Welsh independence
Welsh independence () is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England. He introduced the royal ordinance, the Statute of Rhuddlan, in 1284, causing Wales to lose its de facto independence and become a principality of the Kingdom of England. Following the Laws in Wales Acts between 1535 and 1542, English law replaced "Cyfraith Hywel" (Welsh medieval law), and the principality and the bordering Marches were integrated into England. The Wales and Berwick Act defined "England" to include Wales , between 1746 and a partial repeal in 1967, following the Welsh Language Act, which introduced the term "England and Wales". In 2011, Wales was recognised as a country within the United Kingdom by the International Organization for Standardization, dropping the title of "principality" previously used, despite Wales not being a principality since 1542. The modern Welsh independence movement emerged during the mid-19th century, as did a Welsh autonomy movement. Since 1999, Wales has been granted some legislative power as part of a devolution system within the United Kingdom, and contemporary Welsh law within the English legal system. At present, the  political parties Plaid Cymru, Propel, Gwlad, and the Wales Green Party support Welsh independence, as does the non-partisan YesCymru campaign group. Recent polling puts the movement at 20-35% support, an increase from 2013, with a majority of those polled opposing independence. History and context. Middle Ages. Wales first appeared as a unified independent country in 1055 under the leadership of the only King of Wales to have controlled all the territories of Wales, Gruffydd ap Llywelyn until 1063. Three years later the Norman invasion began which briefly controlled much of Wales, but by 1100 Anglo-Normans control was  reduced to the lowland Gwent, Glamorgan, Gower, and Pembroke, regions which experienced considerable Anglo-Norman colonisation, while the contested border region between the Welsh princes and Anglo-Norman barons became known as the Welsh Marches. Last prince of Wales. In the 13th century, the last prince of Wales, Llywelyn the Last retained his rights to Wales in agreement with King Henry in the treaty of Montgomery in 1267. Henry's successor, Edward I disapproved of Llywelyn's alliance with Simon de Montfort, who revolted along with other barons against the English king in the second barons' war of 1264 to  1267 and so in 1276, Edward's army forced Llywelyn into an agreement that saw Llywelyn withdraw his powers to Gwynedd only. In 1282 whilst attempting to gather support in Cilmeri near Builth Wells, Llywelyn was killed by one of Edward's soldiers. Llywelyn's brother, Dafydd ap Gruffydd briefly led a force in Wales, but was captured and later hung drawn and quartered by Edward, thus ending Welsh independence. Owain Glyndŵr rebellion. Since conquest, there have been Welsh rebellions against English rule. The last, and the most significant revolt was the Glyndŵr Rising of 1400–1415, which briefly restored independence . Owain Glyndŵr held the first Welsh parliament (a or "gathering") in Machynlleth in 1404 where he was proclaimed Prince of Wales and a second parliament in 1405 in Harlech. Following the eventual defeat of the Glyndŵr rebellion and a brief period of independence, it wasn't until 1999 that a Welsh legislative body was re-established. The banner of Owain Glyndŵr is still used as a symbol of independence today. Integration into England. In the 16th century, King Henry VIII of the Tudor dynasty, (a royal house of Welsh origin) and the English parliament, passed the Laws in Wales Acts , also referred to as the "Acts of Union", which incorporated Wales fully into the Kingdom of England. The law allowed the Welsh gentry to become magistrates and elect Welsh Members of Parliament at Westminster. 19th century. Cymru Fydd. The Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 was the first legislation to acknowledge that Wales had a separate politico-legal character from the rest of the English state. In 1886 Joseph Chamberlain proposed "Home Rule All Round" in the United Kingdom, and in the same year, the Cymru Fydd (Young Wales) movement was founded to further the cause. The main leaders were David  Lloyd George (later Prime Minister), J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis (leader, MP for Merioneth, 1886–1899), the historian J. E. Lloyd and Beriah Gwynfe Evans. Its main objective was to gain self-government for Wales. Their goal was a devolved assembly, but the movement was disbanded in 1896 amid personal rivalries and rifts between Liberal representatives such as David Alfred Thomas. 