Politics in Wales has changed dramatically in the last decade. Who would have thought it possible? From winning the ‘yes’ vote in 1997 by just 6,721 votes to now only around 15% of people preferring to return to the pre-devolution settlement.

The vast majority of people in Wales now firmly support devolution.

The Scottish Marxist academic Tom Nairn has been arguing for more than 30 years that the break-up of the British state is inevitable. More recently he points to the devolution referendums in the two and a half of the four countries which make up the British Isles to show that he was right. He argues that devolution will gather its own momentum, and that the future of Britain as a state is over. The unanswerable question is: How long has it got left?

In response, ‘The Bard of Britishness’ Gordon Brown and his New Labour mates are playing the “Rule Britannia” card in a desperate attempt to shore up a British identity which is on its way out. “British Jobs for British People”, wrapping himself up in the Union Jack, suggestions of a British day (on St. George’s Day) and a British motto runs alongside anti-immigrant and anti-asylum seeker rhetoric. For most of us in Wales, this sort of talk doesn’t go down too well. I’d guess it’s irrelevant, if not offensive, to many people in all four countries.

Meanwhile, there are a group of progressive English patriots who agree with Nairn’s break-up theory. They see Scotland and Wales wanting to free themselves from Westminster rule. They want to make sure that England is not confused with Britain, and that their nation isn’t left behind. At the same time they are acutely aware of the need to couple their patriotism or nationalism with an anti racist stance and they are keen to distance themselves from the New Labour response to devolution as well as the fascist parties. It’s an interesting development which deserves attention and support from Welsh, Scottish and Irish nationalists.

If the call for an English Parliament grows, the progress towards independence for the nations of Britain will accelerate.

The deal-breaker in the ‘One Wales’ coalition negotiations was the support from Labour for a ‘Yes’ vote in a referendum on a law-making Parliament. If we get that vote, we’ll still have only a fraction of the powers currently enjoyed by the Scottish Parliament.

We will be able to legislate freely on matters currently devolved, which would obviously be an improvement on the current unsatisfactory situation where Westminster can veto Welsh laws. But we’d still have no powers over criminal justice or any real macro-economic muscle. We’ll also still have no means to raise our own revenue.

Wales remains at the bottom of the UK’s economic performance table. While the City of London continues to skew its economic policy to benefit the areas in its immediate vicinity, the periphery loses out. With a history of significant industrial production, Wales should now be rich. But the areas which produced the wealth for Britain are today among some of the most economically disadvantaged in the whole of the European Union. These are the areas which were targeted by Thatcher in her obsession to crush union power…and then forgotten. And these are the areas that now face further decline from New Labour’s regional pay plans, civil service cuts and sickness benefits purge.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

An autonomous government responsible for three million people could do a much better job of gearing macro-economic policy to meet the needs of people in the former industrial and rural areas of Wales.

It’s clear that those needs have not been considered by successive Westminster governments or why would we be where we are today?

And economic development must be sustainable if this planet of ours is to have any chance. There is a growing awareness and consensus around climate change. Oil prices are forcing people to think about alternatives, while there is a strong anti-nuclear tradition in Wales. Peak oil and climate chaos have reminded some of us in Plaid that we need to argue the case for self-government more clearly than ever before. If scientists are right about peak oil, and we can now be confident of a united scientific position on climate change, then the way economies work will have to change. Energy, food and water will become increasingly important and the economy is bound to reflect that. If oil prices continue to rise as they have of late, we’ll be forced to rethink how we use and obtain our energy. Can we afford not to plan for a dramatic reduction in the availability of energy and potential implications?

Wales is in a fantastic position to become energy self-sufficient. We have a large coastline with opportunities to harness the tides. We have plenty of wind and rain, some peat bogs and open countryside. A long-term plan to expand research and development, invest in new skills and training and government support for small Welsh businesses to produce micro-generators could put the infrastructure in place. This could be coupled with a national awareness raising programme, incentives for reducing consumption and growing and buying local food. Food and energy self-sufficiency could provide the key to self-government. According to the WWF, Cuba is the most sustainable country in the world. We could learn a lot from them.

I have a vision of a Wales which isn’t dependent on fossil fuels and nuclear. Armed with the arguments for self-government, Plaid Cymru can offer a vision of a different, more equal, sustainable Wales; one that can inspire a younger generation.

With the independence debate raging ahead in Scotland, the thinking and the campaigning for a better Wales, after Britain, has to start now.

Leanne Wood

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