with Machynlleth - Mach for the historical and ceremonial aspects of the job (shades of Jan Morris here, I know!), Aber for the practical business of government. Just as there are plenty of countries where the biggest city is not the capital, so too are there a number (e.g. The Netherlands, Bolivia, Sri Lanka) with two joint capitals. South Africa has three...

Why have a capital at all? A capital city inevitably results in a concentration of power and a sense of superiority for some, inferiority for the majority. Surely it would be more equitable (and radical) to have NO capital city, in that way acknowledging that EVERYWHERE in Wales is important - spread the jobs around, spread the investment. If the aim is nation-building, let’s invest in the whole nation rather than just part of it.

An ambitious, thought-provoking article. Glad to see these types of ideas getting attention and discussion. Personally, I think we're a decade or two away from changing the capital. But do we have to have only one? I agree we should spread the bureaucracy around. If we did move it, Llandrindod would make sense. It could become a Welsh buffer in the canolbarth helping to stop the creep of the English west midlands into Wales. It has rail and road links and some large hotels (that could also be improved). It also has some nice architecture already that could be enhanced to make a significant visual impact. It is already used by many Welsh institutions for national meetings. It has a (very high) golf course - where politicians could discuss work (as they do). It also has space around it for development. Hmm... it could work. Gallai weithio.

One thought - provoking article Ifan...diolch. I already think of Aberystwyth as the true capital of Cymru - so many institutions of national importance are already here viz The National Library, The Welsh Book Council, Mudiad Meithrin HQ, the University with its iconic Hen Goleg building, Welsh Govt regional offices. It is also a cosmopolitan society which still manages to promote and protect yr Iaith Gymraeg, thus avoiding an overly parochial feel to it. The surrounding scenery is incomparable as is its proximity to Machynlleth. ( see Mike Parker's comments above).Reopening the railway line from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth could be a huge boost to eliminating some travel issues. I accept that what I've written is one hugely Aber- biased opinion!

Good thinking. Lots of people in North East Wales pay scant attention to Cardiff. Its too remote. Until we get a capital placed fairly in the middle of the country it wont feel unified.

Llandrindod might meet your requirements.

Llandrindod Wells is beautifully placed almost geographically central East West, North South. It has, as has been said, the railway, it already has some bit of the Welsh Govt. here.......don't know what it is or what they do and have never met anyone who worked there, but there it is. We have a hospital, small it's true, but I am sure space could be found to build a bigger better one, to save so many of us having horrid journeys to Cardiff,Abergavenny, or to Hereford on a daily basis for some treatments........We are a slightly run down area with unemployment and closing shops......we could really do with a boost. Everything is so far South....... it can feel quite cut off as all news and weather seem to be concentrated on Cardiff, and on Snowdonia.......we in the middle are neither one nor 't'other. We have a nice High School, which is getting messed about with, due to Powys' (non)funding.......we did have a nice evening class college, but it has gone and the building is for sale.....there was a lovely grammar school building, now being turned into flats which could have been a 6th Form College ......Llandod has been relegated to history with just a dwindling, despite great efforts, Victorian Week to attract tourists for one week a year......yes, give us the Capital and revitalise the whole area.

As somebody who is involved with YES Cymru, I have been thinking about the importance of some sort of symbolic commitment as part of an independence campaign to a different type of Wales which all parts of Wales could sign up to. This idea certainly fits into that category since one thing that could unite the people of Wales on one level is this notion that Cardiff is much too over-bearing and over-influential in the life of modern Wales, and that a counter-balance is much needed. The idea of locating the capital of Wales in a more central location would certainly be very popular. I know that many will be aghast at the notion of moving the capital from Cardiff( especially as Cardiff has now completely reversed its initial anti-devolution position in 1997)- but I think that Cardiff is confident and prosperous enough to be able to thrive in future without having to be the official capital of Wales. Personally, I would like somewhere in "Powys,Gardd Cymru" to be designated as the new capital. Mid-Wales is sorely under-appreciated and under-represented in modern Wales, and such a move would address that deficit. Owain Glyndwr of course, mindful of the need to unite Wales, chose Machynlleth as his capital. Machynlleth has its emotional appeal but maybe the transport links counts against it. The other choices would seem to be between Llandrindod and Builth Wells. I particularly like this idea of building a buffer against "England creep" in Mid Wales. And let's get the shadowy civil servants out of Cardiff and actually based in the centre of Wales so they can have a better appreciation of what this nation's needs really are!

