MORNING SERIAL
AS THE previous chapter described, the pandemic has been both a challenge to devolution but also an awakening of Wales’ devolved consciousness. Mark Drakeford saw a significant growth in popularity, his detail-focused style juxtaposed to the politicians in Westminster. There was vocal support throughout the crisis for Wales ploughing its own furrow with regard to the lockdown restrictions. It was the first time many had really considered that Wales could do things differently. Though most people knew there was a Welsh Government, there has for a long time not been the clearest understanding within the wider population what is and isn’t a devolved competency. The Covid-19 crisis was for many the first time there was a truly visible way in which the decisions in Cardiff Bay actively affected their day-to-day lives. This does not mean they all liked what they saw. An ITV Cymru Wales and Cardiff University poll of Welsh adults carried out by YouGov from May 29 to June 1, 2020 found that support for no devolved government in Wales actually rose in the first months of the crisis by five points to 22%, though it should be pointed out that support for more Senedd powers and an independent Wales also rose during that period.
The subject of independence was also stoked in Wales by the Covid-19 crisis. On July 15, after polls indicating support for independence was at an all-time high, the Senedd debated independence for Wales for the first time. There is no doubt the issue of an independent Wales has been brought more into mainstream debate by Covid as well as the Brexit vote. It is a fascinating subject and a debate that needs a separate book. However, I think it is important for the debate to not be about “could Wales be an independent country” – of course Wales could be independent. The real question is, should Wales be independent? There are many arguments to be made by both sides but in the current state of the UK it is understandable why arguments in favour of independence are gaining traction.
> Lockdown Wales by Will Hayward £9.99 www.serenbooks.com/ productdisplay/lockdown-wales ISBN 9781781726013