Gillan was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in December 2005 as the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. She was initially opposed to the creation of the National Assembly for Wales, saying that there was not a large enough majority in favour of it in the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum. However, after becoming Shadow Welsh Secretary, she declared that she supported the Welsh Assembly, and has maintained the possibility of the Conservatives supporting the devolution of further powers. She said in 2008, however, that the Conservative Party was divided on the issue of devolution, and criticised the state of devolution in Wales as being "complex and cumbersome".