20th century. National bodies. There was little mainstream political interest in Home Rule following the First World War. The focus of independence moved to the newly founded political party, Plaid Cymru, from 1925, although it took  until the late 1960s for Plaid to make its first electoral breakthroughs. Many bodies were decentralised, however, including: The early part of the century also saw the expansion of the federal University of Wales and the establishment of the National Library and National Museums. By 1945 there were 15 Government departments established in Wales. A Parliament for Wales. On 1 July 1955, a conference of all parties was called at Llandrindod by the New Wales Union (Undeb Cymru Fydd) to consider a national petition for the campaign for a Parliament for Wales. The main leader was Megan Lloyd George, the  daughter of David Lloyd George, T. I. Ellis, and Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards. According to the historian Dr William Richard Philip George, "Megan was responsible for removing much prejudice against the idea of a parliament for Wales". She later presented the petition with 250,000 signatures to the British government in April 1956. The declaration of Cardiff as the capital of Wales in 1955, the Labour Party's 1959 commitment to appoint a Secretary of State for Wales, the creation of the Welsh Office in 1965, and the repeal of the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 two years later seemed  to demonstrate a growing nationalist impetus. However, the heavy defeat for a proposed Welsh Assembly offered by Labour in the 1979 devolution referendum "suggested that the vast majority of the inhabitants of Wales had no desire to see their country having a national future". In the early 1990s, Labour became committed to devolution to both Scotland and Wales, and in 1997 it was elected with a mandate to hold referendums on a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. The proposed assembly won a narrow majority in the 1997 referendum. The National Assembly for Wales was formed in 1999. 21st century . Since the referendum on Welsh devolution in 1997 and formation of the Senedd (then National Assembly for Wales) in 1999, there has been increased support and trust in the Senedd, with support for it to receive more devolved powers. Further powers have been granted to the Senedd by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Wales Act 2014, and the Wales Act 2017. Following the announcement in 2017 of plans to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said there needed to be a national debate on Welsh independence. In July 2020, Plaid brought forward  a motion to discuss a referendum on Welsh independence, but it was rejected by 43 votes to 9. On 24 October 2020, Wales Green Party members voted at their party conference that the party would support Welsh independence in the event of a referendum being held on whether or not Wales should become independent from the United Kingdom. On 11 December 2020, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price stated that if his party won a majority at the 2021 Senedd election, an independence referendum would be held in its first term in office. At Plaid's special conference on independence, held  on 13 February 2021, party members formally approved Price's pledge to hold a referendum in or before 2026. In addition to Plaid, three other parties stood on a pro-independence platform at the Senedd election: the Wales Green Party, Gwlad and Propel. AUOB march. On 11 May 2019, a march for Welsh independence was organised by AUOB Cymru in Cardiff, with an estimated 3,000 in attendance. On 27 July 2019, AUOB organised an independence march in Caernarfon. Estimates put the attendance at about 8,000. On 7 September 2019, a third AUOB Cymru was held in Merthyr Tydfil and attracted  a crowd of 5,200. YesCymru. Non-partisan pro-independence group, YesCymru was founded in 2014 and open to the public for membership in 2016. In 2020, the group gained a sudden rise in membership with 17,000 members by the end of 2020, partly influenced by the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-Scottish independence referendum. In January 2021, Guto Harri, who was Boris Johnson's communications chief when the latter was Mayor of London, wrote in "The Sunday Times" that "the idea of independence is taking off, with new recruits from very different backgrounds." He went on to  say, "Brexiteers will hate me for saying this, but it is clear that some have contributed more to the cause of Welsh independence than my late father. The prospect of being attached to a leftover English rump of the UK, if Scotland and Northern Ireland head off, seems bleak to many people. And having argued against pooling sovereignty with our neighbours to facilitate trade and maximise our influence, Brexiteers should not be surprised if the same logic is applied