Wales today faces great uncertainty

TODAY – our national saint’s day – Wales is in more of a state of uncertainty than it has been for many years.

In less than a month, together with the rest of the UK, we are due to leave the EU.

The terms of our departure, however, are not known – nor is it certain that we will actually become a non-member on March 29.

It is shocking that a state which has prided itself on its stability for generations is now in a situation of its own making where the future is unclear and potentially hazardous.

It’s no wonder that Professor Colin Riordan, the Vice Chancellor of Cardiff University, has felt impelled to write to members of his staff in very worrying terms.

Clearly frustrated by the continuing impasse at Westminster, Prof Riordan expresses dismay not just about the prospects for his university, but for the nation as a whole. Billions of pounds of EU money have been spent in Wales, including a significant amount on research and development projects at Cardiff University itself.

Prof Riordan is right to draw attention to concerns about whether Wales will continue to get as much financial aid from the UK Government after Brexit as it has received from the EU.

The failure of Theresa May and other Westminster ministers to spell out how the so-called UK Shared Prosperity Fund will operate is surely ominous. If their intentions were to continue funding Wales to the same extent as before, why would they not confirm as much?

The reality, as anyone with a passing interest in politics should recognise, is that English regions will be competing for what is unlikely to be a bigger pot of money than the UK has received from the EU up until now. We have already seen hints of what would be likely to occur as Mrs May has dangled the prospect of aid money for their constituencies if Labour MPs representing working class seats in the north of England vote for her Brexit deal.

So far as EU aid was concerned, the artificially created region of West Wales and the Valleys qualified for the highest level of assistance because it could be demonstrated statistically that it fell into the neediest category. The concern must be that, after Brexit, more subjective judgements will be made by politicians anxious to shore up levels of support for their party in areas where seats could be lost. As Prof Riordan realises, an enormous amount is at stake in the next few weeks.