Plaid Cymru leadership candidate Leanne Wood and Dr Richard Wyn Jones discuss Welsh Independence on CBC/Radio-Canada:
Tuesday 7 February 2012
Welsh Independence discussion on Canadian Radio
Plaid Cymru leadership candidate Leanne Wood and Dr Richard Wyn Jones discuss Welsh Independence on CBC/Radio-Canada:
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Tuesday 17 January 2012
The Zero Option
Now 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 zero-option.
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%.
And this means that in an independent Wales, the average taxpayer could see a reduction in interest payments of more than £1000 per year.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 zero-option.
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%.
And this means that in an independent Wales, the average taxpayer could see a reduction in interest payments of more than £1000 per year.
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.
Saturday 14 January 2012
Leanne Wood - Welsh Independence
Scotland is going places. That was the over-riding mood at their conference in Inverness.
Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. His speech reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.
It's hard to work out where the No campaign will come from. The Tories are in a terrible mess. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against?
Long time Labour supporters are starting to see independence as inevitable.
In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, Elin Jones AM said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.
“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.”
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.
From leannewoodamac.blogspot.com
Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. His speech reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.It's hard to work out where the No campaign will come from. The Tories are in a terrible mess. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against?
Long time Labour supporters are starting to see independence as inevitable.
In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, Elin Jones AM said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.
“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.”
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.
From leannewoodamac.blogspot.com
Thursday 10 November 2011
Thinking about Thistles and an Untied Kingdom
"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)?"
Click image to read full article
Thursday 27 October 2011
Independence, Scotland is going places - Leanne Wood
Scotland is going places. That was the over-riding mood at this weekend's SNP conference in Inverness.
Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. His speech reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.
It's hard to work out where the No campaign will come from. The Tories are in a terrible mess. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against?
Long time Labour supporters are starting to see independence as inevitable.
In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, Elin Jones AM said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.
“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.”
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.
Leanne Wood,
Originally appeared on http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com
Alex Salmond has every reason to be confident and optimistic. His speech reflected the confidence and optimism that will be needed on the part Scotland's people if the referendum on independence is to be successful.
It's hard to work out where the No campaign will come from. The Tories are in a terrible mess. Will they rely on their party bosses in London to put the case against?
Long time Labour supporters are starting to see independence as inevitable.
In her fraternal address from Plaid Cymru to the conference, Elin Jones AM said that we should now be thinking about the implications of all of this for Wales.“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.”
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.
Leanne Wood,
Originally appeared on http://leannewoodamac.blogspot.com
Tuesday 25 October 2011
How British do you feel? - 2
Following from the previous post, here are the results published in the Guardian newspaper on 12th October ('A diverse, radical family', Owen Jones). 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!
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 read the article in full - page 15 - here.
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 read the article in full - page 15 - here.
(image lifted from Facebook)
Thursday 6 October 2011
How British do you feel?
With the prospect of a possible Scottish referendum on independence, The Guardian are running a poll asking how many people think of themselves as Welsh, Scottish, English, Irish or Northern Irish rather than British.
You can take part in the poll by including your postcode and choosing a flag - the Welsh one of course! ;-) - here.
Here is how the Guardian identity map looks in Wales at the moment:
Press on the following images to see larger versions:
North Wales
South Wales
Cardiff & surrounding area
You can take part in the poll by including your postcode and choosing a flag - the Welsh one of course! ;-) - here.
Here is how the Guardian identity map looks in Wales at the moment:
Press on the following images to see larger versions:
North Wales
South Wales
Cardiff & surrounding area
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)