Brittle with relics

 I have already mentioned Richard King's book, which is a history of Wales, through the recollection of people intimately involved, between two key events: the founding of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (Welsh Language Society) in 1962, given impetus by the Tryweryn Dam project; and the passing of the legislation which set up the Welsh Assembly, now Senedd. in 1998. I have been dipping into it from time to time, and will surely continue to do so, but I completed my reading of it today with the final chapters.

The story of the long wait for the result of the devolution referendum is well told. The nervousness of Yes campaigners, many of whom were pessimistic after a campaign beset by troubles, comes over, along with their relief when the results from Carmarthen and Powys narrowly sealed the deal. Strangely, the unexpectedly large Yes majority in Neath which to my mind was the deciding factor was not examined, even though Peter Hain, then MP for the Neath constituency, was one of Richard King's contributors. A greater disappointment, considering that the devolution settlement is similar to what David Lloyd George advocated over a century ago, is that no Liberal Democrat let alone an old Liberal was quoted. Welsh LibDems leader Mike German (now a peer of the realm) was in the thick of the cross-party campaign to secure a Yes vote, on one occasion witnessing a near-riot in a local meeting, such were the strong feelings aroused. He would have been an ideal commentator, as would Roger Roberts who could have given a North Walian, Welsh-speaking angle. 

I cannot claim to be involved or even to have voted, because I was away on a contract in England when the vote took place. Besides, I was less than enthusiastic about the narrow choice offered in the referendum, the limited powers granted to the Assembly and the way that the legislation had been arrived at. There had been no constitutional convention, as in Scotland, which would have brought both politicians and national institutions together, to recommend what form devolution should take. If John Smith, an enthusiast for devolution, had lived to see the Labour victory in 1997, no doubt things would have been different. Tony Blair is revealed by King's witnesses to have been hostile to devolution, but clearly he could not be seen by the party to go back on the word of his predecessor as leader, nor the will of his de facto Welsh Secretary, Ron Davies, an enthusiastic convert to the cause. Blair also had to be persuaded to include proportional representation in the proposals. (Having been thwarted in the Convention in their proposal for STV for the Scottish Parliament, Liberal Democrats compromised with Labour on an AMS - additional member system - crafted to give the closest possible reflection of voter intentions by, I believe, Andy Ellis.)

In the end, rather than devising a tailor-made model of government for Wales, the scheme devised by the Convention for Scotland was shoehorned into Wales, distorting the voting system so that it was less than proportional, favouring the dominant party by possibly one or two seats. 

Those quibbles by an admittedly political nerd apart, this book is thoroughly recommended.

Footnote: Richard King can also be heard in his personal tour of the communities on the coast of Britain, Radio 4's "Living on the Edge".