| “We Are the Builders of Society...We’re Not Managers” |
A Political Diary |
| New Senedd & Government , Politics of Wales , July 17, 2026 |
Ten weeks. Ten weeks since the count was underway in the giant constituencies that were lacking in geographical or historic logic. Much happened, much said; amidst which: May 7th. One subject that has been missing is turnout. Turnout rises, said the experts after the 2016 referendum, when people feel there is something that matters to them. The extra voters then amounted to three million. These were citizens who customarily did not vote. Apply the population weighting of Wales- around 3.3 million out of 69 million- to the three million and the equivalent number is 143,478. On 7th May turnout rose by 147420 over 2021- 1,261,103 versus 1,113,683. That is a 97% correlation. * * * * The new opposition came behind the new government by 76670 votes- 444655 versus 367985. The result is not entirely without precedent. In the last of the European elections in 2019 Labour came third with 15%, with a 1.6% lead over the Liberal Democrats. Things unravel at the edge. On the borders Reform UK leads in Fflint Wrecsam. 25349 over Plaid 18440. Clwyd 25741 over 22583. Sir Fynwy Torfaen 24155 over 18275. Casnewydd Islwyn 25571 over 23069. * * * * This has implications for the movement for independence. Borders are not set in stone. The areas represented by Reform UK might call for local plebiscites. Local plebiscites might well result in results for secession. Wales, like Ireland 110 years ago, might well lose its industrial north-east. There are many examples from the past where populations have not fallen in with the wishes of their governors; the plebiscite in 1860, for example, in the Menton to Nice region opted overwhelmingly to leave Italy. * * * * May 7th: The new First Minister: “Asked about the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and the role of the Future Generations Commissioner, Iorwerth said the legislation should be strengthened so it “does more”, arguing it has so far failed to challenge the government effectively. “On the new closed proportional list system for electing Members of the Senedd, which gives voters just one choice between a party or an independent candidate, Iorwerth said Plaid would scrap the changes, describing the reform as a “compromise” with Welsh ministers. “We support a different model that we think would be better – but we made sure that we were able to build into the legislation the ability to have a review – which will happen after the election.” Source: https://nation.cymru/news/plaid-leader-refuses-to-say-if-union-jack-would-fly-under-his-leadership/ * * * * 17th May: Paul Griffiths, Deputy Leader of Monmouthshire County Council “Labour Welsh Governments too often gave too little priority to nurturing economic activity. In pursuing social justice, we mitigated economic failure with bread and circuses for all. “...When those businesses look at government in Wales they are frustrated by the fog of complexity: Welsh Government operating through four regional offices which appear to be separated from, competing with, the four regional offices established by the 22 Welsh local authorities. "The new Plaid Cymru Government will create a new national economic agency which may be just another layer alongside the Welsh Government, the competing regional offices and the local authorities. “The new Government has much to do in clarifying how it intends to foster economic activity; implementing a simple, accessible and accountable apparatus for achieving those intentions. “Public administration in Labour Wales has become characterised by thousands of complex and pervasive grants for specific purposes. “Every time there was an election a new Government would have its detailed manifesto, often followed by a multi party agreement, setting out objective after objective. “As minister followed minister, the list of objectives would grow. For each objective a civil servant would be appointed to administer a specific grant. Throughout all public and voluntary organisations the key public administrators are those who ‘hunt the grant’, making the applications, spending and accounting for the grant funded expenditure. “Armies of civil servants dispensing the grants work alongside parallel armies of administrators applying for the same grants. It is a form of ‘clientist’ politics and public administration in which subterranean networks of professionals devise the grants, their conditions and distributions, maintaining a range of jobs but only accidentally meeting any needs “The result is that public organisations are distracted from engaging with their citizens, distracted from asking what citizens need and designing actions derived from user needs. When the citizen then asks “why are you doing this instead of that”, the answer is that the grant specifies what the civil servant claims the minister wants; the engagement with citizens and communities becomes redundant. “Not surprisingly we find another reason why citizens vote in frustration and against the established ways of doing government.” “Effective governments are clear and focussed on their strategic intention, defining what they want to achieve. They are creative in devising programmes of action to support those intentions, meticulously linking action with outcome. “They fund those programmes in budgets which link expenditure with intention. They identify the programme leaders and motivate the people who will deliver. “They test the administrative capacities to deliver those programmes, set the objectives, the performance indicators and constantly challenge performance. Passing laws places boundaries on the actions of individuals and organisations but only rarely does this support the delivery of public services. Legislation is usually a huge distraction consuming masses of resource, attention and political capital to little positive, sometimes negative, effect. “Past Labour Governments have consistently misused the legislative tool.” Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/can-a-plaid-cymru-government-learn-from-labours-failures/ * * * * 20th May: Mark Drakeford “For 20 years we had succeeded in embodying the sense that to be Welsh and to be Labour were identities which went unambiguously together. We forgot the single most important lesson of the first two decades of devolution – never allow a space to open on the left of politics which could be exploited by others. “The coalition is made up of trades unions (and particularly those who work in our public services), the diverse communities of Wales who have every good reason to fear Reform and those urban, progressive voters who opposed Brexit and who want to see an outward-looking, modern Wales, and those who believe in devolution.” Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/why-welsh-labour-suffered-a-devastating-defeat-and-how-it-can-be-rebuilt/ [Comment: This is a first- that Reform UK has been positioned as left of Labour. This “coalition” of voters is flawed- there are not enough of them. Around half of union members endorse Reform UK.] * * * * 20th April: Ken Skates “We are the builders of society in Welsh Labour. We’re not managers of a system. And we’ve got to be able to express our passion and our purpose to people again. Connection is so important. We’ll be looking in the review at how we connect with people, how we connect with communities, how communities connect with one another. My fear is that we’re seeing society fragmenting, crumble. “And with that, respect is in decline. I think tolerance as well is in decline, while anger and frustration are rising. That, as a result, is changing people’s behaviours. I think we have a job on the left in bringing people together and in saving society.” Source: https://nation.cymru/news/welsh-labour-couldnt-afford-to-become-a-separate-party-says-interim-leader/ * * * * 7th May 2026: Chris Elias “Wales has an AI strategy: AI Cymru. It sets out an ambition for ethical, empathetic, enterprising and effective use of technology across Welsh public services.” Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/wales-has-one-of-the-most-ambitious-curricula-in-the-world-its-teachers-are-spending-their-sundays-proving-it/ To which Mrs Mcluskey wrote “I love articles such as this as it is just a huge word salad without any coherent point whatsoever. That this company is let anywhere near Welsh education explains exactly why we have been plummeting down every conceivable league table for decades.” * * * * 1st June 2026: Beth Winter offered 600 words to the post-7th May discussion. “A different approach is needed—a politics that is outward facing, rooted in communities rather than institutions, not beholden to party machines or corporate interests, underpinned by socialist values, putting people, planet and peace before profit. “Real change begins in streets, schools, workplaces, community centres, and local networks, where collective power is built. “The election process reinforced many of these challenges: a voting system, which voters didn’t understand and which favoured larger establishment parties; oversized constituencies distancing politicians from communities; and a media landscape shaping political messaging and amplifying well-resourced parties.” “Debate was reduced to soundbites and simplified narratives, narrowing discussion and entrenching a two-horse contest between Plaid Cymru and Reform. “To achieve these requires more than short-term electoral thinking or tinkering around the edges. It demands courage, imagination and a shift of power back to communities. “Honest debate on key issues such as independence, community wealth building, public and community ownership, implementing the Future Generations Act, and the role of Trade Unions must take centre stage.” Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/reflections-on-the-senedd-election-and-what-comes-next/ * * * * 4th June: Ben Wildsmith "The government has precious little time to persuade people that our institutions work to protect them from exploitation by the sort of predators that will run riot in UK society if international capital is given free rein in the public sphere. "To insulate Wales from such a fate, our government must prioritise community involvement in our governance. People should feel that they have ownership of the institutions they fund, full accountability from them, and a meaningful say in how they are run. Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/the-vultures-are-circling/ * * * * 8th June: Keith Darlington added 1600 words to the post-7th May discussion. The article had no focus on policies, actions or actuality and collapsed in a welter of tired slogans. “After WW2, the Labour Party was proud to be radical and idealistic on many issues.” “Politics was seen as a vehicle for changing the world.” Source: https://nation.cymru/opinion/without-new-ideas-and-a-clear-definition-of-purpose-labour-will-struggle-to-govern/ [Comment: the 1945 government faced, like all governments, a world that was not of its making. The end of lend-lease, demobilisation, the transition from a rationing economy, new unstable international relations. The 1947 budget was a tax-raiser of austerity. The government built nuclear weapons and not hospitals, simply history.] * * * * 9th June: First Ministers Questions In the former Senedd every week talked unfailingly about Westminster. Many in the Labour Group could be seen looking at computer screens, flicking through their phones. This looks to be a new kind of legislature. 30 questions; they are all about the governance of Wales. The Members are all paying attention. * * * * 10th June: How good has been the law passed by former Senedds? The 182-day rule looks to be an example of legislation enacted to secure an objective that has not occurred. A citizen reports that a property has been wrongly recorded as failing to meet the threshold, thus triggering the triple council tax for a second home. The citizen supplies the correct data. The Council informs them that addressing the issue has a time span. That is nine months. * * * * 17th June: Members of the Senedd leave the Chamber in place of rebuttal in debate. Capel Lloft observed: “One thing that strikes me - a product of how overwhelmingly isolated from rowdy mass politics and how middle class they are - is the primness of our modern political class. They get incredibly offended and act all prissy at the first sign of any cut and thrust or plain-talking "Basically, unless you speak in middle class wonkese, with lots of jargon and waffle, they are visibly uncomfortable. An outsider has breached the citadel of us comfortable people who know best! Agh! And god forbid if you are a bit 'uppity' or sound too cor blimey. "The art of the really vicious put-down or waspish attack is being lost. The tutting and pursed lips at anyone mocking or putting the boot in is a bit pathetic tbh. Rather than walking out, mock them back! Counter-attack! Politics isn't a non-contact sport.” |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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