 |
| The government building in Cardiff causing controversy (Image: WalesOnline) |
I bloody love Wales. I will never tire of talking and hearing about the country I was born and raised in. It will always be my home and I will never stop supporting or defending Cymru in (most of) its pursuits. I'm a proud Welshman and nothing will come in the way of that.
What I'm also certain about, however, is Wales's current position. Wales, while has its own government, is still part of the United Kingdom, relying on Westminster on some key issues impacting daily life. Whether we like it or not, we're factually British as much as we are Welsh. Despite this, it doesn't stop a large proportion of the population to say they feel more Welsh than British. In fact, almost half of people polled in a small-scale BBC survey in 2019 about the issue said that statement was true to them. In the 2011 Census, 58% of the total population said they were Welsh while 7% were both Welsh and British. I'd be intrigued to see how much this changes in the 2021 Census, when the initial results are out next year.
The figures on identity are intriguing and forms a trend that's becoming increasingly clear to see. And it's true politically too; as devolution in Wales has progressed in more than 20 years, the country is steering further away from the Westminster bubble. And with great power comes great responsibility, as the saying goes. Covid-19 has allowed the Parliament in Wales - the Senedd - to come up with its own restrictions brought on by the pandemic which differs to those in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. And consequently, largely down to the marked success of Wales's handling of the past year and inspired by Scotland's independence vision, Welsh independence calls are intensifying.
Although Welsh independence support is arguably a whisper compared to the same calls in Scotland, these whispers are getting louder. While an exciting prospect for many, the talk of this at the moment is making me feel a little nervous. It isn't so much the reality of independence - which, don't get me wrong, will present significant challenges if happened in the immediate future - but the way it's being presented, by a wave of passionate and somewhat combative Welsh nationalism. This didn't bother me so much until rather recently.
A few short weeks ago, there was an outcry over the display of a Union Jack flag on a UK government building in the centre of Cardiff. Quite honestly, the flag doesn't bother me one bit, but it clearly does to the 20,000 people (and counting) who have signed a petition to remove it.
Of course, there are many reasons why people are so upset by the presence of a Union Jack flag at the heart of the Welsh capital; one being that it doesn't have Wales represented on it, and another being the history of the flag which has enough baggage for you to Google about in your own time. However, it shouldn't be seen as offensive for the British government to display its national flag on its own building. If you're asking me, I'm surprised how few Union Jack flags there are around in Wales.
The display of flags is almost a secondary issue compared to language. Latest figures, released in October 2020, shows that 28.5% of people in Wales are able to speak Welsh and quite understandably, the Senedd want to improve that - a notion celebrated by the masses, myself included. But one of the plans is to make it a requirement to speak basic Welsh if working for the government. It doesn't sound too unreasonable for staff to learn how to pronounce words or to introduce themselves in Welsh. On paper, it isn't rocket science. However, the Conservatives make a point that it may potentially exclude the 'best person for the job' there. I wonder how much further does the current government want to go in order to achieve its goal of one million people to speak Welsh by 2050. It isn't an unrealistic target, but I can imagine it not going far enough in the eyes of those in support of independence, and it goes too far for those who oppose the government's plan to steer further away from Westminster and the English language.
The frustration I have with the avid supporters of Welsh independence is a lack of strategy and sense of ownership of the cause. At the one end, we have a government, led by Labour, with a vision of widening the appeal of Wales but happy to keep the progress of this steady and also to maintain the status quo in terms of the country's position in the UK. Labour recently won the Senedd election with a greater lead than before so it poses a challenge to those who want to go heaps further - to not be governed by Westminster, to have the Welsh language as significant as English in Wales, and for no Union Jack flags placed on key government buildings.
This vision could emulate the arrangements we see in Scandinavia. These nations have proud languages spoken fluently only in their countries, have similar natural resources, and yet standalone from the rest of Europe. It sounds intriguing and doable, but cannot be done without long-term planning, nor because we don't like who's governing Westminster.
My strong suggestion to those who want Wales to break away from the UK is have a clear goal and be reasonable. If we're ensuring the majority of the next generations to speak Welsh, let that be a success before treating the language as a norm. Independence talk is far too soon, and I sense the calls are led by those who dislike Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party more than they'd want to handle the complications of going things alone. Scottish nationalists and the SNP have been planning to leave for ages and independence support is close enough to a healthy majority. Give Wales another decade and if the relationship with Westminster doesn't improve, Welsh nationalism grows in the Senedd and the Welsh language target and strong economic visions are on track, then we can take the question of independence more seriously. In the meantime, let's make the most of being British and Welsh.
Comments
Post a Comment