MORNING SERIAL
SO DESPITE the gains made by devolution, Wales still has incredibly high levels of poverty. We know that there are solutions out there, but we also know that under the current system, the chances of really tackling them are essentially zero (remember, the UK Government is currently arguing that poverty is going down).
The challenge is encapsulated by the fact that Wales’ rail infrastructure, a key way of improving productivity and a service that is historically woefully underfunded, will be the only part of the UK to miss out on HS2 funding.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the current settlement’s shortcomings. We saw how more of that iceberg came into the public eye during the pandemic, and how it is becoming clear to more and more people not only that the current system is not working but also that Wales has the ability to do things its own way.
Devolution is under attack
WHILE devolution has its faults and the system requires rationalisation, it is a far better situation for the devolved nations than when they were at the whim of an often disinterested Secretary of State and some unelected quangos.
We will look at the ways in which the current system could be improved in later chapters, but suffice to say that one of the biggest steps forward would be for all the different parts of the UK to accept that devolution is now a reality and actively seek to make it work.
When devolution has been in place for over two decades in Wales, and twice been given a democratic mandate through referendums, it is bizarre that it still needs to be said that the UK Government must acknowledge that devolution is not temporary or inconvenient but simply the way we do things.
You might even define it as the democratic will of the people that deserves to be respected.
But, unfortunately, all the signs are that the current attitude of the UK Government and the Conservative Party is the opposite of this.
> Independent Nation by Will Hayward is published by Biteback Publishing at £15 hardback and £9.99 ebook, https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/independent-nation
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