Why Cardiff's growing economic and political dominance within Wales is a threat to devolution

I think Cardiff is becoming a modern European city. And having that strength is just step 1 in the overall goal of the strengthening the country. The SW Metro is a forward thinking and integral part of internal development here, and can be used as a marker for developing the rest of the Wales. Having a Carmarthen Aberystwyth line is essential though. We still need to improve infrastructure and that'll be high on the list of things to do. The west coast is vastly under invested in.

The tweet from Cardiff's Labour council was utterly tone deaf, and Ifan is right to raise concerns about the concentration of wealth in south east Wales which is taking place. One cant help but wonder how different things might look if Swansea (which actually voted Yes in the 1997 devolution referendum) had been chosen to host the then National Assembly instead of Cardiff (which - to its shame -voted No)

Perhaps, as some groups set about the task of imagining an Independent Wales, it might be sensible to also imagine how it should be organised to benefit the majority of the residents of Wales and not just the tourists. Thus the Senedd should ultimately leave Cardiff for a more central location like Aberystwyth or Machynlleth. The west coast railway link is an urgent requirement now but the eastern north-south railway line from Rhyl through Denbigh, etc. should not be ignored (Details for that were published some long time ago). All of the lines should be electrified since we need to be moving to Zero Carbon and electric trains are a useful way of providing the mobility people want. There are also rail links that are logical extensions for the South Wales Metro where former mining villages have been left cut off and yet track beds still exist. Moving Government and extensive investment in good railway connections could do much for the residents of Wales. The big problem is where to get the money to make that sort of investment. The Westminster Governement could easily create it but under the Friends of Putin Regime there is zero chance of it happening.

I had the opportunity a year or so back to work in Dublin with two irish national charities on their governmental interactions. The over influence of Dublin on Irish life, the centralisation and its harm to local governance was incredable. Cities like Cork, Limerick and Galway let alone the large suberbs like Sowrds and Tallaght and Bray etc were all dwarfed by the City and City Region. Anyone with any ambition, civil servants and leaders of any state or state linked body just would not move outside greater Dublin. With the Senate and Parliament plus all major stste bodies, the media and the main Unis / ireland was becoming a one City state….. We need to learn this lesson

....part of the problem is those in that 20 square miles who think that civilisation stops at the northern boundary of RCT, that Storey Arms is the Khyber Pass and everything north and west is....

Yet Cardiff still lags economically well behind Bristol and most similarly sized English cities. Reading this you would believe the streets of Ely and Splott must be paved with gold.

The view from Llanbedr bridge in a month's time will be cars and campers, delivery lorries, buses, ambulances, white van man and the builder between jobs in every direction. If as likely we have a 'bumper' season that will be the norm. Chwarae teg Lee Waters

The two economic hot-spots in Wales are in the south east and the north east. The reason for this is not to be found in Wales. Things wont change until we have major routes between north and south not just east and west. Comparing Cardiff to London is frankly laughable.

Ifan Morgan Jones is quite right to make the connection between Cardiff and London, and their respective neglect of their northern cousins.  Only radical steps will correct the huge imbalance between the south-east of Cymru and the northeast, northwest and Mid-Wales.  By all means, send them more sticking plasters, but, surprise, it won’t be enough.   Cal Jones and Ifan are right to focus on the political power of Cardiff and how detrimental its concentration is to the rest of the country.  It is not in pursuit of free market theory (or the purported agglomeration benefits of a very small city with hyper-inflated ideas) that has brought people and business to Cardiff.  It is simply that economic power follows political power.   To harness the latter, I propose that post-independence, Cymru becomes four regions.  There is a case for a separate region for Cardiff and environs, but not a helpful one if we wish to redistribute power. Regional government, with the economic clout to hire quality staff and command greater resources, would replace local councils.  Every region would prioritise good hospitals, schools and other facilities for young people, like sports facilities and cultural venues.  Land reform would allow more people to live and work in the countryside, offering better quality lifestyles for their families.  Regional sports teams could compete internally and internationally. Connectivity, a word which excites the wallets of consultants everywhere, should also be improved.  But most all, we need a plan.   The first priority should be to ensure that all towns without one currently have a rail connection.  It would be a mistake to conceive this in terms of heavy (mainline) rail when well-designed light rail would do.  There is a strong case for a north-south mainline and a redirected A470 though. Second, we should ensure that passenger and freight services are planned together.  Light rail can carry freight, at a scale appropriate to many small towns and would help make better use of the track. The four centres of regional government could expect to attract people and business.  No doubt, overweening Cardiff would resent its growth being restricted, especially as some interests there envisage a continuous city from Bristol to Swansea in an unsustainable business-as-usual manner. As Ifan implies, devolution within Cymru would bring economic, political and cultural power closer to all of us.

Two questions? How about a new Llandudno Junction to Merthyr rail project? What's the cost for rail tunnel construction per km these days?