tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16118135122036634952024-03-19T08:47:21.549+00:00Welsh IndependenceUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-85894084845605087382016-07-22T11:38:00.004+01:002016-07-22T11:40:29.796+01:00Join YesCymru - The Campaign for Welsh Independence<b>Join YesCymru to be part of the only organisation that is actively campaigning for Welsh independence. </b>Full details at: <a href="http://yes.cymru/join/">yes.cymru/join/ </a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://yes.cymru/join/"><img alt="Join Yes Cymru" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-416" src="http://yes.cymru/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/join-yescymru.png" height="320" width="640" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-80473276127360775832015-04-02T13:25:00.002+01:002015-04-02T13:25:37.456+01:00Home Rule Rally, Cardiff, 04/04/15<div class="entry-content">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://yescymru.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/yescymru-poster.pdf"><img alt="homerule-rally1" class="size-full wp-image-172 aligncenter" height="461" src="https://yescymru.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/homerule-rally1.jpg?w=656&h=461" width="656" /></a><a href="https://yescymru.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/yescymru-poster.pdf">Download poster (PDF)</a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>HOME RULE – Don’t let Wales get left behind</strong><br />
2pm, April 4, 2015, Senedd, Building, Cardiff</span><br />
<br />
<span class="fsl"><strong>Contributors:</strong><br />
Adam Price – Former MP<br />
Dewi ‘Pws’ Morris – Musician, actor and comedian<br />
Catrin Dafydd – Author and campaigner<br />
David Petersen – Sculptor and leader of the St David’s Day Parade<br />
Jamie Bevan – Campaigner and Chair of Cymdeithas yr iaith<br />
Iestyn ap Rhobert – Yes Cymru<br />
</span><br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/842080972526192">Facebook Event.</a></li>
<li><a href="http://yescymru.org/2015/02/09/home-rule-yescymrus-view/">Home Rule – YesCymru’s View</a></li>
<li><a href="http://yescymru.org/2015/01/31/cyfrannu-donate-to-yescymru/">Donate via Paypal</a></li>
<li><a href="http://yescymru.org/2015/03/04/cyfrannu-ir-rali-ymreolaeth-support-the-home-rule-rally/">Donate via Indiegogo</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-90001702098687000162014-08-17T22:10:00.005+01:002014-08-17T22:39:03.387+01:00Wales Supporting YES - Cymru’n Cefnogi IE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxkNWwEq5D9UrTq-Z7GIQnHUD3xcmPBtXaJa0R_hFpAjRnld4veoJhruNCoUH3qn3ZaoQHc2Z0JZngH3fTYhkocaT0OIA94BuxRR_J5nXwbkP_G1_ilp1G0pRRowp_rJLhXuaZ9aP7W73/s1600/Scotland+Yes+784x295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxkNWwEq5D9UrTq-Z7GIQnHUD3xcmPBtXaJa0R_hFpAjRnld4veoJhruNCoUH3qn3ZaoQHc2Z0JZngH3fTYhkocaT0OIA94BuxRR_J5nXwbkP_G1_ilp1G0pRRowp_rJLhXuaZ9aP7W73/s1600/Scotland+Yes+784x295.jpg" height="250" width="640" /> </a></div>
<ul>
<li><b>Facebook Page</b>: <a href="http://facebook.com/GoForItScotland">facebook.com/GoForItScotland</a></li>
<li><b>Facebook Event:</b> <a href="http://facebook.com/events/1490201901225604">facebook.com/events/1490201901225604</a></li>
<li><b>Twitter Page:</b> <a href="http://twitter.com/walesyes">twitter.com/walesyes</a></li>
<li><b>Email</b>: <a href="mailto:walesyes@gmail.com">walesyes@gmail.com</a></li>
<li><b>Poster:</b> <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2mM-onBnmCAbmIxdzI0X1czSDA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">PDF </a></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Wales Supporting YES</b><br />Supporting Scottish Independence<br />2pm, Saturday September 13th<br />Senedd Building, Cardiff Bay</span><br />
<br />
Less than a week before the historical vote in Scotland, come to the Welsh capital to wish the people of Scotland well in their quest for self-determination.<br />
<br />
===================================<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cymru’n Cefnogi IE</b><br />Cefnogi Annibyniaeth i'r Alban<br />2pm, Dydd Sadwrn Medi 13eg<br />Y Senedd, Bae Caerdydd</span><br />
<br />
Llai nag wythnos cyn y bleidlais hanesyddol yn yr Alban, dewch i brif ddinas Cymru i ddangos eich cefnogaeth i bobl yr Alban yn eu hymgais dros annibyniaeth.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-68020750391035238002014-06-20T14:54:00.004+01:002014-06-20T14:54:58.371+01:00Video: Wales Supporting Scottish Independence <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UsiVjvN5I74" width="640"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-72391373241171556272012-07-31T13:45:00.001+00:002012-07-31T13:46:08.373+00:00What price Independence? - Mabon ap Gwynfor<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CMOQ-F0c8ZwRaWujforBrmYc1Kt9beG2QtaMz6rVWbzSgmjtHUGIWgss9n5Pp9GYWa4GBXnBO9sRNZmNR1_qqyvo8uYb-5Bv1qAm2FvLxsJztiz4h8Fm2_nBMPjmYp5FIv15vlQF9x0b/s1600/mabon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CMOQ-F0c8ZwRaWujforBrmYc1Kt9beG2QtaMz6rVWbzSgmjtHUGIWgss9n5Pp9GYWa4GBXnBO9sRNZmNR1_qqyvo8uYb-5Bv1qAm2FvLxsJztiz4h8Fm2_nBMPjmYp5FIv15vlQF9x0b/s320/mabon.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mabon ap Gwynfor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>One of the major arguments against an Independent Wales is that of ‘affordability’, with pro-Union supporters claiming that Wales could not afford independence.</b><br />
<br />
Indeed if you are sad enough to read the comments section of papers like the Mail and Express (like i occasionally find myself doing!) you’ll see that it seems to be a commonly held belief that England subsidises everything in Wales. Dr Eurfyl ap Gwilym countered this argument brilliantly in his never to be forgotten <a href="http://youtu.be/1Gy7f8vP2QY" target="_blank" title="Eurfyl ap Gwilym Vs Paxman">tête-à-tête </a><a href="http://youtu.be/1Gy7f8vP2QY" target="_blank" title="Eurfyl ap Gwilym Vs Paxman">with Paxman on Newsnight</a>.<br />
<br />
However there are many within the Welsh national movement, many good friends of mine, who continue to argue that we cannot contemplate independence until we resolve what is called the ‘funding gap’, that is the gap between our income and expenditure.<br />
<br />
Furthermore we are constantly told, by people in my own party as well as others, that Wales has become poorer over the years with our GDP falling<br />
<br />
I am very uncomfortable with these arguments. Firstly the funding gap.<br />
<br />
Do we seriously believe that Tom Clarke, Sean McDermott, Patrick Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, James Connolly and other leaders of the Easter Rising in Ireland discussed the planning of the Easter Rising then said “Hold on, how do we resolve the funding gap? Let’s wait a generation”, or more relevant maybe what if Vaclav Havel and the student movement in the then Czechoslovakia decided to hold off the velvet revolution for a generation because of the ‘funding gap’?<br />
<br />
They didn’t because there was a fundamental principle at play, that of the right to self-determination (Copyright David Cameron vis-à-vis The Malvinas/Falkland Islands).<br />
<br />
And in any case, what about the funding gap? It is said to be somewhere in theregion of £6bn in Wales.<br />
<br />
Firstly the simple way to resolve any funding gap is to increase income or lessen expenditure…or both. There is no doubt that an Independent Wales’ expenditure would be significantly less than our current proportion of UK expenditure. We wouldn’t have Trident for one thing. It is likely that our military spend would be significantly less overall. We wouldn’t be subsidising London either. Neither would we have to pay back for enormously expensive English PFI projects. Looking at the political make-up of Wales today we can confidently say that Wales wouldn’t have developed a PFI policy – an exorbitant credit card scheme. And what about the UK’s light touch regulation of the financial sector and the public bailout? Would we allow this? But the most important point is that an Independent Wales would develop policies suitable for the Welsh economic climate. This would mean Wales developing tax policies suitable for Wales. Who knows what this would result in! However we can be certain that it would not be any worse than the current economic mess simply because there is NO economic policy for Wales. All this would result in a completely different Welsh economy relative to the state.<br />
<br />
It also means that we are setting the bar extraordinarily high for ourselves. If producing a budget surplus is the definition of a free and independent state, then where does that leave The United States of America? Turkey? France? Or even our beloved United Kingdom? All of which are heavily indebted. The UK is the single most indebted state in the world according to consultants Mkinsey. OK, much of this debt also includes personal debts, but who now has to pay back the debts of the banks? Us, of course. The simple truth is that the UK cannot afford to be ‘independent’, yet there is no doubting that it is (unless you’re a member of UKIP).<br />
<br />
Wales, like all other countries, would borrow money. Yet we also seem to be hung up about the levels of any proposed borrowing compared to our income and expenditure. But this is not how debt is measured. A state’s debt is measured based on it’s GDP. But we don’t know what the Welsh GDP is. Those figures aren’t available. A £6bn debt as a percentage of Wales’ GDP could be anything – we simply don’t know. But we do know what the Welsh GDP is as a percentage of the UK average.<br />
<br />
And this brings me on to my final point. We always seem to measure ourselves against England. We go on about Wales having become poorer because our GDP has fallen. But have we? Seriously?<br />
<br />
Pre 1989 Wales GDP bounced around the 85% of the UK average. However post 1989 we have seen a steady decline, and today we are hovering around the 70% mark. But I would content that while statistically we might have become poorer relative to the UK average in this time, in real terms we have become slightly wealthier. The reason that Wales’ GDP has fallen dramatically in this period is because London has become significantly wealthier. Welsh GDP average as a percentage of the UK happened after what is commonly called the Big Bang – the de-regulation of the city and the creation of the Masters of the Universe, which has seen the City Of London sucking in wealth not only from the rest of the UK but also from across the world.<br />
<br />
If you take London out of the equation then it is more than likely that Wales’ GDP comparative to the rest of the UK would probably continue to bounce around the 85% mark if not higher – again we simply don’t know.<br />
<br />
The effect of this however is to play Wales down, and to feed into the UK unionist narrative that Wales is lacking in entrepreneurial spirit and couldn’t go it alone.<br />
<br />
If we keep comparing ourselves with England (UK averages) then we will never raise our confidence and start convincing our people that Wales could become a successful independent nation state.<br />
<br />
We need to start gathering accurate Welsh data.<br />
<br />
Finally, regardless of Wales’ natural wealth which no one has properly valued (unlike, say, Scottish gas), our single most valuable resource is our people (as was argued by Leopold Kohr many decades ago) and no one can put price on the value of the people of Wales pulling together to build Wales up.<br />
<br />
<hr />
<ul>
<li>This was originally posted on Mabon ap Gwynfor's blog. <a href="http://mabonapgwynfor.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/what-price-independence/" target="_blank">Read the blog, and comments here.</a></li>
<li>Read <a href="http://www.plaid-clwyd-south.fsnet.co.uk/English/index.htm" target="_blank">Mabon ap Gwynfor' biography here.</a></li>
<li>Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/mabonapgwynfor/" target="_blank">@mabonapgwynfor</a> on twitter</li>
<li>Mabon ap Gwynfor on facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mabonapgwynfor" target="_blank">facebook.com/mabonapgwynfor</a></li>
</ul>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-47160542355057603442012-07-31T09:38:00.002+00:002012-07-31T10:06:37.770+00:00Bloody nationalists....<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUErTOOvjCRDikyo2FSobPCSP-QCyijePfjK5pHD17hhwUBkG0T_B3Oxu4UJ4spwglJqj6jdOznmnfxnPyaJZav_5b0fR0psk1ZgyvrNlHW1lD0Hd5trBDsecq4d4eMXrtnKqqJI5d8ec-/s1600/bloody+nationalists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUErTOOvjCRDikyo2FSobPCSP-QCyijePfjK5pHD17hhwUBkG0T_B3Oxu4UJ4spwglJqj6jdOznmnfxnPyaJZav_5b0fR0psk1ZgyvrNlHW1lD0Hd5trBDsecq4d4eMXrtnKqqJI5d8ec-/s640/bloody+nationalists.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excellent cartoon by Alun Evans</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Remember (and link to) this cartoon the next time someone
calls you a narrow-minded, insular Welsh nationalist. The ones making the
