Welsh Government here to stay

[Eric the Half a Bee]

There's an article on WalesOnline today showing that around 40% want either more powers for the WG or independence with less than a quarter wanting the WG to have fewer powers or be abolished. This is roughly in line with most polls of this nature that take place from time to time.

What's particularly interesting is that around a third of over 65s want the WG abolished, yet there's little support for that from the under 45s, while the opposite is true for independence, where there's greatest support from under 35s.

My gut feeling is that most Tory voters would want shot of it, probably as their party isn't in charge, but most other voters of other parties are happy with things. Certainly support for the Welsh Government is greater than it was at the time of the 1999 referendum election and polls like this suggest support for devolution will continue to grow.

It'll be interesting to read some of the replies, to see how many claim youngsters don't know what they're talking about, how many will use names like Dripford and so on. You can almost predict who will come out with nonsense like that!

[life on mars]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

Oh wow, strip out all the public sector jobs funded by Westminster and we would be less comfortable and fooked

[JamesWales]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

Would be interesting to see a breakdown of it all and what powers people want transferred.

What isn't in doubt is that the Welsh Parliament has established itself as an important part of life here, and rightly so. As imperfect as the institution and the Welsh Govt is, it would seem very strange now for these issues not to be devolved to a Wales-wide level.

I'm not sure I want additional powers for the WG. I'm not really convinced they make the most of what they have and I don't sense they would spend it better. Certainly it should come hand in hand with more financial responsibilities too.

No issues with phrases like Dripford etc. People are allowed to not like him, and far worse is said about others

Independence? The polls will always bob along. I think the movement helps by having a kind of romantic edge to it, and any serious scrutiny of it, such as in a campaign would see it fall.

That said, it's amazing when you contrast the performance of the SNP in recent years and Plaid, who appear to be really underperforming

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

Would be interesting to see a breakdown of it all and what powers people want transferred.

What isn't in doubt is that the Welsh Parliament has established itself as an important part of life here, and rightly so. As imperfect as the institution and the Welsh Govt is, it would seem very strange now for these issues not to be devolved to a Wales-wide level.

I'm not sure I want additional powers for the WG. I'm not really convinced they make the most of what they have and I don't sense they would spend it better. Certainly it should come hand in hand with more financial responsibilities too.

No issues with phrases like Dripford etc. People are allowed to not like him, and far worse is said about others

Independence? The polls will always bob along. I think the movement helps by having a kind of romantic edge to it, and any serious scrutiny of it, such as in a campaign would see it fall.

That said, it's amazing when you contrast the performance of the SNP in recent years and Plaid, who appear to be really underperforming

The poll allowed 5 options - Independence, more powers (overall), happy as things stand, less powers, abolish. Half papers had the options the other way around to avoid bias.

One problem with spending in Wales is that we're not England, we have different issues and problems.

Plaid fare far better in Welsh Government elections where the Tories are much less of an enemy, it's usually Plaid causing problems for Labour. I think Plaid did ok in European elections, where people felt they wanted more Welsh representation in Brussels. They never perform as well in UK elections, probably out of a need to have Labour seats in Wales to try and oust the Tory government, where voting Plaid in some areas could lead to the Tories getting in.

It's just an opinion, but I believe most of Welsh politics is more about hatred of the Conservatives, who despite any host of issues in the past, have never appeared particularly pro-Wales. Indeed, their preference would be to rule the whole of the UK from the south east of England. Nationalism is a dirty word to some, though this doesn't seem to affect Scotland. Plaid's lack of performance is not that much of an indicator of how Welsh people view Wales, either. Polls in the past have suggested around 40% of Labour voters in Wales back independance, meaning Welsh labour cannot publicly shun the idea.

Tory voters aside, most of whom want rid of the Welsh Government, I believe most people are less interested in the importance or not of individual issues when forming their opinion on the WG. Take the new 20mph speed limits, which I don't support and, from what I read, are hugely unpopular. Very few voters would change their mind on the WG over this, despite not liking the new law.