An excellent idea, which I for one would fully support. Any new capital would have to be central within the country, and not so deeply ensconced in Y Fro Gymraeg that it might alienate those outside it. I'd have to say, go for somewhere where the Severn (the main East-West route through mid Wales) runs parallel with the A470 (the main North-South route). Surely Llanidloes or Llandinam would be a sound choice, but at a push maybe even Newtown,

The examples you give of purpose-built capital cities are in federal countries where it was important to locate the capital outside the competing federal states. Wales is not a federal country although a sensible federation of British and Irish states could have a newly-built capital instead of London (or maybe just use Manchester). And there are lots of more important things to fix in Wales before we consider moving the capital (eg north/south transport links). Westminster often is called "the mother of parliaments" but this is a misquotation that distorts the original meaning. England (or by extension, Britain) is "the mother of parliaments" meaning that the English people refused to be ruled by an autocratic king and required that a parliament of the people be called to moderate his authority. Far from Westminster being a matriarchal example to other countries, it should be seen as the child of the English or British people, and subject to their direction. Westminster politicians use the misquotations to puff up their importance; we should not encourage this.

Nonsense click-bait article that WalesOnline would be proud of!

‘Mother of Parliaments’ - ugh.......Iceland and Isle of Mann had democratic parliaments much earlier than the English one...........

pob lwc i Gatalonio fory....

We could move the capital, have a rolling capital, but what we need to unite the country is good and rapid transport links from South to North and East to West. That means having a Welsh railway system (Run by and owned by our nation - Welsh national railways) without trains having to run on England's railway to cross our country. Aberystwyth is a good home for government. We need to connect the nation leaving none of Wales isolated if we are to build our nation. We need a capital for international diplomatic relations (Embassies).

Stick with Brussels

Rob Evans, a federation ultimately means more domination by London....and more brain drain and wealth drain from Welsh communities.....following the model of CO2 spewing and energy wasteful London is outdated.....we need to top idolising others, especially "elites".........and work as a people and believe in ourselves

More importantly than moving the titular capital, set up regiional capitals and devolve power to the regions of Wales within a federal Welsh republic :-)

I disagree entirely with this. I've lived in Cardiff on and off for 12 years and I can assure you it is not a bustling, thriving metropolis. It is mostly a rough port town of 350,000 which was in terminal decline before it was rescued by capital status in 1955 and by devolution in 1999. It is the poorest of the four capitals of the UK with little in the way of private investment or big employers, except for Admiral. It offers little in the way of varied nightlife and high quality restaurants and only really comes alive for rugby matches, and I make sure I'm out of the city for those days as it's a cultural embarrassment. I'm originally from west Wales and there seems to be this strange idea that Cardiff sucks in all the investment. Well, for one, it doesn't. Cardiff didn't qualify for EU funds and hardly received a penny and most investment there has been private. If you want people to take Wales seriously, you need a decent capital city. It is the shop window of Wales to the world and it is still not up to scratch with extremely poor transport links, urban design, a failing main shopping street and restaurants closing constantly after a few months. Cardiff needs more people, private investment and jobs so it can compete with other UK cities. I honestly think had Cardiff not been chosen for capital we wouldn't be where we are today. I fully support more devolution to north, mid and west Wales but the suggestion that it's some kind of London dark star is just laughable.

Meleri has it. We have more urgent matters to consider than building a Brasilia on top of Castell Bere. Lets get rid of unionists in the Senedd and london domination of our country.

The nation can't afford to sideline its biggest wealth creator. and that's what would happen if the Capital was relocated - it would push Cardiff to look east even more.

Wales is very like an US State. I write this from North Carolina where the State Capital is the largest city - Raleigh. But many many US States deliberately avoid having a big city coming to dominance. So the State capitals are small but efficient and not in their big City. California, Sacramento not LA or San Francisco. New York State, Albany not New York City. Florida, Tallahassee not Miami. Texas, Austin not Houston. etc etc. So Wales should not have Cardiff. Though a Parliament Yes - Aber is a natural. But... Llandrindod is a good candidate. I walked round Landod once with exactly this thought. Small, but has the space, and would be grateful. And (surprisingly) it has the feel. Like when Bonn ("Small town in Germany") was capital of W.Germany. Glad Llandrindod got some votes!

How about a virtual capital, for a parallel virtual nation - an "other-Wales" for people who have links to Wales, but are not in this geographic and politcial space. When I started toying with what seems a crazy idea I came across plenty of thinking in this area - take Bitnation for example. https://news.bitcoin.com/worlds-first-virtual-nation-constitution-released-ethereums-blockchain/