accusation are usually bigger nationalists themselves - BRITISH NATIONALISTS!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-88389251385324258052012-05-25T22:25:00.000+01:002012-05-25T22:25:00.964+01:00A bit of Olympic fun...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KVZ9ZU_-Kw_Ka8InIQ6mu4MhijLkf7CZC9JjAqGR52TB0KwE6g-_6-4La5ZnVQFqmilGxChAU1aB_Qpy_m5nQPM6EW0SClyzUdm_BbLoP2zBrUsnCmAZNVZvqEnnCp2-y4ArlT1Cpo8e/s1600/ffagl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KVZ9ZU_-Kw_Ka8InIQ6mu4MhijLkf7CZC9JjAqGR52TB0KwE6g-_6-4La5ZnVQFqmilGxChAU1aB_Qpy_m5nQPM6EW0SClyzUdm_BbLoP2zBrUsnCmAZNVZvqEnnCp2-y4ArlT1Cpo8e/s1600/ffagl.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Olympic Torch arrives in Wales! (<a href="http://www.davegranlund.com/cartoons/2008/04/12/olympic-torch-protest/">original cartoon china/Tibet here</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On a more serious note, Wales really should have its own team at the Olympics. That will only come with independence of course. Another good reason to support Welsh independence!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-74783793718560710492012-02-28T17:49:00.016+00:002012-03-27T15:13:38.379+00:00Forward, but which way? Developing a Vision for Wales.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU11Se1w6NAwKHb7XjtoXFmb0K5PfBU-5UCtqUfXRqkmfwzDYKToMlOGDYkDRqu0LFzMTgRIFMyxia389Awjr8F-gq4mWMfK5T6uc4fnPN0qIQPO4mpGG6kGpp6Hp2V5ssPIs3s-LM1EUV/s1600/wales.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 357px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU11Se1w6NAwKHb7XjtoXFmb0K5PfBU-5UCtqUfXRqkmfwzDYKToMlOGDYkDRqu0LFzMTgRIFMyxia389Awjr8F-gq4mWMfK5T6uc4fnPN0qIQPO4mpGG6kGpp6Hp2V5ssPIs3s-LM1EUV/s400/wales.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724347566077355186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wales is a lucky country, it still has abundant natural resources, it has a very intelligent population which is outward looking, it is a small country and thus open to experimentation, but most of all it is a world leader in a domain which is vital for the future of Wales and for that matter the world. </span><br /><br />You might think I’m talking about rugby here, I could be, but I’m not. No I’m talking about ecology, the way in which our planet reproduces its natural and human resources to enable a dynamic but stable environment where mankind can live in harmony.<br /><br />Wales was the first country in the world to produce an ecological footprint, in 2001. I hope I’m not, as they say in Yorkshire where I grew up, teaching me grandma to suck eggs here: an ecological footprint study sets out to identify the total environmental burden we place on the planet by our human activities, it uses available data on resource flows to measure this, often focussing on consumption (as opposed to production) of raw materials, energy and food, and accounts for the waste we produce through these activities. In other words it seeks to measure the ecological processes in any given area, transforms these into a convenient unit of comparison, in this case global hectares which can then be reduced to a per person measure so that the population can be aware of and compare their impact to other people and other countries.<br /><br />Wales is a comparatively “good” country, it’s footprint is less than any other country or region in the U.K. , however having heaped praise on ourselves if we all lived like Wales then we would need a further two worlds to accommodate the human population, and unfortunately both the population and our footprints are currently going in the wrong direction. You could say that we humans are hastening our own death as a species, and that’s not “good.” It’s not, as some economists like <a href="http://enrichlist.org/the-list/">E.F. Schumacher</a> say, an example of “right livelihood”. We are living beyond our ecological means and Wales owes it to the world to maintain our leadership and do better.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdDS0cKYdHCOU84MNpiN-NV2ajrhLQDf5eVyeKTnI3TAG3i8VTSdK6g6daisDuT-3b-gksgSNRp7-GyPrgnQ1ZY0AXkWtwaC-zSno42QIKsY4u7HZlee7_xARJTExpeJqCeO9ydQeabh2/s1600/footprints.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 360px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdDS0cKYdHCOU84MNpiN-NV2ajrhLQDf5eVyeKTnI3TAG3i8VTSdK6g6daisDuT-3b-gksgSNRp7-GyPrgnQ1ZY0AXkWtwaC-zSno42QIKsY4u7HZlee7_xARJTExpeJqCeO9ydQeabh2/s1600/footprints.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div>But let’s give credit where credit is due, The Welsh Assembly is the only national government in the world to use the footprint as an indicator of progress for its overarching Sustainable Development Scheme, Learning to Live Differently. Moreover there is currently consultation on a Natural Environment Framework which follows on from similar crucial work happening internationally like <a href="http://www.teebweb.org/">The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/environmentandcountryside/sustainingwales/?lang=en"><span>The Welsh Government consultation</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;"> “aims to increase our understanding of the value of our environment and how it contributes to our well-being. This will help us make better informed, long term decisions for the future of Wales.”</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">If only we could act on those decisions with the appropriate powers.</span><br /><br />Recently One Planet Wales has identified the potential to reduce the footprint by 75 % by 2050, but that this needs <span style="font-style: italic;">“action across the board,” with transformation of markets and distribution, energy and transport, agriculture, food policy, and almost every branch of production and consumption. You name it, we need to change it. They conclude that “this is no small challenge”</span>, and indeed it isn’t, but then the Welsh population is not one to shy away from challenges. We just don’t own the tools to get the job done properly yet. This is because all these worthy and excellent reports have been produced under a regime which assumes that the Welsh Government, although it shows willing, does not have the control over some of the key “levers” in our society, both economic and political levers, which will enable us to transform our economy and society, and become a true, resilient country. A country which because of our success will have people queuing up on the other side of the border to get in and enjoy the ride, a problem that we will need to address in due time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lets get there first.</span><br /><br />I don’t know about you, but over the last year, I have the feeling that there is building up a momentum, a sort of renaissance of thinking, propositions and reports coming out of Wales. Many of these cogently argue to dispel negative myths about what Wales could be like post independence and argue in positive terms for a new reality. Most recently I read <a href="http://waleshome.org/2012/02/%E2%80%98make-hope-possible-rather-than-despair-convincing%E2%80%99/">Bethan Jenkins writing in WalesHome.org</a>, a wonderful polemical article in support of Leanne Wood, truly inspirational. Any contemporary politician who is prepared to quote both David Harvey (a Marxist intellectual) and André Gorz (a libertarian utopian sociologist) in the same piece can’t be going too far wrong.<br /><br />Other recent reports emanating from Plaid Cymru have outlined excellent strategies in the field of Energy, Transport, or <span style="font-style: italic;">“Collective Entrepreneurship”</span>. And then there is Leanne Wood’s <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.plaidcymru.org/uploads/Articles_and_reports/Greenprint_Cynllun_Gwyrdd.pdf">Greenprint for the Valleys</a>, which sets out a number of practical steps and policies in different sectors which would go a long way towards revitalising The Valleys.<br /><br />Last year Adam Price (with Ben Levinger) produced a report entitled <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/uploads/downloads/Flotilla_Effect_-_Adam_Price_and_Ben_Levinger.pdf"><span style="font-style: italic;">“The Flotilla Effect”</span></a>, which in a very detailed and finely researched analysis showed without doubt that given appropriate powers, country size should be no barrier to economic success in a globalised world. They potentially place independent Wales in a group of countries (like Denmark) which adopt supply side, open to trade, social-partnership models and say that <span>“small size does appear to confer certain important advantages in relation to Economic Growth”</span> especially in the context of the European Union’s Lisbon Agenda, and that small size seems to mean that small countries can more easily shift direction when the European, or world economic context changes (which it seems to be doing at present.)<br /><br />Indeed they go on to show that although Wales’s Economic Growth has been on average 0.9% each year since 1990, if Wales had become independent at this time (along with other colonised countries especially those from the former Soviet Union) then Wales could have shown growth at 2.2 % or even 2.5 % depending on how you calculate the index. Marvellous we all say, licking our lips and clapping our hands, all we have to do now is convince the voting population, and this is one sure way of doing so, independence means more growth, more growth means better off, better off means vote for Plaid, and independence. Let’s go for it.<br /><br />If only things were that simple. And this is where I start to differ. Apart from certain problems I have with the neo-liberal Lisbon Agenda, I’m more concerned about this slavish adherence to GDP as a good measure of progress. GDP does not measure distribution of income or wealth, nor does it measure well being, happiness or ecological effects. It’s a blunt tool.<br /><br />So let’s go back to the Ecological Footprint. The latest report from the <a href="http://www.sei-international.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Future/wales_ecological_footprint_report_270508_final.pdf">Stockholm Environmental Institute <span style="font-style: italic;">“Scenarios to 2020”</span></a> says that Wales’ ecological footprint has been increasing by 1.5 % each year since 1990, in line with but at a faster rate than GDP growth. Imagine if we had had 2.5 % growth, then our E.F. could have been increasing by over 4 % each year. In the first case this would leave us with a 20% bigger E.F. in 2020 than in 2003, in the latter it could lead to an E.F. almost 50% bigger. A catastrophe. So there are some hard choices in priorities to be made.<br /><br />And this is where we can turn to one school of Political Economy, Ecological Economics to offer a different analysis and different policy prescriptions to enable us to make those choices, still make progress economically, and provide greater well being for the population, while putting the future of the Earth (and mankind) at the heart of our plans. In the second part of this article I want to talk about the principles of this school of thought and then offer some policy ideas for a 10 year radical transformation post independence but always as a starting point for a debate amongst us.<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“Economics cannot function in isolation, it has to take into consideration that we live in a world with finite resources, which we cannot replenish. Infinite, exponential or even rapid, straight line economic growth in a world with finite resources is impossible, but this is exactly what a growth driven, profit orientated system seeks!”</blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rwnE3-rPJy2iPairAmds8tZfddVKwDVmaS0SjlZct0Sk3cfYJsHNee9KUt2Qc_GGD9nZHnbI3sK_zMAfvUDPFdtmd0-DrQH6d9Xb-dynnzNpP0OwbWwdjKRrA5aBYxOlESKnwzKBWF8x/s1600/portrait.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rwnE3-rPJy2iPairAmds8tZfddVKwDVmaS0SjlZct0Sk3cfYJsHNee9KUt2Qc_GGD9nZHnbI3sK_zMAfvUDPFdtmd0-DrQH6d9Xb-dynnzNpP0OwbWwdjKRrA5aBYxOlESKnwzKBWF8x/s400/portrait.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714249763126273170" border="0" /></a>The contemporary history starts with a Romanian Economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen. In 1971 he published <span style="font-style: italic;">“The Entropy Law and the Economic Process.”</span> This masterpiece explains the economic importance of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. In brief the earth is a closed natural system, the only real external resource flow in, is that of the continuous fine drizzle of photons which arrives from the Sun and is expected to continue, well beyond the age of Mankind. All the rest just churns around the Biosphere, but in one general physical direction. Mankind’s economic process transforms low entropy (useful) matter-energy into high entropy (chaotic and not useful) waste.<br /><br />This might seem self evident, except that modern economics, (broadly since the advent of capitalism in the late eighteenth century ) be it Classical, Neo-Classical, Monetarist, Neo liberal, Keynesian, whatchamacallit Supply Side social partnership, even to a greater extent Marxist schools do not make this self evidence central to their analysis. This is surprising because the an etymological definition of economics means just that<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“Economics is a science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses”</blockquote>Which is why some Ecological Economists consider that<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“In a finite world, if you believe in exponential growth, then you are either a fool … or an economist”</blockquote>So how does Ecological Economics differ? Here is an academic definition from Saskia Sassen, probably the western world’s leading urban theorist and a recent convert:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ecological Economics : What is it?</span><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">“Many of the biophysical stocks, flows and functions that we use are difficult to quantify and price through conventional understandings of markets, and others are simply invisible to conventional analysis: these are the issues taken up by ecological economists, beginning with the work of Rees (1992), Schulze (1994), Daly (1977) among others. In contrast with neoclassical economics, ecological economics seeks to move away from models of infinite economic growth that separate the economy from the environment and move towards a model of sustainable growth that integrates social capital, built capital, natural capital and human capital components (Gund Institute 2009). Ecological economics rejects the belief that economic growth alone can lead to development and seeks to incorporate measures of quality of life and environmental sustainability alongside GDP in assessing development as human well-being; it rejects the idea that new technologies can overcome all limits to growth, instead suggesting that there are real, insurmountable environmental limits to growth; and it emphasizes allocative efficiency over market efficiency (Costanza 2008; Gund Institute 2009).”