[Feedback]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

Perhaps the current support for the Senedd is tied in to the lack of support for the UK government. I'd suggest that we look at this in a few years once we have a new UK government. The Welsh public may think differently if they believe the UK government is no longer crooked, or at least considers some of our interests.

[Robin Friday's Ghost]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

Perhaps the current support for the Senedd is tied in to the lack of support for the UK government. I'd suggest that we look at this in a few years once we have a new UK government. The Welsh public may think differently if they believe the UK government is no longer crooked, or at least considers some of our interests.

When we've had a few years of a Labour government and Wales is still rooted to the bottom of socio-economic indicators it may also make people wonder if perhaps the Welsh government doesn't also bear some responsibility for that.

[Heathblue]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

When we've had a few years of a Labour government and Wales is still rooted to the bottom of socio-economic indicators it may also make people wonder if perhaps the Welsh government doesn't also bear some responsibility for that.

But they don't get enough money from London, repeat to fade !!!!!.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

But they don't get enough money from London, repeat to fade !!!!!.

They don't

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

When we've had a few years of a Labour government and Wales is still rooted to the bottom of socio-economic indicators it may also make people wonder if perhaps the Welsh government doesn't also bear some responsibility for that.

What happens if after 10 years of not being run by the Tories Wales improves ?

[Robin Friday's Ghost]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

What happens if after 10 years of not being run by the Tories Wales improves ?

If Wales improves in line with other parts of the UK then we'll still be the poorest region. So I'd say that would be a green tick for Labour nationally but a red cross for Welsh Labour.

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

If Wales improves in line with other parts of the UK then we'll still be the poorest region. So I'd say that would be a green tick for Labour nationally but a red cross for Welsh Labour.

The question is if the majority of people think that Welsh Labour is the best of the bunch .....and clearly they have since 1997 ......then apart from pressurising the government down the bay to improve I think that's the way it is

I think that some of Welsh Labour are absolutely second rate but until I have an alternative that's where my vote will be going

The sooner drakeford goes the better but as long as he or she has a pulse they are going to be better than Andrew rt Davies and the conservatives

And that's most people's opinion

[SLUDGE FACTORY]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

I think independence is utterly laughable

Scotland would struggle and that's with far greater support within the population

Wales simply couldn't cope

People waving yes Cymru banners on poorly attended marches might think or dream we could go it alone but it's utter nonsense

Plaid have moments of popularity and some of their policies are excellent but they are inherently pro independence and have been rejected on that platform time after time

The likes of Adam Price and Leanne Wood come and go but they are a fringe party and would be great as a part of an anti Conservative coalition ......and if I had to I would vote for them to keep the Tories out locally or nationally

[JamesWales]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

It is absolutely mental how shite the Welsh Govt is really. That doesn't let Westminster, local councils or the EU (before we left) off the hook of course, but Is there anything within their competencies that we excel at? Anything at all?

Another day and now tourism is criticised.

5% of the population. Nearly 10% of the landmass, yet only 2% of foreign tourism spend.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66171190

[pipster]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

What happens if after 10 years of not being run by the Tories Wales improves ?

Were you not around when Blair invaded Iraq, Brown sold all the gold for peanuts, initiated PFI debt on any hospital or school that wanted some work done. Maybe forgot about the "loose hand on the financial regs", introduced the student tuition fees, wanted as many people to come into the country, the get them from anywhere memo.

Regardless of all this - Wales under Welsh Labour was still rubbish on just about every level.

Just heard an interview with our glorious leader the FM of Wales defending the fact that Welsh Assembly Health Minister Vaughan Gething admitting in Parliament that he hadnt read the pandemic plan strategy here it is

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[Feedback]

Re: Welsh Government here to stay

When we've had a few years of a Labour government and Wales is still rooted to the bottom of socio-economic indicators it may also make people wonder if perhaps the Welsh government doesn't also bear some responsibility for that.

we had 11 years of Labour running the Westminster show and in that time Wales fell further behind in just about every socio-economic measure.