in a different setting." Richard Wyn Jones, director of the Welsh governance centre at Cardiff University, claimed that the cause of  independence in Wales would be boosted significantly if Scotland chose independence first. Independent Constitution Commission. In September 2021, an open letter, signed by a number of groups who advocate for Welsh independence (including Welsh Football Fans for Independence, AUOBCymru and members of the former central committee of YesCymru), was sent to Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford. Written in response to Drakeford's proposed constitutional commission, it stated that "Wales needs an independence commission, not one to salvage the union." The following month, the Independent Constitutional Commission was launched by the Welsh Labour government. Led by Professor Laura McAllister and former  Archbishop of Wales, Rowan Williams, it will examine Wales' future relationship with the rest of the UK and will consider Welsh independence as well. Plaid Cymru called the commission the "most wide-ranging national conversation about Wales' future". Issues. Representation at Westminster. As of the 2019 general election, 40 of 650 seats at the House of Commons are in Wales. Wales has the smallest average constituency size, with 56,000 constituents per MP compared to 72,200 per MP for England. Proposals revealed by the Boundary Commission in 2020 would reduce the number of Welsh seats to 32 as part of efforts  to equalise constituency sizes. Advocates for Welsh independence often cite the small number of seats in Wales as a justification for independence. They feel that this limits the ability of Wales to help make political decisions within the UK. Dissatisfaction with the House of Lords, where members are appointed rather than elected, has also been cited as a reason for independence. Powers. A central argument made by those in favour of independence is that becoming an independent country would allow Wales to make its own decisions on policy areas such as foreign policy, taxation, and other non-devolved issues. It  has also been suggested that the Welsh governemnt would be able to be fully accountable for an independent Wales and that the Welsh electorate would have sole political representation and would elect a government voted for by Wales only. Welsh economy and trade. Welsh independence would also grant Wales far greater control over its economy. Proponents of independence argue that this would allow Wales to flourish as an independent country. One major obstacle to Welsh independence is the size of Wales' fiscal deficit, which as of 2021 stood at 18% with each Welsh citizen being a net recipient of £ 4,400 per year from the UK exchequer. Those in favour of independence, such as Plaid Cymru, have pointed to the success of countries such as the Republic of Ireland after leaving the UK and note that modern Wales is in a better economic state than 1920s Ireland. European Union membership. In 1975, Plaid Cymru opposed remaining in the European Communities (EC), feeling that the EC’s regional aid policies would "reconcile places like Wales to their subordinate position". Nevertheless, 65% of Welsh voters voted to remain in the EC during a 1975 referendum. The EC were incorporated into the European  Union (EU) in 1993. The United Kingdom left the EU in 2020 following a referendum on membership in 2016. 53% of Welsh voters voted to leave at the referendum, though Plaid Cymru, the only pro-independence party with representatives in the Welsh Assembly, opposed leaving. Since Brexit, many pro-independence campaigners, including Plaid Cymru, have argued that joining the European Union would be a benefit to leaving the United Kingdom, noting the success of small nations such as Lithuania, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland within the EU. While most in favour of independence favour joining the EU, this is  not a universal position. According to Ashcroft Polls, a "significant" number of Plaid Cymru voters also voted for Brexit. It has been suggested that an independent Wales would have the option to join the EU in an exclusive Welsh deal if this option benefits Wales. Sports teams. Supporters of Welsh independence have argued that the ability to form Welsh teams in sports such as cricket or at the Olympics would represent a significant benefit. Defence. Dr. Bleddyn Bowen, Lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College London has suggested codified objectives in an independent Wales. Opinion polling. Yes/No Independence  polls. "0-10" Independence polls – (Respondents asked to rate 0–10. 0–4 Against, 5 indifferent, 6–10 In Favour. "Don't Know" removed) Devolution extent polls Side by side polls – Independence vs. No devolved government in Wales