</blockquote>In the 1970s Hermann E Daly a North American Economist takes up the mantle. Having studied for his PhD under Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen Daly’s first book in 1977 attacks the ideology of economic growth and argues that because the earth has become “full” of human economic activity, the biophysical limits to growth mean that we need to shift in all urgency to a steady-state economy. For Daly the great advance made by his mentor was <span style="font-style: italic;">“to reunite economics with its biophysical foundations,”</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhSzGFKht1BcB_HBNp3Xij7LHjW-H4tlkPCaJxfHF1gYHPXipZrCk_bKF0WiuYq36hFKebFFaNT9DH1xCUSl7xMhApmf6pxUxy3cqJ_IZBJUq1NA4WsQraLAsv5Do09XTQqdZEyUrrKFQ/s1600/hourglass.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhSzGFKht1BcB_HBNp3Xij7LHjW-H4tlkPCaJxfHF1gYHPXipZrCk_bKF0WiuYq36hFKebFFaNT9DH1xCUSl7xMhApmf6pxUxy3cqJ_IZBJUq1NA4WsQraLAsv5Do09XTQqdZEyUrrKFQ/s1600/hourglass.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Which is where we shall leave the story for the moment, watching the sand of resources flow through the hour glass. We can think about how we, in Wales, can use a few <span style="font-style: italic;">“grains of sand”</span> to thwart the unthinking use of our precious and finite natural resources, while developing a more ethical, humane and ecological way of life, in keeping with our contemporary aspirations.<br /><br />In the second part of this article, after a short break to take air, discuss and together debate this analysis, I’ll try and put together some practical applications. This will look at resource flows, waste, cap and trade, and shifting taxation away from labour and personal income to resource flows. How to design compensatory social programmes. Changes to finance, transport, mobility, food and agriculture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >But what do you think? are these useful ideas and principles for a post independence Wales? How can they help us to transform the Welsh economy? The discussion starts here :-)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Alun Griffiths is an Urbanist and Ecological Economist : In exile since the mid nineties he lives in Marseille and among other things teaches mature Masters students at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Aix – en – Provence, France.</span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://about.me/Alun_Wyn_ap_gruffydd"> http://about.me/Alun_Wyn_ap_gruffydd</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Further reading and listening:</span><br /><a href="http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc1303/index.shtml">http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc1303/index.shtml</a><br /><a href="http://www.electricpolitics.com/podcast/2007/03/ecological_economics.html">http://www.electricpolitics.com/podcast/2007/03/ecological_economics.html</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rydym wrthi'n cyfieithu'r erthygl hon, a bydd ar gael ar </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://annibyniaeth.net/">annibyniaeth.net</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> yn fuan!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-5220319252388213182012-02-19T12:11:00.001+00:002012-02-19T12:15:04.259+00:00Shouting 'Independence' is not the way to live independently as Welsh people<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KsvRCMnDCq7DmvQK5kQrOWS_4r25e-4pL7UU2VeLLJMbh8IKO9TXopAGmG5d6kbNo56GHlWZYrTcCrK2D_SB4jQ3ku8lk9DGojT2OLP7K-lYygsIaE3hkwLPmuLWZDQHPEqQ0Wn_SEU/s1600/Dafydd-el.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KsvRCMnDCq7DmvQK5kQrOWS_4r25e-4pL7UU2VeLLJMbh8IKO9TXopAGmG5d6kbNo56GHlWZYrTcCrK2D_SB4jQ3ku8lk9DGojT2OLP7K-lYygsIaE3hkwLPmuLWZDQHPEqQ0Wn_SEU/s320/Dafydd-el.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707498160919440018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The question raised by the First Minister of Scotland on the proposed referendum, ‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’ has changed the politics of the United Kingdom (UK) forever. The advantage of asking the question is that it has given the clever cabinet of my old friend Alex Salmond an opportunity to define its meaning; as well as the meaning of the second possible question about so called ‘devo max’ a kind of federal equality in the UK of ‘Great Britain and about a half of Northern Ireland’ (as Gwyn Alf Williams used to describe it.). </span><br /><br />We must see what the response has been in Wales, without trying to avoid the statistics in the latest ITV Wales/YouGov. Opinion poll. When a sample of a thousand people was asked, ‘how should Wales should be governed in a UK without Scotland?’ 32% replied that Welsh Government and the National Assembly should have more powers. 10% wanted to see Wales as a country ‘independent of the United Kingdom’. 40% of Conservative supporters wanted to take advantage of potential change in Scotland to eradicate devolution completely by abolishing the Assembly. A clear warning to too many who are willing to co-operate as a kind of joint-opposition in the current assembly, let alone in government!<br /><br />The most important statistic according to some media is that only a third (33%), a minority of Plaid Cymru voters, wanted to see Wales as an ‘independent’ country following any change in Scotland. Nothing new here. It is similar to the statistics in Professors Roger Scully and Richard Wyn Jones’ substantial studies of political opinion in Wales on ‘devolution’, including those commissioned by the National Assembly in 2008 before the referendum. It must therefore be assumed that this is the considered view of the majority of Plaid Cymru voters. So the most important constitutional question for the next Plaid Cymru leader is how public opinion in Wales, including Plaid voters, can shift towards public opinion in Scotland. As someone who spent years of apprenticeship developing an understanding Wales’s constitution, I relish this opportunity.<br /><br /><br />I am confident that this is possible if the leadership offered is honest, intelligent, willing to listen to people and electable. In 1999 when I was elected by my Colleagues as Presiding Officer of the National Assembly, I immediately saw that the body was not sustainable as it stood, a mishmash of assembly and government with one body of civil servants running both. Law-making powers were less than those of a Minister in the old Welsh Office. We set out to prove to the people of Wales day in day out that this just wasn’t good enough.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PLAYING AN INTELLIGENT GAME</span><br /><br />When we look back today it is important to realise how much has already been won. And the biggest victory came in a referendum when the Leader of Plaid Cymru was Deputy Prime Minister with the Welsh Labour Leader in the One Wales Government. As developments in Scotland cause unintelligent questions to be asked on screens and in tea rooms across the UK the next few years will offer the best chance in the history of Wales to win yet more practical autonomy up to independence in the European Union (EU) if we really want it. This will not come about by shouting ‘independence’ on the touchline, but by playing an intelligentgameacross the field. We must ensure that we take advantage of every opportunity to do so. And I do believe that the full understanding of constitutional affairs in this kingdom which I have developed over the years would be a huge advantage for me as Plaid leader.<br /><br />The most important thing that I have learnt over the years is that outreach for new support and a search for common ground is the way to get things done. Not by repeating clichés targeted mainly at pleasing core supporters – despite the temptation to do so in any internal election. I am determined to see the constitutional future of Wales having the attention it deserves over the next few years. And I am equally determined to raise the level of public debate on the subject. As I have already said in the Senedd I welcome First Minister Carwyn Jones’s call for a ‘Convention’ or,perhaps a Summit, on the relationship between the countries of the UK, not more appointed committees reporting only to the UK Government.<br /><br />On my occasional visits to Monday questions at Westminster I enjoy the game of viewing the response of the parliamentary establishment to events in Scotland. It is remarkable how limited their understanding is of the constitutional affairs of their own state. The funniest example was<br />Chancellor George Osborne’s suggestion that an independent Scotland would require ‘permission’ from the Treasury in London to continue using the £ sterling. A bit like Peter Hain MP’s argument that Scotland would have to renegotiate its current membership of the European Union (EU) as if it were acceding to membership for the first time. They had to retract these words pretty quickly of course. By trying to present independence as a simplistic, rigid and irreversible option all the UK unionist establishment shows is its lack of insight and understanding of international affairs.<br /><br />If I was based in Scotland just now, as I was at the beginning of the nineties at the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs in St Andrews University, it goes without saying that I would be with Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon and the rest of the SNP Cabinet one hundred per cent in their efforts to win as much powers as possible for the people of Scotland. Itis also quite obvious that their grasp of the UK constitution is much better than that of the UK British establishment down there in London! By having to explain what the question on the ballot paper ‘whether Scotland should be an independent country’, means exactly, their supporters will also have to start defining the exact nature of the state they want to see in Scotland.<br /><br />If they keep the pound– as it is quite reasonable and pragmatic for them to do of course – it does mean the Bank of England will be setting interest rates, a key power in managing any economy. If Scotlandwanted a say in Bank of England decisions, they that would have to complying with tight borrowing rules. An equally painstaking job for the SNP Cabinet will be to define the exact meaning of that new term in our vocabulary – ‘devo max’. It is obliviously a flexible term, but I would simply define it as winning the maximum power for Scotland and its people. I know that Alex Salmond and his advisors are working just as hard behind the scenes to gain the support of thoughtful members of other parties for this choice, in addition to publicising the virtues of being an independent country.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WALES IS NOT SCOTLAND!</span><br /><br />Any cursory student is bound to notice quickly the difference between thehistory, culture and the national life of that we sometimes misleadingly refer to a ‘Celtic countries’! If it were a tactic amongst some in Scottish politics, and I do not allege that this is the case, to argue for being an independent country to achieve some form or other of ‘devo max’ it does not follow that such a strategy would work in Wales. As we have seen, the support in Wales for what is called independence is less than a third of what it is in Scotland. It would be disparaging for us to see this as some sort of national shame and disgrace. It would be much more constructive to develop an understanding of the historical and economic reasons for it. To note one obvious thing, the over dependenceof theWelsh economy on the public sector is a key factor.<br /><br />Certainly a small section among Plaid Cymru members would gain some kind of spiritual comfort from hearing the same nationalistic clichés constantly preached. I am the son of a Presbyterian Minister, though now a member of the Church in Wales, and throughout my life all I have constantly heard from pulpits is the emphasis on works. That is why I welcome the warning in the report ‘Moving Forward’, that ‘Plaid should be careful not to appear as if it is only interested in constitutional matters’. We must also understand that there would so pretty clear implications to putting forward independence as the main item of all our political activities. Would Plaid therefore give up any attempts to argue for a fairer formulathan Barnett formula for the distribution of state resources to Wales? Or putting sustainable development at the heart of the work of Welsh Government, the life of the country, the continent and the world?<br /><br />I would argue fervently that the priority therefore is to achieve the support of public opinion in Wales to strengthen our political institutions so as to protect and promote the interests of the people of Wales, sodeveloping sustainably the life of our part of the world. I believe ‘Moving Forward’ is right to say “Plaid Cymru needs to map in more detail the constitutional steps which are desirable in their view.” I also agree with proposed steps towards the aims of establishing a specific Welsh jurisdiction, the devolution of policing powers and transfer of functions for fields such as borrowing, taxation, broadcasting and energy, and implementing all the recommendations of the Richard commission which reported to Welsh Government, moving from a model of ‘power devolved’ to ‘powers retained’ on the Scottish model and the Richard Commission recommendations.