The Wales We Need

In February the Welsh Government launched its “The Wales We Want” initiative, a national conversation about the kind of Wales we would like to see in the future. As with many of these sort of government initiatives it is a laudable idea that sadly will probably not engage many beyond the usual suspects. Most of who are likely to have ideas that are not that reflective of the majority of people in Wales, and therefore it will be money better spent elsewhere. I hope I am wrong. 

As one of those people who take part in these sort of things (I attended and took part in a number of All Wales Convention events and took part in the “Yes for Wales” campaign), I would like to give my view on this, which I hope will provide a bit of a different view to some of the others you may read.

I largely think these initiatives are a waste of time and money because unlike most people I think that most of us, from all political parties in Wales, pressure groups etc want the same things. The difference is we all have different ideas on how to get there, these differences are then spun by politicians and others to show how evil their opponents are and to pretend that they want something vastly different to them.

I think it is safe to say that most rational people in Wales want to see a Wales that is wealthy, fair, peaceful, healthy, well educated, confident and cultured. But how do we get there? That is where the real arguments should be.

Having thought about this for quite some time, it is increasingly clear to me that we need to completely change our political/ideological culture and mindset as a nation. This will not be easy, will be painful, and may well be impossible. But being an optimist, I think it could be done.

Having long and lazily thought of myself as a left winger, I no longer do. Not because I don’t believe in many of the same things, I do, I have just realised it is far more complicated than a simple left and right scale can suggest. However, it does give a rough idea to some thoughts, so I will continue to use the term for ease of explanation.

I always thought that Wales was a radical and left wing country, and while I think an argument could be made that Wales is slightly more left wing (whatever that really means) than the other countries of the UK, I certainly don’t think we are radical. In fact in our political decisions we are amazingly conservative, voting in large measure for the same party for almost 100 years (since 1922 Labour has been the most popular party in Wales), during which time that party and ideology has made us increasingly poor.

Sadly, there is little hope on the immediate horizon, as the three alternative parties of government in Wales do not offer what I think we need. Plaid are trying to outflank Labour on the left, offering more of the same ideology which has made and kept many parts of Wales poor, the Conservatives are a toxic brand in Wales following too many years of not taking our country seriously enough, and the Lib Dems are somewhere in between Plaid and Labour.

If these parties could put their differences to the side and form a coalition based on some of the things they agree on (there are some things) then it might just stand a chance of ousting Labour from government and finally give Wales the mature multi party democracy it needs. This currently seems unlikely, but a more centrist Plaid Cymru would be the key. The only alternative I can see to this scenario is a completely new pragmatic and patriotic Welsh party that could displace Plaid and the Conservatives as the real alternative to Labour. It would garner support from both of those parties, Welsh patriots who want more autonomy, but are concerned about following Labours left wing policies which are damaging our economy and services, and the small c-conservative minded people of much of rural Wales who want to remain part of Britain, but are happy for Wales to have much more autonomy. Most importantly it would give confidence and voice to those who do now and always have seen that you can be a Welsh patriot and worry that some left wing dogma is making Wales poorer, and that being part of the UK doesn't mean we cant be a proud and independent minded nation.

The point behind this is that those who most vehemently want Wales to be an independent country (something I would possibly support in the right circumstances) deny one of the things which makes us a country – a diverse landscape of opinions. Wales is not a “left wing” country, but a country of people with lots of different opinions. It is part of the Labour history of Wales we have been sold, which is only part of the story of our nation.

I hesitate to think of myself as right wing or even centre right. But some of the things I agree with (largely on economic issues and the inability of government to solve many problems) would be labelled as such, so I may as well accept them.

So to get back to some of the things I would like to see in Wales in the future, well firstly it would be a real alternative to Labour and a recognition and support for alternative views which some may label right wing ideas. After all, those who often look to other countries such as Catalonia or the Basque Country for inspiration don’t often note that they have strong centre right or centrist parties which have dominated in those nations for years. Catalonia is now one of the richest areas of Spain and like Scotland can credibly threaten secession.

To improve the Welsh economy and to increase our influence in the UK and beyond, two things will have to happen. These are a larger Welsh population and a stronger economy, both of which go hand in hand to some extent. This population growth will need to be focused on our big cities and towns as cities and city regions are increasingly recognised as the drivers of economic growth (I should note here that I am from rural Wales). This means that the population growth would also be less of a threat to the Welsh language, being based in our cities. So Cardiff, Newport and Swansea in the south and Wrecsam in the north

Could Cardiff truly become one of the worlds great cities with a population measured in millions?

