Welsh devolution
Parliament for Wales Campaign 1949
Those in favour of a parliament for Wales paraded in Machynlleth (the place of Owain Glyndwr's last Senedd) on 01/10/1949. Speakers and entertainment was also at the event. The official launch of the Campaign for a Welsh Parliament (Ymgyrch Senedd i Gymru) occurred on the 1/7/1950 during another rally in Llandrindod. This event lead to the creation of a petition of 240,652 names which was presented to the House of Commons in 1956.[1]
Welsh Language Act 1967
The Welsh Language Act 1967 repealed a section of the Wales and Berwick Act and thus "Wales" was no longer part of the legal definition of England. This essentially defined Wales as a separate entity legally (but within the UK), for the first time since before the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 which defined Wales as a part of the Kingdom of England. The Welsh Language Act 1967 also expanded areas where use of Welsh was permitted, including in some legal situations.[2][3][4]
Secretary of State for Wales
Welsh Assembly Referendum 1979
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In a referendum in 1979, Wales voted against the creation of a Welsh assembly with an 80 per cent majority. In 1997, a second referendum on the same issue secured a very narrow majority (50.3 per cent).[5]
National Assembly Referendum 1999
The National Assembly for Wales(Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) was set up in 1999 (under the Government of Wales Act 1998) with the power to determine how Wales' central government budget is spent and administered, although the UK Parliament reserved the right to set limits on its powers.[5]
Government of Wales Act 2006
The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system of government with a separate executive drawn from and accountable to the legislature. [6]
From Principality to Country 2011
In 2011, the International Standards Organisation, officially changed the status of Wales from a principality to a country following lobbying from Plaid Cymru AM at the time, Leanne Wood. [7]
The governments of the United Kingdom and of Wales almost invariably define Wales as a country.[8][9] The Welsh Government says: "Wales is not a Principality. Although we are joined with England by land, and we are part of Great Britain, Wales is a country in its own right."[10][n 1]
Increased Assembly Powers 2011
Following a successful referendum in 2011 on extending the law making powers of the National Assembly it is now able to make laws, known as Acts of the Assembly, on all matters in devolved subject areas, without needing the UK Parliament's agreement. [12]
Launch of YesCymru 2016
In 2016, YesCymru was launched. A non party-political campaign for an independent Wales which held its first rally in Cardiff in 2019. [13] Support for Welsh independence has reached as high as 40% in 2021. [14]
Renaming the Send 2020
In May 2020, the National Assembly for Wales was renamed "Senedd Cymru" or "the Welsh Parliament", commonly known as the "Senedd" in both English and Welsh. [15]
- ^ "Watch Rali Senedd i Gymru, Machynlleth 1949". BFI Player. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "The Constitution Series: 1 – Wales in the United Kingdom" (PDF). National Assembly for Wales. July 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ^ "History of devolution". senedd.wales. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ "The Welsh language Act of 1967". BBC. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ a b Powys, Betsan (12 January 2010). "The long Welsh walk to devolution". BBC News website. BBC. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
- ^ "StackPath". www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ WalesOnline (2011-07-31). "International body grants Wales country status after principality error". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ "Countries within a country". 10 Downing Street website. 10 Downing Street. 10 January 2003. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- ^ "UN report causes stir with Wales dubbed 'Principality'". WalesOnline website. Media Wales Ltd. 3 July 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
... the Assembly's Counsel General, John Griffiths, [said]: "I agree that, in relation to Wales, Principality is a misnomer and that Wales should properly be referred to as a country.
- ^ a b "Wales.com FAQs". Wales.com website. Welsh Government. 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Bogdanor, Vernon (1995). The Monarchy and the Constitution. London: Oxford University Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-19-827769-9. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
In his autobiography, the Duke of Windsor complained that, as Prince of Wales, there was 'no specific routine job in the sense, for example, that a vice-president has a job ... Though I was next in line to the Throne, with all that position implied, I actually possessed no formal state duties or responsibilities.' 'This constitutional vacuum', Jonathan Dimbleby, biographer of the Prince of Wales, has noted, 'was not an oversight, but documentary evidence of the peculiar position that the heir apparent occupies; there is no formal "role", except to wait.'
- ^ "StackPath". www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ Harries, Robert (2020-11-08). "The rise of Yes Cymru and why people are joining in their thousands". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ "Westminster warned as poll shows record backing for Welsh independence". the Guardian. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
- ^ "Welsh assembly renamed Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament". BBC News. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
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