<br /><br />I would add the need to abolish the ‘semi colonial’ job of Secretary of State, and support devolution to the English Parliament, moving towards equality in the UK between countries. The report also suggests setting the degrees of support for such objectives, in addition to support for Plaid, as indicators of success. While I fully agree with this, I but would go one step further – the most important criterion must be the degree of success in achieving these objectives.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ONLY IN EUROPE IS INDEPENDENCE POSSIBLE</span><br /><br />Sustainable development is the new independence for the 21st century since it draws us out of every environmental and economic dependency to inter-dependence. That was the message of ‘One Wales: One Planet’. That is why I am also determined to see Plaid nurture a broader insight in terms of its attitude to Europe and the European Union (EU). We must take much more notice of developments on mainland Europe than in recent years. Talk of any long term aims is meaningless unless it is firmly placed in a wider context. Repeating clichés about ‘independence’ is useless unless we define exactly what powers Wales should have. Clear insight is necessary from the standpoint of which decisions should be taken by individual states and which ones on a European Union level.<br /><br />In a brilliant essay, ‘England Wales and Europe’ Saunders Lewis argued that “bringing political and economic unity to Europe is one of the first requirements of our century”. Nearly a century later, we can celebrate how far ahead of their time our party’s founders were. Words such as these, and the emphasis by the early leaders on the interdependence of nations, offer such an enlightened contrast to those of David Cameron and the anti-European Unionists in the Conservative Party and the insular press with their UKIP-ist idea of sovereignty. As a party we should be in the forefront of pouring scorn on such narrow state nationalism, alwaysavoiding the temptation to use such language ourselves. If we seriously want to see the disappearance of the UK as an old post-imperial state with the rest of them out the life of Europe then common sense tells us how more difficult it would be to achieve that if we distance ourselves from the process of political unity on mainland Europe. It is all important that we recognise the limitations of nation states as appropriate forms of government and leave well behind such 20th century ideas as sovereignty.<br /><br />I am determined to see Plaid rise to the challenge of adapting to the needs of a new age, remaining true to some of the most important values which belong to us as an historical party. If I am elected, I do not commit myselfto preach what members of Plaid want to hear every time. I am committed to use all my experience in outreach for new support to ensure as much power as possible in the present time, not in some fantasy future over the horizon, for Wales and her people.<br /><br />Dafydd Elis-Thomas, February 2012<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Website:</span> <a href="http://www.dafyddelisthomas.org/">www.dafyddelisthomas.org</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Email:</span> <a href="mailto:Dafydd.elis-Thomas@cymru.gov.uk">Dafydd.elis-Thomas@cymru.gov.uk</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Twitter:</span> <a href="http://twitter.com/ElisThomasD">@ElisThomasD</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Facebook: <a href="www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000681303381">facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000681303381</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-81607611048532019452012-02-08T14:58:00.004+00:002012-02-08T15:25:03.152+00:00A new political direction: independence, by Leanne Wood<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Real independence is a time of new and active creation: people sure enough of themselves to discard their baggage; knowing the past is past, as shaping history, but with a new confident sense of the present and the future, where the decisive meanings and values will be made."</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:130%;">Raymond Williams, 1975</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2YNOA43Fhx-_TaUHL7ETSD9uHPf0_o9cII3nNPQGqED8Cu32sAYMyXOCT5yRBMbuanjo8M2cHeRR2s6NybdXGMw6-JQcufCIcX0jkeR_Ur3tO-UQGTbrCJP73KL0fnq1VIcWR5NnO1tW/s1600/leanne.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2YNOA43Fhx-_TaUHL7ETSD9uHPf0_o9cII3nNPQGqED8Cu32sAYMyXOCT5yRBMbuanjo8M2cHeRR2s6NybdXGMw6-JQcufCIcX0jkeR_Ur3tO-UQGTbrCJP73KL0fnq1VIcWR5NnO1tW/s320/leanne.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706783614483997506" border="0" /></a>In the space of three short years, the political context in Wales and the world has changed beyond recognition. The 2008 banking crisis should have undermined and resulted in the rejection of capitalism and many of its basic economic and political assumptions. Austerity programmes and high unemployment levels are putting great strain on people not just in Wales, but throughout other parts of the world as are the impacts of energy price shocks and climate change. All countries in the European Union face economic uncertainty, with many, large and small, in deep economic crisis. The future of the whole EU project is now under threatIf the tectonic plates of capitalism are showing signs of stress, then closer to home, the recent elections in Scotland caused a tremor in the British state. The aftershocks from events in the Eurozone and Britain’s response are likely to be felt for some time to come. Questions over whether Wales has the powers to make laws within a limited range of devolved policy areas have been decisively answered by the referendum last March. The next steps for a Wales that rejected the Tory/Lib Dem cuts programme that is now hitting us disproportionately, are yet to be determined.<br /><br />As Plaid Cymru undertakes an internal review and starts the process of electing a new leader to take the party into its new phase, now is a good time to give some consideration as to how we respond to these new contexts. How can we ensure that the philosophy and values which underpin Plaid Cymru’s political outlook contribute to the building of an economically viable post-crash, post-Britain Wales? Keeping our heads down and continuing to speak the language of managerialism in a time of crisis is simply not an option.<br /><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">For independence</span><br /><br />It’s clear from discussions at the recent Plaid Cymru conference that developments in Scotland have spurred Plaid Cymru’s membership into thinking about the possibilities for Wales. What had seemed almost impossible before last May now seems possible, even tangible. The ‘what are we for?’ question that was asked following the successful ‘Yes’ vote last March has been answered: Plaid Cymru has never, and would never, accept a situation where we were deemed second rate to Scotland. The Welsh people know that our sense of national identity is equal to that of our Scottish and English sisters and brothers. Plaid Cymru is for Welsh independence.<br /><br />However Wales is not Scotland. While there is much Plaid Cymru can learn from the SNP there are other parties within the European Free Alliance (EFA) group which whom we should learn and deepen links. The Bloque Nacionalista Galego (BNG) from Galicia or the PNC (Corsica) or UDB (Brittany) are more akin to Wales and to Plaid in terms of their socio-economic, linguistic and political statuses and ambitions as well as their economic outlook. All three are green and on the left end of the political spectrum – near to where Wales and Plaid are.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The ‘can we afford it’ question</span><br /><br />Most of us who want independence for Wales would accept that the weak state of the Welsh economy means that we would struggle to afford the current Welsh welfare bill. A major contributor to this weakness is the high numbers of people dependent on state benefits. There are historic and political reasons for this. While Plaid Cymru would have no truck with blaming unemployed people for unemployment, neither would we seek to punish those who are dependent on state benefits, as the British unionist parties have. The high numbers of people dependent on welfare benefits has to be tackled in any serious attempt to turn around the Welsh economy. This could be done by providing support and incentives for people to form their own job-creating enterprises building Wales from the community up, using measures similar to those proposed in the ‘Greenprint’ document.’<br /><br />Constitutional debates are unlikely to capture the popular imagination unless they are rooted in real-life politics. The biggest question facing most people in Wales today is that of their own and their family’s economic security. In a relatively short period of time, safe jobs have become unsafe. Public sector cuts will hit harder in Wales where the public sector makes up a larger proportion of the economy than other parts of the British state. The market has been failing to provide jobs in some parts of Wales since the 1980s and before, so the chances of the private sector filling the gaps left by the public sector during what in Wales is a deep recession, are slim. Social problems widely associated with a lack of or low-quality employment threaten to widen and deepen unless bold steps are taken to reverse the economic decline of our country. Plaid Cymru must give priority to strategies which can deliver full employment.<br /><br />According to the sociologist Michael Hechter, Wales’s economic development is typical of other colonial/extractive economies like those in Latin America: economies that were built to facilitate the easy export out of any valuable natural resources. With an economic infrastructure built to ensure the transportation-out of the country’s major export product, coal, Wales remains hampered to this day by an internal transport system where all lines of communication lead to “the imperial capital or to the ports”. This infrastructure, as well as Wales’s ‘peripheral’ status, contributes to an inevitable in-built structural weakness in the Welsh economy. Leopold Kohr, that prophet of our current crisis, argued that the drain towards the centre cannot be “stopped by benevolently infusing into the periphery invigorating shots of new industry”. Kohr’s work explains the failure of EU convergence funds as well as other previous failed attempts to boost the Welsh economy. Wales’s economy has design faults that cannot be rectified by tinkering. Those design faults can only be corrected when the Welsh people, in all their diversity, are in a position to fundamentally reshape their economic infrastructure in a way that serves their needs and when they are no longer clinging on the peripheral edge of a vastly unequal British state. Welsh economic outcomes, as compared with those in other parts of the British state or the EU, whatever measure is used, can only be improved and equalised via independence. Independence is the vehicle for boosting an economy that has been stagnating for the best part of a century.<br /><br style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jobs, jobs, jobs …</span><br /><br />In the meantime, the deepening economic crisis demands solutions to combat unemployment now. A ‘Building Wales’ jobs plan which sought to provide everyone who can work with a job helping to re-build the Welsh economic infrastructure in a way which would benefit people living in Wales would be assisted if the Welsh government had the ability to vary the benefits as well as the tax rules, giving concrete reasons for the devolution of such powers.<br /><br />Leopold Kohr in his book ‘Is Wales Viable’ (1971) advocates the development of an internal or ‘home’ market, where the money earned in Wales is spent in Wales, stimulating local economic activity which would in turn create jobs. A ‘small is beautiful’ approach, as advocated by Kohr, would support small local enterprises over multi-nationals. Financial and practical support to bring new markets to a multitude of small firms should aim for them to take on one or two trainees or new workers to build capacity so they could tender for local public goods or services contracts. The report by Adam Price and Kevin Morgan (The Collective Entrepreneur, 2011) on public procurement and social enterprise could help to inform this work.<br /><br />Creatively marketed, a Welsh ‘brand’ of locally-produced,fair-trade/ co-operative products could become recognised around the world as being wholesome and natural. Food, the creative industries, green technology and end-product manufacturing for niche markets are sectors which, with support, could be expanded for both internal consumption and export.<br /><br />Global battles over oil-control and predictions of soon-to-hit peak oil are not going away. If the Welsh economy is to be developed sustainably, in a way which measures up to our party’s commitment to contribute to world efforts to combat climate change, our economic plan has to place sustainable development at the centre of all policies and include measures that will ensure Wales’s natural resources are utilised for the transition to an economy not dependent on fossil fuels. As they have in Denmark, people in Wales must have full control and ownership of the natural resources if money leakage out of Wales is to be plugged. The work involved and the profits made, should, where possible, be kept local. Energy security must be considered, though the good news is that Wales is already self-sufficient in electricity – we export our surplus electricity and water so we have much to build on.