Devolution and the Senedd
Wales rejects an assembly by four to one in 1979, narrowly approves one in 1997, and over two decades its National Assembly grows into a law-making parliament, renamed the Senedd in 2020.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- Wales Says Yes: Devolution and the 2011 Welsh Referendum — Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, University of Wales Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
- Wales — Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica
On St David’s Day, 1 March 1979, Welsh voters rejected a proposed Welsh assembly by 79.7% to 20.3%. Eighteen years later, on 18 September 1997, a new proposal passed by just 50.3% to 49.7%, a majority of 6,721 votes on a turnout of about half the electorate, and the National Assembly for Wales first met in 1999.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- Wales Says Yes: Devolution and the 2011 Welsh Referendum — Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, University of Wales Press (2012)
From No to Yes
In 1979 many Welsh people feared an assembly would be dominated by Welsh speakers or by the south, or would break up Britain; Labour itself was split. What changed their minds was the experience of the 1980s and 1990s. Wales voted Labour, but was ruled for eighteen years by Conservative governments, with Secretaries of State for Wales sitting for English seats, while the coal and steel industries collapsed. Tryweryn, Aberfan and the miners’ strike had all taught the same lesson to many: Wales lacked power over its own affairs.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
- A History of Wales — John Davies, Penguin (2007)
The 1997 result was so narrow that it was decided by the last county to declare, Carmarthenshire. The map showed Welsh-speaking west Wales and the industrial valleys voting Yes, and Cardiff, the north-east and the border areas voting No.
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
Growing powers
The first Assembly could only pass secondary legislation. The Government of Wales Act 2006 separated the government from the Assembly and allowed more law-making, and in a 2011 referendum 63.5% of voters approved full law-making powers in devolved areas. In 2020 the Assembly was renamed Senedd Cymru, the Welsh Parliament, and 16- and 17-year-olds gained the vote in its elections; from 2026 it was expanded to 96 members. Labour led every Welsh government for the first quarter-century of devolution, often in coalition or partnership with Plaid Cymru or the Liberal Democrats.
- Wales Says Yes: Devolution and the 2011 Welsh Referendum — Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, University of Wales Press (2012)
- Wales — Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica
A political nation
Welsh people’s sense of being Welsh was never in doubt, but devolution made Wales a political unit in a way it had not been since Glyndŵr. During the COVID-19 pandemic many Welsh people noticed, perhaps for the first time, that different rules applied on either side of the border. Support for independence remains a minority position, though it has grown since the 2010s, while a smaller minority would abolish the Senedd altogether.
- Wales Says Yes: Devolution and the 2011 Welsh Referendum — Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, University of Wales Press (2012)
- Wales — Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Devolution gave Wales a democratic voice after decades of governments it did not vote for, and has made Wales a political nation; most Welsh people now support it and many want more powers.
- Wales Says Yes: Devolution and the 2011 Welsh Referendum — Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, University of Wales Press (2012)
- Wales since 1939 — Martin Johnes, Manchester University Press (2012)
Critics argue that the Senedd has added politicians and cost without fixing Wales's problems in health, education and the economy, and some would abolish it; others in the north and the east feel it is too centred on Cardiff and the south.
- Wales Says Yes: Devolution and the 2011 Welsh Referendum — Richard Wyn Jones and Roger Scully, University of Wales Press (2012)
Why it matters today
The Senedd in Cardiff Bay now runs Welsh health, education, transport, the language and much else, so daily life in Wales increasingly differs from England, from free prescriptions to different school curricula. Devolution is now widely accepted, but arguments continue about how much power Cardiff should have, how well it has used it, and whether Wales should one day be independent.