Friday 18 November 2016

‘My appeal is when we are thinking of the future of Wales is to think big. If you think big you will achieve something worthwhile'

‘Dominion Status is not about a rigid pattern of government. The principle is enunciated in the Statute of Westminster 1931 and has developed politically over 85 years thereafter’. (Elystan Morgan).

‘What should be the degree of self-government and pattern of constitutional development in the new circumstances that are unfolding in Wales’? (Dafydd Wigley).


Reading the debate in the House of Lords where the two elevated the debate from the uninspiring content of the Wales Bill reminded me of a similar happening during the passage of the Local Government Reorganisation Act in the early 1970s. Then it was about making the case for an Elected Council for Wales!





Lord Elystan Morgan moved an amendment to the Wales Bill in the House of Lords on November 7 2016 along the following lines.–

The Secretary of State for Wales shall, within the period of three years following the principal appointed day referred to in section 55(3) establish a working group to study the possibilities for Wales, as a land and nation, of constitutional development within the terms of and consistent with the principles of the Statute of Westminster 1931, and developments thereafter and shall within the said period of three years present a report of its study to Parliament with such recommendations as it deems appropriate.

Extracts from his speech include:

‘My appeal is when we are thinking of the future of Wales is to think big. If you think big you will achieve something worthwhile; if you think small, what you will achieve will be small, or even perhaps smaller than that you have set out to obtain. That is the situation that confronts us now.

Dominion Status is not about a rigid pattern of government. The principle is enunciated in the Statute of Westminster 1931 and has developed politically over 85 years thereafter. Obviously when one is speaking one is not speaking in any way of the constitutional one is not speaking of a replica of the constitutional situation of New Zealand or Australia. of Dominion Status in the context of Wales.

It is an open secret that about 10 years ago the Governments of the UK and that of Spain almost came to an understanding – this is hardly believable – about the future of Gibraltar with a plan for some form of Dominion Status.

In other words the concept is so flexible, so malleable and so adaptable that it was possible for the ancient conflicts there to come very near to a friendly settlement.
There are endless plans and changes that can be considered. 

Who knows what the situation will be in five to 10 years’ time? It is a situation of total flux and it is therefore incumbent upon us all to consider exactly what this possibility should be, side by side with many other possibilities’.

Lord Dafydd Wigley supported the amendment and said:

‘The recent referendum means that the UK will now, most regrettably, leave the European Union – though goodness knows what new relationship we shall have with our European neighbours, including the Irish Republic.

In these circumstances we must all look again at what should be the appropriate place for Wales in the brave new world towards which we are, for better of worse, heading.

I also suggest that it is also time for the London – centric political parties to start thinking in these terms too.

What should be the degree of self-government and pattern of constitutional development in the new circumstances that are unfolding in Wales’?

He highlighted three guiding principles:

The people of Wales should have the right to determine the degree of independence towards which they aspire and what is appropriate to their developing circumstances.

Any constitutional settlement between the nations of these islands should recognise the practical reality that we must have open borders between all five nations.


Wales should be empowered to take every decision that can be meaningfully be taken in Wales by our own Government in our own National Assembly, to the extent that the people of Wales so wish.

I will soon be posting references to reports and papers by serious academic and political sources which have recently been published in relation to the case for a Federal UK, an English Parliament and regional assemblies in England. No doubt things will change over the coming decade. As Elystan said 'think big you may achieve something worthwhile'