<br /><br />Investment in and the encouragement of worker-owned co-operatives, as promoted by DJ and Noelle Davies in the 1930s and 1940s, linked in with learning institutions could help to build the skills capacity to ensure the availability of local labour. Skilled workers in the public sector could be given the option of reduced working hours to contribute to such enterprises. A Davies/Kohr inspired economic plan to move away from a fossil fuel economy and develop an internal market to create demand for local work, could begin with a home insulation programme which prioritised areas of high fuel poverty thus reducing excess fuel-related winter deaths amongst older people, and supporting small local businesses and co-operatives to undertake that work. This would create jobs and help meet Wales’ commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2020 and to work towards One Planet Wales – living within our resource means, using only our fair share of the world’s global natural resources. It would also help to build up resilience to future food and energy price shocks.<br /><br />Practical advice could be obtained by linking up with and learning lessons from the Danes and the Basques. The Danish island Samsø has become 100% self-sufficient in renewable electricity and the Mondragon manufacturing co-operative network in the Basque Country, which was set up in the 1950s as a co-operative training college, but expanded into manufacturing during the economic difficulties which caused high unemployment there during the 1980s, now employs thousands. Study visits to Samsø and Mondragon could inform and even inspire Plaid Cymru members to involve themselves in the setting up and running of such co-operatives. Such activity should be encouraged so that party members can in a very practical way contribute to the strengthening of the Welsh economy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Equalising outcomes</span><br /><br />Youth unemployment rates in some places are very high. Competition to get an education or training place, let alone a job, sees long-term youth unemployment threatening to add to the social problems that have been taking root over the decades since the end of mass Welsh heavy industry. Affordable housing is a growing problem for young people too. Any attempts to build the Welsh economy must provide alternative solutions for the people and places where the market has failed: Plaid Cymru’s vision for an independent Wales has to include an explicit aim to equalise economic outcomes for all parts of, as well as for the individuals living and working within Wales.<br /><br />Despite eleven years of cash injections from the EU, the GDP of West Wales and the Valleys has declined from 76% of the EU average in 2000 to 71% now. Arguably, without those funds, the position would be worse. GDP is a blunt measure unable to take account of inequalities within a given area. Planning for continued economic growth on traditional measures is unsustainable, however, there are plenty of other measures which show that Welsh economic activity and incomes are in decline in relation to other EU countries and regions. Arguments for independence must address Wales’s relative economic position.<br /><br />An economic plan which pays particular attention to disproportionately affected groups as well as geographic areas within Wales is vital if we are to avoid allowing the continuation of an economy which overheats at the centre to the detriment of the periphery. Unless steps are taken to rebalance the situation, we risk creating an economic structure in Wales which apes that of the British state: one which sees the economies in the peripheral land on which we live – Wales (as well as the other countries and regions) as unimportant in comparison to the overheating economy of London and the south east. Plaid Cymru’s vision has to include an explicit aim to equalise economic outcomes for all parts of, as well as for the individuals living and working within, Wales.<br /><br />Recently unveiled plans to set up enterprise zones do not set out to equalise outcomes throughout Wales. ‘Real’ enterprise zones would decentralise, for example, promoting the specialisation of particular sectors in geographic ‘centres of excellence’, away from the economically successful M4 and A55 corridors, allowing for the development of new Welsh ‘capitals’. Our west coast is one of Wales’ greatest assets and it is under-utilised. Why not seek to explicity aim to stimulate Wales’ peripheral areas by developing ‘added value’ niche manufacturing sectors in the new ‘capitals’ – Aberystwyth, Swansea, Bangor, Newport, Wrecsam and in the valleys and using Holyhead, Fishguard and Milford Haven as centres for improving links with Ireland & beyond for export?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Progressive Wales</span><br /><br />By prioritising the creation of a detailed job-creation programme designed to build a sustainable Wales in a way which aimed to equalise economic outcomes, Plaid Cymru could project a vision for a future which fits with the traditions and history of Wales and the long term thinking of Plaid Cymru.<br /><br />To counter the hyper-competitive, imperial/militaristic, climate-change-ignoring and privatising government over the border, Plaid Cymru’s economic vision for Wales should be for a thriving decentralised economy where people’s participation in local economic decision making is maximised. Our vision for Wales includes active, resilient communities which are backed up by a solid public service and welfare infrastructure in a political culture that insists that no-one is left behind. Our jobs plan could project a future Wales which takes a more co-operative, anti-militaristic, anti-imperial, sustainable and pro-public services economic approach which would show how an independent Wales would be politically different and better for people in Wales, and for future generations, more progressive and in line with our politics than what middle-England keeps voting for, regardless of the rosette colour. The politics on show from all mainstream parties at the British state level does not exhibit the same values as those represented by the parties at a Welsh level, and devolution has provided a political space for these different, alternative political meanings and values to be aired and extended.<br /><br />Conceding nothing to the right-wing propaganda which has conned many people into supporting measures which will ensure that the worst off in society pay the price for the 2008 crisis, Plaid Cymru should continue to oppose the British state’s austerity programme, designed by a group of self-serving millionaires, which is conducting an unprecedented attack on benefits, while providing no hope of jobs. Advocating a jobs programme aimed at reducing inequalities within Wales and between Wales and other comparable countries would demonstrate how these socialist values still exist here, and how they can be embodied into policies which can offer a concrete alternative to enforced austerity. Ed Miliband may dream of moving the centre ground to the left, but in Wales we’re already there. Tied to the apron strings of London, the Labour Party is unable to take advantage of the Welsh context. Plaid Cymru is the only party who can develop a truly alternative vision for Wales, based on our fundamental principles as a people, and ‘no mean people’ as Gwyn Alf reminded us.<br /><br />Scotland is on the road to freedom because a strong SNP government is leading the way, providing assurances and projecting a confidence which has enabled people to believe that their country can stand on its’ own two feet economically. Scottish support for independence is growing. This has been achieved despite, or even arguably because of the vastly changed economic context. It must be the case that most people in Scotland now see that their country will be better off when it is released from the British union.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Winning trust</span><br /><br />Like the SNP, Plaid must become the biggest party in the Senedd. To do that Plaid Cymru must win people’s trust with a clear and realistic plan to show how the Welsh economy can be a success, which a majority of people in a Welsh election are prepared to support. We will not get there unless we are able to confidently and competently answer the question, ‘can Wales afford independence?’<br /><br />Plaid Cymru representatives at all levels including party activists at community council and street level all have a part to play in building the local coalitions needed to turn our jobs plan nto a reality. Such activity in our communities would concretely demonstrate that we are able to afford and achieve what Raymond Williams called ‘real’ independence, where our overall society and social relations would improve as inequalities reduced. The case for an independent Wales is a case for a participatory democracy of a kind which does not currently exist in the UK. The case for independence has been mapped out by writers and artists, some of whom have been mentioned here, but it is also a case that can only be won with economic arguments.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">We must rise to that challenge.</span><br /><br />Leanne Wood, January 2012<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Website:</span> <a href="http://www.leannewood2012.com/"> www.leannewood2012.com</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Email:</span> <a href="mailto:leanneplaid@gmail.com">leanneplaid@gmail.com</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Twitter:</span> <a href="http://twitter.com/leannewood">@leannewood</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Facebook:</span> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=613235070">www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=613235070</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Contact me through one of the above means to read more, support and contribute to the campaign. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-56236656930446552212012-02-07T21:19:00.005+00:002012-03-26T23:06:16.237+00:00Welsh Independence discussion on Canadian Radio<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=2193461521"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 245px; height: 69px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4J-26v_ggCWhH4WSfagm6OamejUStQfs1KUO_qN-3nMfpI8b1cX6NobhUfa6vTyjUPVFR9sQv-eiD7qXD7o_SsXmKl3T2gONnSEBG4Y6dWjqzKzDfIwfFIsfJNAjxlVMrlGuPt3BgDpfW/s400/cbclogo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5706507359990584946" border="0" /></a><br />Plaid Cymru leadership candidate Leanne Wood and Dr Richard Wyn Jones discuss Welsh Independence on <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=2193461521">CBC/Radio-Canada</a>:Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-79841859437299958742012-01-25T22:24:00.002+00:002012-01-25T22:25:01.557+00:00Wales will not recover while dependent on London<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7O4RZXETd2BhctTDBlda3rWM8o6q37Vd0aKFAPIvOh8HteowkOa9CszA32RRAShbM6Wxe20Z55tV72SEPqGEG-wqF8GwQAOadV5xTJH1A9b_sculyvexIySRQXOiWkMp2s6tdJxVaBSKU/s1600/welsh-dependent-london.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7O4RZXETd2BhctTDBlda3rWM8o6q37Vd0aKFAPIvOh8HteowkOa9CszA32RRAShbM6Wxe20Z55tV72SEPqGEG-wqF8GwQAOadV5xTJH1A9b_sculyvexIySRQXOiWkMp2s6tdJxVaBSKU/s400/welsh-dependent-london.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5701699140947300978" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-59434062554402432692012-01-17T07:21:00.002+00:002012-01-20T00:24:35.275+00:00The Zero OptionNow that Scottish Independence is firmly on the agenda, and the sovereign debt crisis threatens to engulf the Eurozone, it is time to look at the implications of national debt on the finances of an independent Wales.<br /><br />Firstly some facts and figures – the UK National Debt currently stands at £940 Billion with interest payments on this debt amounting to £43 Billion per year. Or to put it another way, every UK citizen owes almost £16,000 each, and has to pay around £720 per year on interest. If you remove the economically inactive, then the average taxpayer is having to pay around £1500 per year on interest payments alone.<br /><br />Looking at this from a Welsh context an independent Wales would initially assume responsibility for 5% of the UK National Debt, or around £47 billion but we would also ‘inherit’ a 5% share of UK National Assets.<br /><br />While Wales would undoubtedly want its share of Gold & Forex reserves and other transferable assets, as well as physical assets located on Welsh soil, it would be impractical to share out many of the assets (for example central London property portfolio, and overseas embassies) and politically unacceptable to share others (for example Trident submarines and their nuclear deterrent). In reality, a valuation of all assets would need to be made, and where it is not possible or practical to share out the assets proportionately , then a corresponding reduction in share of the debt would need to be made.<br /><br />This is not just wishful thinking, this principle was established during the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia; and in many cases the easiest solution was to transfer neither debts nor assets other than those physically located in the new country – the so-called <strong><em>zero-option</em></strong>.<br /><br />In practice I believe that Wales would take a proportion of UK assets and liabilities but that these would be closer to a 1-2% share than a proportionate 5%.<br /><br />And this means that in an independent Wales, the average taxpayer could see a reduction in interest payments of more than <strong><em>£1000 per year</em></strong>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >To put this in a personal context, this is the same as getting yourself out of a debt crisis by moving to a smaller house to reduce the mortgage, while watching your next door neighbours struggle to make finance payments on their new speedboat.