(which should be recognised as a city), would be the focus of this growth. Wales' population is growing, and with Scotland's population shrinking we need to aim to catch up with them both in terms of our population and our economy. We might just be surprised how quickly the UK government starts to take more notice of us for a change. This will take time, but if you look at other countries around the world and how quickly they have changed over relatively short periods with a proactive and rational government then I think it is possible in Wales in the next 10 to 20 years.

Talking about Scotland, it is ironic that rebellious Scots who are causing the UK problems with their independence referendum are rewarded, while loyal Wales is punished. It highlights the realpolitik nature of the UK highlighted in today's article by Richard Wyn Jones. We also need more Welsh people in key positions in the UK government exerting their influence in favour of Wales, much like the Scots have done in the past, and continue to do. For this reason, I am always sceptical of any arguments in favour of reducing Wales' influence in Westminster, either by scrapping the Welsh Office or reducing the number of MPs. It may make sense from a constitutional point of view, but while the constitution is still messy, to Wales' disadvantage, I think we should retain as much influence as we can. Independence wont come for some time, if at all, so lets not cut off our nose to spite our face.

We need to recognise that equality in all areas is both not possible and not desirable, and is a term I hear too many Welsh politicians throwing around without much thought. Yes to equality before the law and equality of opportunity, no to equality of outcome. People are not all equally skilled, hard working or willing to take risks. We need to reward those who create jobs and bring more wealth to the Welsh economy (and therefore more taxes to pay for services). This is part of the changing of culture that I mentioned earlier, and something which some may find painful or offensive. But it doesn't mean we stop being compassionate, or having a deep love of community. If we really loved our Welsh communities we would do whatever it means to ensure they survive, that there are jobs there for local people and young people so that they can stay there and make a good life for themselves in thriving communities. The key to saving the Welsh language is also saving the Welsh economy. We need to be more intelligent with our policies.

Why is selection such a dirty word in Wales?

Another key area where our political culture holds us in chains is education. The current school system seems more geared towards statist solutions and social engineering than it does to the needs of teaching children and nurturing academic talent in the brightest. Only people with a lot of money can afford to send their kids to a really good school by moving into the right catchment area. This may go some way towards our politicians idea of equality of outcome as potentially very bright kids get stuck in poor schools and never achieve their potential, but it is not the equality of opportunity I would like to see. We need to give our academically brightest students a chance to flourish in whichever areas they have a passion for (through the medium of either of Wales' languages). It is for this reason that I think we should take the Welsh Conservatives idea about reviving grammar schools more seriously. If done well it could really be the key to making a better Wales for future generations. It is at least worth more serious consideration.

There are some in each of the three opposition parties who are willing to step outside their party political/ideological boxes and suggest ideas that may help Wales, even though they know they will face mockery from some quarters. For example Adam Price's suggestion that if Wales had the power to control all the income tax rates separately we should reduce the top rate tax was unsurprisingly howled down by some as helping the rich. Maybe so, but it would increase the amount of taxes paid in Wales, increasing the amount available to pay for the services that those same people claim they care about. Other sensible tax policies could also help stimulate the Welsh economy and go some way towards us catching up with the rest of the UK and paying our own way.

Make no mistake, Wales is in a dire situation, and we need some bold thinking to get us out of this hole, but anyone who suggests anything slightly contradicting Welsh Labours leftist and statist orthodoxy is called a Tory and therefore another good idea is thrown on the scrap heap.

These are just a couple of suggestions for what I think we need in Wales if we are going to have a better future. They may prove unpopular, but if you are like me then you will prefer the blogs/articles that provoke thought rather than just making bland statements that everyone can agree with but provide no real challenge.

There are some good thinkers in all the parties and from all parts of Welsh life who are willing to really think differently for Wales. Politicians like Adam Price, David Melding and recently Ann Clwyd, economists like Gerald Holtham, Eurfyl ap Gwilym and Dylan Jones-Evans, academics like Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, business people such as Terry Matthews, even TV personalities like Griff Rhys Jones, have all said something which may go against what people want to hear but will at least provoke thought and at best suggest a path out of our current rut.

Maybe if they were to start up the new party I suggested earlier we could make a start on building the Wales we need.