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-64814500850365648712012-01-14T20:29:00.003+00:002012-01-14T20:31:42.711+00:00Leanne Wood - Welsh Independence<span style="font-weight: bold;">Scotland is going places. That was the over-riding mood at th<span style="text-decoration: underline;">eir </span></span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.snp.org/"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">conference in Inverness. </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0MQiO1Xr7KXmOhjGNPpXfnnnaIpwOYTt_L80ZbitSnIvzjcxZS1sQlFDtXYj4-wUuoShyphenhyphenr0Hr1AOKSnlMSvYNtob_m4W902TTM3qySqsJqTXkTHQ4g5XXA1hJACpKl2b4yVSTnnu60XJ/s1600/leanne-wood.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 215px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk0MQiO1Xr7KXmOhjGNPpXfnnnaIpwOYTt_L80ZbitSnIvzjcxZS1sQlFDtXYj4-wUuoShyphenhyphenr0Hr1AOKSnlMSvYNtob_m4W902TTM3qySqsJqTXkTHQ4g5XXA1hJACpKl2b4yVSTnnu60XJ/s400/leanne-wood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5697587878730658930" border="0" /></a>Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. <a href="http://syniadau--buildinganindependentwales.blogspot.com/2011/10/salmonds-speech.html">His speech</a> reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.<br /><br />It's hard to work out where the <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/7317623/salmonds-bonnie-boat.thtml">No campaign</a> will come from. <a href="http://t.co/Hcu5zgQl">The Tories are in a terrible mess</a>. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against?<br /><br /><a href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/23/scottish-independence-end-of-union?cat=commentisfree&type=article">Long time Labour supporters are starting to</a> see independence as inevitable.<br /><br />In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/10/23/time-for-serious-debate-on-uk-relationships-plaids-elin-jones-addresses-snp-conference/">Elin Jones AM</a> said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.<br /><br />“<i>As you, in the SNP and in Scotland, consider the real possibility of creating an independent Scotland, we are left to consider what would be left. A UK Government governing all English matters, and only some Welsh matters and even less Northern Irish matters. It is now time for a serious debate on the future constitutional relationship of the countries of the British islands. It is time to debate equality, not subservience and dependence. To us, the UK is currently a pretence of a country. After a Yes vote in your referendum, it could no longer pretend to anyone, not even itself</i>.”<br /><br />Can we in Wales emulate the enthusiasm, confidence and determination which was on show in abundance in Inverness this weekend? A glimpse of what is possible was seen in the build up to the rugby world cup semi-final. The nation was united in wanting success then. If that same drive could be dedicated to building and equalising Wales, there'd be 'nae limits' to what we could achieve.<br /><br /><a href="http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/">From leannewoodamac.blogspot.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-367421519928086132011-11-10T21:14:00.003+00:002011-11-10T21:17:56.953+00:00Thinking about Thistles and an Untied Kingdom<blockquote style="font-style: italic;">"It would be a strange situation if Wales was part of a UK that also consisted of England and Northern Ireland but not Scotland. Would Wales send a mere 30 MPs to sit alongside 502 English counterparts? By this time, would Welsh MPs be banned from voting on English matters and holding ministerial positions in devolved areas (which would presumably make it impossible for a Welsh MP to become PM)?"</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click image to read full article</span></span><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.walesonline.co.uk/devolution/2011/11/thinking-about-thistles-and-an.html"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWsTl2HnJN8cDw_K4hOIJV-d59tipUe_K_QX94mSfKaPc_0RJBDbwEZo9QIQ_kbiX8_4U2Fmc52ZYgLK9jslgHUCrfhRdHW36uuHo9kcdqwZmPh0G7-eqMI3ILY60IO20TEJZksKi6DyGF/s400/realpolitik.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673479104669983618" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-91540088028457499702011-10-27T23:01:00.001+00:002011-10-28T14:24:04.245+00:00Stand for What is Right!<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTtuVvrcq_PwOoHCHB0LratFzxbu2CdDURLMkTlKTcyKuPW3fv2ki8UPwzD4n0fPBBD3j-SvyBVsXLbbpWnoHTCM41WEDox7R7vwO1GJsjit2UhVP-36dNWVs6xaZTy7VOoGpXemzTGgK/s400/stand-up-independent.jpg" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_3Y2Tj52enVuD6n9KKI6FLcQhQiYdl0Sov7_uLD-M6MCSwVP9dfut_cYeB2tOV5tOSAPajTbFNQDY25vHl4jKVLhlpHCLzwi078ZtINZXLmeWEAGwnWnYSwJRfRtiVdRIkRLSH_HSwfy/s400/cymru-rydd-free-wales.jpg" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-85604838905844205072011-10-27T10:09:00.004+00:002011-10-27T10:20:01.209+00:00Independence, Scotland is going places - Leanne Wood<span style="font-weight: bold;">Scotland is going places. That was the over-riding mood at this weekend's </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.snp.org/">SNP </a><span style="font-weight: bold;">conference in Inverness. </span><br /><br />Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. <a href="http://syniadau--buildinganindependentwales.blogspot.com/2011/10/salmonds-speech.html">His speech</a> reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.<br /><br />It's hard to work out where the <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/7317623/salmonds-bonnie-boat.thtml">No campaign</a> will come from. <a href="http://t.co/Hcu5zgQl">The Tories are in a terrible mess</a>. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against?<br /><br /><a href="http://m.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/23/scottish-independence-end-of-union?cat=commentisfree&type=article">Long time Labour supporters are starting to</a> see independence as inevitable.<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiShpigIbcAbY5xfwH6uO0q4Zusoz64oHto9jZ4VJdTLc8aJ9YRfG0NjZNsftKNPcSJmYIIhmHZx9dmjH2IMsf3luSxIVd9aLWm2G27A2SNP-ac9gnthbP2NIfJzbnfZOaUHo1TXwNlEVNM/s1600/elin+jones.jpg" align="right" border="0" />In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, <a href="http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/news/2011/10/23/time-for-serious-debate-on-uk-relationships-plaids-elin-jones-addresses-snp-conference/">Elin Jones AM</a> said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.<br /><br />“<i>As you, in the SNP and in Scotland, consider the real possibility of creating an independent Scotland, we are left to consider what would be left. A UK Government governing all English matters, and only some Welsh matters and even less Northern Irish matters. It is now time for a serious debate on the future constitutional relationship of the countries of the British islands. It is time to debate equality, not subservience and dependence. To us, the UK is currently a pretence of a country. After a Yes vote in your referendum, it could no longer pretend to anyone, not even itself</i>.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Can we in Wales emulate the enthusiasm, confidence and determination which was on show in abundance in Inverness this weekend? A glimpse of what is possible was seen in the build up to the rugby world cup semi-final. The nation was united in wanting success then. If that same drive could be dedicated to building and equalising Wales, there'd be 'nae limits' to what we could achieve.</span><br /><br />Leanne Wood,<br />Originally appeared on <a href="http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/2011/10/independence.html">http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com</a><br /><br /><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8kDiG2SgxJQ" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com/2011/10/independence.html"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-54605219236732893562011-10-25T10:49:00.004+00:002011-10-25T11:03:57.732+00:00How British do you feel? - 2<span style="font-weight: bold;">Following from the previous post, here are the results published in the Guardian newspaper on 12th October ('A diverse, radical family', Owen Jones). </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wonderful to see so much green in Wales, blue in Scotland and red in England, and notice how many people chose 'other' in Cornwall as they did not include a Cornish option!</span><br /><br />The article is not available for free online unfortunately, but the map in the image below is very interesting. If you are a subscriber, you can <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=owen%2Bjones%2B%2522A%2Bdiverse%252C%2Bradical%2Bfamily%2522%2Bguardian&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fguardian.newspaperdirect.com%2Fepaper%2Fviewer.aspx%3Fissue%3D15452011101200000000001001%26page%3D15%26article%3D9e275b87-e7e5-4c35-8ef4-b5554500908b%26key%3DmehMAuyuLnBwWmMYjyr8bQ%3D%3D%26feed%3Drss&ei=EpamTsjuOIKc8gPp5fGzDw&usg=AFQjCNHGuEC1Ro5ML_RvNoxvdxmhv7xREw">read the article in full - page 15 - here</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1fx36dRY08Hp0AShrr_hohD-dBLuhZtV6sV6f7AVcLLaNtetOj_swt77lIuleGHIVpZN8FAyCUYCMssp4fiEKuw9gLN-mURQLwRmolXLMp8UpOnQp6pZcwK2yCRmwuwhEGB40CXemFUV/s1600/identity-map.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1fx36dRY08Hp0AShrr_hohD-dBLuhZtV6sV6f7AVcLLaNtetOj_swt77lIuleGHIVpZN8FAyCUYCMssp4fiEKuw9gLN-mURQLwRmolXLMp8UpOnQp6pZcwK2yCRmwuwhEGB40CXemFUV/s400/identity-map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5667382908727837282" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(image lifted from Facebook)<br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-89926996330050002312011-10-06T20:04:00.009+00:002011-10-06T21:12:30.779+00:00How British do you feel?<span style="font-weight: bold;">With the prospect of a possible Scottish referendum on independence, The Guardian are running a poll asking how many people think of themselves as </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Welsh, Scottish, English, Irish or Northern Irish rather than </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">British.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2011/oct/06/british-identity-scotland">You can take part in the poll by including your postcode and choosing a flag - the Welsh one of course! ;-) - here.</a></span><br /><br />Here is how the Guardian identity map looks in Wales at the moment:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/interactive/2011/oct/06/british-identity-scotland"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7Sl-E7CLBCwXmU_TMw-bytPvdOYZ6Kc9pdYJdaLMUxFshPNWWR42v1YVjAW1VnMZLUanZGxcq91ULjr8-2xrgFOY_tZe4Tm5ezBOXJMPwoQTSGJFBi_nksgRW0lIifK3Wq5g12q5JgsA/s1600/wales-identity-map-guardian.jpg" alt="Wales Identity Map" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Press on the following images to see larger versions:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">North Wales</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUBxEjuHNG6MJ9VcJn87RUhuYOWKsC_m1gcqkTD-tdvneZRCjsUPS91Ql8_bupL_vu-6Wb1slooBW9tZ_86LOb9RaUTRIVkOjWV9FbjsgjrnilutxFssbzFqmQG21r024F0VJD4xlxuOUv/s1600/northwales-identity-map-guardian.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 154px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUBxEjuHNG6MJ9VcJn87RUhuYOWKsC_m1gcqkTD-tdvneZRCjsUPS91Ql8_bupL_vu-6Wb1slooBW9tZ_86LOb9RaUTRIVkOjWV9FbjsgjrnilutxFssbzFqmQG21r024F0VJD4xlxuOUv/s200/northwales-identity-map-guardian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660487659216459682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">South Wales</span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFHj4nAoeechLIz5jMyU8PrUDe4Pn78GlZYtVMrmWOwr1pjyvRMl9fvl6CTdykBd3BaD2h4KMiKf5U3IYecvGSxgNvoegI2L_PNyb1_6xmQK_QUePcIUEcVSZYVUXbWJCc3QB_wlM6CRv/s1600/southwales-identity-map-guardian.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFHj4nAoeechLIz5jMyU8PrUDe4Pn78GlZYtVMrmWOwr1pjyvRMl9fvl6CTdykBd3BaD2h4KMiKf5U3IYecvGSxgNvoegI2L_PNyb1_6xmQK_QUePcIUEcVSZYVUXbWJCc3QB_wlM6CRv/s200/southwales-identity-map-guardian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660487860463700658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cardiff & surrounding area</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fnR1R0V5s5WVMOs78Rfpgeb8pC81DE0Z0jS0uQqRBleYz6PSggdbZMJ1Jd0mfwtdZtT64x9pFfLs02_TD8hvbNBqhu_bLypfZyzVrIPARtdc86fmKMB1IcswtWG3D5DbZl9NZlDmJfY1/s1600/cardiff-identity-map-guardian.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fnR1R0V5s5WVMOs78Rfpgeb8pC81DE0Z0jS0uQqRBleYz6PSggdbZMJ1Jd0mfwtdZtT64x9pFfLs02_TD8hvbNBqhu_bLypfZyzVrIPARtdc86fmKMB1IcswtWG3D5DbZl9NZlDmJfY1/s200/cardiff-identity-map-guardian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660489822044534370" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-90734800778553175222011-09-28T21:55:00.002+00:002011-09-28T21:56:37.125+00:00West of Britain Labour<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BDZ0yULVj29intBtuFYTkiTLUMsPffEDLvcldO7bEvjYkVYCH6nIrtvQk3c0sqMcPMjYbwg2QfAoFqLTma6hnWBZh5wqAK0YvXRg5ZYyFyzbiFs-yZYo0_yihJkouTw00weYnJ_2UhW9/s1600/west-of-britain-labour.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BDZ0yULVj29intBtuFYTkiTLUMsPffEDLvcldO7bEvjYkVYCH6nIrtvQk3c0sqMcPMjYbwg2QfAoFqLTma6hnWBZh5wqAK0YvXRg5ZYyFyzbiFs-yZYo0_yihJkouTw00weYnJ_2UhW9/s400/west-of-britain-labour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657532540623936706" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(inspired by the Scottish equivalent <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1653463626207">http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1653463626207)</a></span><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-75826878458888917002011-09-28T19:10:00.009+00:002011-09-28T20:31:18.104+00:00Wherever something is wrong, something is too big.<span style="font-weight: bold;">I've just come across this excellent article by Paul Kingsnorth on the Guardian website from last Sunday, reminding us of Leopold Kohr's warning 50 years ago that the global system would grow, and grow until it imploded. Kohr also argued that small states and small economies are more peaceful and prosperous than great powers or superstates. Here are some quotes from the article. </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/25/crisis-bigness-leopold-kohr">You can read the full article on guardian.co.uk</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHTJB87L5C8Ww-FaA1bOlpvi9BbY-ZApCZsnBRT7708z67CuCF69ojAyUk7XPrJNUtZAdZObdAVjSTNCvjJavc_NGkRv-VTW3Zi15yk8HLxMH6T8TLI15q6ueyvknwLMUElL1Bb1Il5uK/s1600/breakdown-nations.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHTJB87L5C8Ww-FaA1bOlpvi9BbY-ZApCZsnBRT7708z67CuCF69ojAyUk7XPrJNUtZAdZObdAVjSTNCvjJavc_NGkRv-VTW3Zi15yk8HLxMH6T8TLI15q6ueyvknwLMUElL1Bb1Il5uK/s400/breakdown-nations.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657493702198901746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">"Wherever something is wrong," he </span><span>(Kohr) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">insisted, "something is too big."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Settling in the US, Kohr began to write the book that would define his thinking. Published in 1957, The Breakdown of Nations laid out what at the time was a radical case: that small states, small nations and small economies are more peaceful, more prosperous and more creative than great powers or superstates."</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />"The world should be broken up into small states, roughly equivalent in size and power, which would be able to limit the growth and thus domination of any one unit. Small states and small economies were more flexible, more able to weather economic storms, less capable of waging serious wars, and more accountable to their people. Not only that, but they were more creative. On a whistlestop tour of medieval and early modern Europe, The Breakdown of Nations does a brilliant job of persuading the reader that many of the glories of western culture, from cathedrals to great art to scientific innovations, were the product of small states."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=pd_lpo_ix_dp_am_us_uk_en_gl_book?keywords=the%20breakdown%20of%20nations"><span>You can buy 'The Breakdown of Nations' by Leopold Kohr from Amazon</span></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > or any good independent book store.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><hr /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span>The following comment was received via email, the contributor was having problems leaving a comment. Some very good points... I have therefore decided to incorporate it into the post.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span><blockquote>This is a good book and certainly one to read.<br /><br />Two points - Kohr lived for years in Aberystwyth - a fact missed by the Guardian author for some reason. His contribution to Welsh political thought has been great and I believe, Wales affected him too.<br /><br />The one irritating point with the book is the title and the common mistake in English of confusing a 'state' with a 'nation'. So, for instance, when Estonia became independent in 1991 it wasn't a 'new nation' (it's a very ancient nation) it was a 'new state'. Likewise, from a Welsh nationalist point of view, most African countries are not 'nations' they are 'states' and so their demise is not, in itself, a cause for concern. Of more concern is the cultural and linguistic situation of the nations/linguistic communities within those states. So, Kohr's title is misleading.<br /><br />The title would be much clearer if it was 'The Breakdown of States' as what Kohr is proposing, in the European scenario, is the reintroduction or emergence of the historic nations of Europe - Wales, Scotland, Brittany etc. and then the historic regions - Bavaria, Picardy etc. The theory being is that smaller states are closer to the people and that, even if you do get some crack-pot dictator then it's only the small part of the continent which is in danger not the whole continent - compare Albania's Hoxha to USSR's Stalin or had Napoleon stayed in Corsica rather than governed France.<br /><br />This process has mostly been completed in Eastern Europe (some of his suggestions and maps are a bit quirky and lacking in historic and geographical detail and reality) but Eastern Europe has mostly turned out as Kohr (and Welsh, Estonian, Slovak etc.) nationalists campaigned for. Western Europe - Britain, France and Spain, to a much lesser extent.<br /><br />His other insight is that a Welsh peasant in WWI would have no quarrel with a Bavarian or Silesian peasant but that a 'British' peasant did with a 'German' one.<br /><br />In any case, certainly worth a read.<br /><br />PS - where's the plack or bust to Kohr in Baker Street, Aberystwyth!? C'mon Plaid councillors on Aber town council!<br /><br />Siôr</blockquote></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-67422894410105030492011-09-13T00:00:00.004+00:002011-09-13T00:09:01.825+00:00Radio Wales Phone-in 12/09/2011 - Welsh Independence<span style="font-weight: bold;">One of the best radio discussions on Welsh Independence for a long time, hosted by Jason Mohammad on BBC Radio Wales.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://soundcloud.com/heddg/radio-wales-phone-in-12-09"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhxi5ZzO5IoAkBPPXKlxRmi9ujPnF2UxiCIumb7YNbjOoM7hxK_HWGobAypAN0cZoVRbH-RFDrBYY9tRkVOm3hnGDvVZ5LOxmzTwVuvHd9_PFoSWAgqmmvc3rcXfhgQRHwlYHTLUndEvF/s400/jason_right_facing.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><object width="100%" height="81"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23208623&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=2b9622"> <param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> <embed allowscriptaccess="always" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F23208623&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=2b9622" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%" height="81"></embed> </object> <span><a href="http://soundcloud.com/heddg/radio-wales-phone-in-12-09">Radio Wales Phone-in 12/09/2011 - Welsh Independence</a></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/radiowales/sites/phonein/">Copyright BBC Radio Wales.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-11864376898798010082011-09-11T23:00:00.000+00:002011-09-11T23:04:04.684+00:00Too Poor to be Independent – the same old story<span style="font-weight: bold;">An excellent article by Sion Jobbins. Shorter version originally appeared on </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://cambriapolitico.com/is-wales-economically-viable/">cambriapolitico.com "Is Wales Economically Viable?"</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and in the </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cambriamagazine.com/">Cambria Magazine</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-S9vOck_F1DLWWXrlBklF30fC4TS8fuqKjsmMKMbbtm4ynbrOOpchJ6veuYM72U2qMETdtztETtTU1dquyk2s-PrEdXSQtuSKBn088PWIJc7MKqivAbP6AiyRgODo-UnJB8PpJ5UnbcrO/s400/skint-wales.jpg" align="right" border="0" /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Wales is too poor to be independent. It’s not economically viable.’</span></blockquote>Funny, were Wales given a penny every time somebody said that, then Wales would certainly be economically viable!<br /><br />This ‘can’t afford independence’ is a common refrain by commentators and politicians alike, and is currently used with great gusto as an argument against Scottish independence. But a quick glance through the articles, editorials and letters page of the past makes it clear that Wales and Scotland haven’t been the only European countries ‘which can’t afford independence’. It seems to be the standard line every time a small country strives for freedom.<br /><br />Malta was one example. An editorial in The Times on 7 January 1959 noted gravely:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Malta cannot live on its own … the island could pay for only one-fifths of her food and essential imports; well over a quarter of the present labour force would be out of work and the economy of the country would collapse with out British Treasury subventions. Talk of full independence for Malta is therefore hopelessly impractical.’</span></blockquote>The Times published a letter on 21 January 1964 by a Joseph Agius of Ta’ Xbiex on Malta stating fearfully of<span style="font-style: italic;">:<br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘... the folly of giving independence to Malta when we are not economically prepared for it.’</span></blockquote>Malta gained independence on 21 September 1964. It is essentially a city state on a barren rock; from a British point of view it was a very large dock. In 2009 its GDP at $23,800 per capita was similar to other former imperial port cities like Liverpool, Newcastle or Marseilles.<br /><br />Norway was another country which ‘couldn’t afford independence’. Like Malta prior to independence, it had an amount of self-government, but within Sweden. One of the great bones of contention for Norway was that the consular service and tariffs were biased towards the more agrarian Swedish economy rather than the exporting Norwegian one. Even though the call for greater independence was widely felt across Norway, there were still some who were afraid of it and its consequences.<br /><br />On 6 July 1892, The Times published a letter by ‘R.H’ entitled, ‘A Warning from Norway’:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘… I may add that, as regards the immediate point of consular representation, the opinion of the commercial class in both kingdoms, as expressed in the chambers of commerce, beginning with the Norwegian capital itself, is decidedly hostile to it… At the same time it seems scarcely possible that the leaders of the movement can clearly realise the fate they are preparing for the country by what may well be termed a suicidal agitation … would not a free national existence but subserviency, not to say bondage to Russia … [Norway] reduced to conditions of a central Asian khanate.’</span><br /></blockquote>Norway gained independence on 13 May 1905. It didn’t become a ‘central Asian khanate’.<br /><br />In a rare article on Icelandic politics, The Guardian wrote a sentence on 23 March 1908, which I guess has been used for all former colonies:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘It is very interesting to note that in this connection that Denmark has to pay a heavy price for her nominal possession of Iceland in the form of a large annual subvention </span><span>[that word again!] </span><span style="font-style: italic;">to the Budget of the island.’</span></blockquote>To bring us closer to our present time, Slovakia gained independence in the famous ‘Velvet Divorce’ in 1993 and again the questions of its future were raised. In a generally balanced editorial, The Independent on 31 December 1992 noted:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘… there is no shortage of potential disputes. Currency union is doomed, with the Czechs determined to balance their budget and the Slovaks expected to head down the road of deficit financing and inflation.’</span></blockquote>The Guardian’s report two days after independence of the two new states on 3 January 1993 highlighted that:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘many people see the split as a failure and others are nervous about proving themselves in an uncertain world.’</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">What no report on Slovak (or Czech, Norwegian, Icelandic or Maltese) independence seem to suggest or foresee is the economic success which they have been.</span><br /><br />In this respect, the general tone of the British mindset varies from a mild independence-scepticism to hostility towards most forms of independence. A scepticism which is at times more irrational and unscientific than that which the ‘romantic’ nationalists are accused of.<br /><br />There are presently 192 members of the UN – they can all ‘afford independence’. This month there will be another when the UN will accept its latest member, South Sudan. Yes, South Sudan can ‘afford independence’. There is also another country which is expected to declare independence this summer. It is the one country which in terms of its fractured geography, fractious politics and crippled economy you would expect to hear an argument that it ‘can’t afford independence’. That country is Palestine. However, in much the same way that Scotland seems to be uniquely the only oil-producing country in the world which British left wingers think would be poorer with independence, Palestine seems to be the only state which no left winger questions if it could ‘afford independence’.<br /><br />Which leads me to question if there is a deeper reason for the historic reaction which some of our self-appointed ‘progressive’ friends have against independence for smaller European nations?<br /><br />In a little quoted article titled <span style="font-style: italic;">‘The Magyar Struggle’</span> in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung on 13 January 1849 the co-founder of Communism, Freidrich Engels wrote of the<span style="font-style: italic;"> ‘primitive’</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">‘counter-revolutionary peoples’ </span>of Europe. These were nations such as the Basques, Bretons, Scottish Highlanders and Serbians whom he patronised for not having even reached the stage of capitalism. He calls them ‘völkerabfälle’ (racial trash / residual nations). He says:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘these residual fragments of peoples always become fanatical standard-bearers of counter-revolution and remain so until their complete extirpation or loss of their national character, just as their whole existence in general is itself a protest against a great historical revolution.’</span></blockquote>Is this the root of the historical world-view among some so-called progressives, of deep hostility towards independence for some European nations ? Is it that these progressives (and economists) see the larger nations, as Engels would say as <span style="font-style: italic;">‘the main vehicle of historical development’</span> to the detriment of smaller nations who seem, by definition, to be insular and counter-revolutionary?<br /><br />But back to July 2010. Of course, South Sudan gaining independence is hardly an economic inspiration for Welsh independence. Not even the South Sudanese wish to celebrate their economic fortune. But then, the comparison for all economic scenarios, pre or post independence, in the short term at least, is the context of the neighbouring countries.<br /><br />So, let’s discuss independence in another frame? Maybe we should view economic independence in light of it just being another economic transition.<br /><br />The Welsh economy has been through several major economic transitions; agrarian in the early 19th century, then an industrial revolution, and a managed (or badly managed) process of de-industrialisation.<br /><br />Independence would be but another economic transition. No Welsh economist or politician would advocate the Welsh economy to be the same in 20 years time as it is now. There will be change whatever happens, so why not a more fundamental economic change with independence as the vehicle?<br /><br />There are of course those who argue that Wales is ‘too poor’ and I’ll leave that debate to those more capable than me in the statistical war of attrition but I’ll make a few comments.<br /><br />The Welsh economy has been in historic decline since 1923 when the price of coal peaked. During that time Wales has been through 3 of the 5 stages of constitutional states. It’s been governed as an integral part of ‘the Realm of England’ (1536-1959); as a part of England but with some administrative functions - the Welsh Office period (1959-1999); and as a state with some self-government (1999 until the present day).<br /><br />There are two stages left, generally speaking. The first is self-government with some taxation powers and then independence. Both the first three constitutional settlements have not improved Wales’s economic well-being. Why not, from an economic point of view, try the other two?<br /><br />In the same way that I believe independence is a vehicle to revive a weak language and culture I believe economic independence is the best way to revive a weak economy. It is the journey as well as the destination.<br /><br />And I’m not the only one who thinks so. As predictable as the articles ‘can the Turnip-eaters afford independence?’ are the articles post independence by the same papers which point how better off, economically and culturally, the countries are.<br /><br />One quick example, again from that barren rock in the North Atlantic, Iceland – the little country which had the courage to tell their bankers were to go.<br /><br />On, 1 December 1938, twenty years and a World War after The Guardian’s dire assessment, The Times wrote a glowing report on Iceland’s twentieth anniversary of independence from Denmark. Subtitled with the decidedly modernist, ‘Roads and Radio’ the Times notes succinctly:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">‘Side by side with the political liberation of the country, developed the gradual economic emancipation of the island.’ </span></blockquote>The article continues by outlining the many benefits gained since independence, especially in the fields of modern communications<br /><br />So what of Wales? Wales today is guilty of voting for a sort of national Gombeenism form of economic politics. The Gombeen man is the Irish politician who’s only out to get some economic or social gain for his constituency, devoid of a broader political or philosophical outlook. Wales, by belatedly wanting ‘fair funding’ from Westminster, sulking over ‘unfair cuts’, ‘demanding’ electrification of railways, but shirking responsibility over large energy generating projects or taxation policies is only furthering the Gombeen image of itself. It’s humiliating and unnecessary.<br /><br />In his recent article, ‘Small is cute, sexy and successful: Why Independence for Wales and other countries makes Economic Sense’ in the Harvard Kennedy Review, Adam Price makes a case for independence for ‘small’ nations. He compares the economic fortunes of independent Luxembourg and its neighbour, the German province, Saarland since the Second World War. The case is compelling. A similar case could possible be made in relation to Singapore which became independent of Malaysia in 1965 and Zanzibar which lost its independence and joined Tanganyika to form Tanzania in 1964.<br /><br />But we needn’t look to foreign lands for inspiration or precedent. There’s a successful case of Wales not being ‘too poor to be independent’ in every parish in our land – the founding of the Church in Wales in 1922.<br /><br />Like those Wilsonian new East European states, it could hardly have been formed at a worse time! After 800 years, the Welsh church became independent during what the Rev D.T. W. Price in his book; A History of the Church in Wales in the Twentieth Century (1990) calls ‘the locust years’. ‘Nonetheless,’ as the Rev Price notes, ‘by 1937 it was generally felt, and rightly so, that the financial condition of the Church in Wales was as sound as it had been before disestablishment.’<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Independence would force politicians and us voters in Wales to grow up. We would be economically viable because we would have to be – we’d have to learn to swim. Let’s look at ‘good practice’. After communism, bling-capitalism, imperialism, state socialism, supra-national states or religious statehood, the nation-state and independence is the one political construct which not one state or people has turned its back on. Independence works. It’s time Wales made independence work for her.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-68789973277616525752011-09-09T01:00:00.000+00:002011-09-11T00:15:29.464+00:00Would an independent Wales be better off than the status quo?<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/columnists/sion-barry/2011/08/12/would-an-independent-wales-really-be-better-off-than-the-status-quo-91466-29221510/">Excellent balanced piece by Sion Barry, Western Mail, Aug 12 2011</a><br /><br /><img src="http://images.icnetwork.co.uk//upl/icwales2/feb2011/7/7/sion-barry-60-871961691.jpg" alt="Sion Barry" width="60" align="right" height="60" />THERE was some interesting research published recently by former Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price, who is keen to return to the political arena after time spent at Harvard in the US. <p>His research, entitled the Flotilla Effect – Europe’s small economies through the eye of the storm, claims that it has been smaller and more agile nations in the EU which have, on average, experienced higher economic growth rates than larger countries since 1990, while also being quicker to emerge out of recession.</p> <p>Mr Price and his co-author Ben Levinger, also a Harvard researcher, claim that four key factors make small nations economically successful: openness to trade, social cohesion, adaptability, and big government in a small country.</p> <p>Their headline figure is that Wales could be around 39% richer, and the Welsh economy could have grown by 2.5% a year, if it had achieved independence around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall and had followed a similar pattern to other similar small nations.</p> <div class="article"> <div class="mpu-ad mpu2"> </div> </div> <p>In contrast, regions or countries which have rejected independence have performed poorly.</p> <p>But could Wales really have achieved this average, or would it have been well down the rankings in the small nation growth table – or conversely even above?</p> <p>While a hypothetical question, Mr Price has re-ignited the debate on how an independent Wales could perform economically.</p> <p>Of course since 1990 the fastest growing economies have been those with some of the world’s biggest populations, notably China, India and Brazil.</p> <p>But back to the issue of Welsh independence. Firstly, of course, there would need to be a democratic mandate with a majority of AMs and possibly of Welsh MPs in Westminster backing independence. And even if a referendum was called and turned out to back independence, it would also need endorsement from the UK Government.</p> <p>Many argue that Wales is “too small” – although this is an economic strength according to Mr Price – and doesn’t generate enough tax receipts, both personal and corporate, to support itself. Coupled with current high economic inactivity levels, they believe that Wales would fall even further behind on key economic indicators if it broke away from England.</p> <p>An independent Welsh government could also be faced with the need of having to strike a deal with the Treasury on what percentage of the UK’s national debt – currently running at an eye-watering £900bn – it would be liable for. On a population calculation that could leave Wales with a potential bill of £45bn, although no doubt it would look to negotiate a non-repayment position as with Wales receiving more per head in government spending than the UK average, independence would immediately generate savings for an English government.</p> <p>An independent administration could also argue that it would be entitled to a share of any future assets sales by an English government, which it could use to offset any national debt repayment charge.</p> <p>Critically, how would an independent Welsh Government generate sufficient income?</p> <p>While there might be pain initially it should look to reduce personal and business taxes and promote itself to the world as western Europe’s most “friendly business location”.</p> <p>There is evidence that lower taxes not only attract new investment into economies, but act as a spur for increased indigenous business inactivity, which in turn increases the overall tax take.</p> <p>With a more competitive tax regime Wales could not just attract high-net-worth individuals, but, over time, leading head office operations from the south-east of England.</p> <p>A lower tax regime would also help in attracting more investment from overseas.</p> <p>Wales could look to continue to receive UK government-funded public services.</p> <p>For example, a Welsh government could be happy to continue with a BBC licence fee to ensure it maintains public service broadcast output for Welsh viewers – although news content would have to feature more Welsh content.</p> <p>With utilities and telecom providers long since private, it would be a case of business as usual for consumers in Wales – while retailers would also still trade in Wales, perhaps with the added incentive of a lower VAT regime.</p> <p>International and UK banks, as well as mutuals, would continue to operate as they do now.</p> <p>On currency Wales could opt to join the euro – providing it is still in existence – or potentially peg its currency to sterling.</p> <p>From a global perspective there is a link between being resource rich and economic growth; just look at Australia and Canada.</p> <p>Wales does have an abundance of natural resources which could be of great benefit to its balance of payments. There are still huge reserves of coal in South Wales, as well as methane gas. Advances in carbon storage and capture technology could see Wales emerging as a significant exporter of coal in the future.</p> <p>It is also well placed to develop renewables in areas such as wind and tidal power.</p> <p>There are many examples of new states created in Europe since the 1990s, to study how new nations go about running things for themselves, like the new countries of the Balkans and Slovakia following its decision to break away from what is now the Czech Republic.</p> <p>And if Scotland went independent first – the SNP has far wider support than Plaid Cymru – then there would be an even better model to work off.</p> <p>However, current prospects of an independent Wales remain extremely unlikely, with the only show in town being more devolved powers – but taking a pragmatic view you should never rule anything in or out.</p><p><a href="http://www.twitter.com/sionbarry" title="Follow me on Twitter" target="_blank">Follow Sion Barry on Twitter </a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611813512203663495.post-5846850147142822592011-09-08T00:04:00.002+00:002011-09-10T01:37:32.496+00:00Welsh sing independence tune — RT<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://rt.com/news/welsh-independence-wales-scotland-971/">From Russia Today!</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Much better than anything you will ever see on the BBC!</span><br /><br /><object width="370" height="277"><param name="movie" value="http://rt.com/s/swf/player5.4.swf?file=http://rt.com/files/news/welsh-independence-wales-scotland-971/i7f888c1919020239dac608f824e1d68e_wales.flv&image=http://rt.com/files/news/welsh-independence-wales-scotland-971/pipedream-long-independence-declaring-464.n.jpg&skin=http://rt.com/s/css/player_skin.zip&provider=http&abouttext=Russia%20Today&aboutlink=http://rt.com&autostart=false"><embed src="http://rt.com/s/swf/player5.4.swf?file=http://rt.com/files/news/welsh-independence-wales-scotland-971/i7f888c1919020239dac608f824e1d68e_wales.flv&image=http://rt.com/files/news/welsh-independence-wales-scotland-971/pipedream-long-independence-declaring-464.n.jpg&skin=http://rt.com/s/css/player_skin.zip&provider=http&abouttext=Russia%20Today&aboutlink=http://rt.com&autostart=false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="370" height="277"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0