Convention.Cymru (2025)

18/03/2025

86 – Victor Davis Hanson
Is a Californian Professor who teaches Ancient History and is also a modern American pundit on world strategy. He poses a serious question – how might Wales (Europe) defend Ukraine? Its easy enough to say that we in Wales WANT to defend Ukraine. Noone WANTS to see a gallant country being trampled. But then the question must be asked – what would it take for us to do this?
NATO is probably coming to an end. Presumably Wales would join with other European countries. And no longer trust the USA to pay and send thousands of troops as in the First and Second World Wars. Can Europe step up?
Two answers
- Yes, given time to build a replacement for NATO
- Yes, if the people of a sovereign Wales realise what is involved and still say yes.
What would be involved? A very different Wales. Do we want this? We had better hold a Convention, write a Constitution + Bill of Rights and, while we are at it, take a few major MAJOR decisions. Not only will we create a new Wales. We will have to face the most serious implications.
+Email: [email protected]
Website: www.convention.cymru
And see: www.firstdominion.wales
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

16/03/2025

85 – a Mandate for Wales from Pembrokeshire
Will ‘Little England Beyond Wales’ now vote for Wales, to get the devolved Crown Estate? Yes Pembrokeshire is distinct – see its popular flag – but it has been a Welsh County since time immemorial. Though the fast train to Paddington bypassing Cardiff & Swansea allowed Pembs to forget Wales sometimes. No more. The County Council of Pembrokeshire (home to Convention.cymru) must now vote to do itself, and Wales, a favour.
16 other Councils out of 22 have voted to devolve the Crown Estate to Wales: Anglesey, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Wrexham.
Does Pembrokeshire want to let itself and Wales down? Pembs has patchwork politics, but this is a financial no-brainer. Hence 16 from 22 so far.
Credit to YesCymru for campaigning on a pro-Wales move which we can all agree on.
Who are the 5 hold-outs? Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Newport, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan.
When they vote ‘Yes’ – which they will – just think of the effect. Won’t be legal, because Wales’ laws all come from London in the end. But it’s a political mandate. That’s what counts when the future of Wales is at stake.
+Email: [email protected]
Website: www.convention.cymru
And see: www.firstdominion.wales
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

01/03/2025

84 – How Wales wins on Dydd Gwyl Dewi
Thanks to Cllr.Neil McEvoy for photo taken today 1st March 2025, during the St.David's Day Parade.
Why do we let England decide on celebrating St.David’s day? Because we in Wales have not done our homework, or used our native wit.
The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 is an English Act of Parliament. England possesses the Bank of England, and invented the idea of “bank holidays”, which is a quirky name, surely. This 1971 Act says when they happen – See Schedule 1. There’s a list for Scotland, and the list for ‘England and Wales’. Dydd Gwyl Dewi is not on the list so is not a ‘bank’ holiday.
Now look at another English Act of Parliament – Wales Act 2017. This stops Wales making laws about ‘bank’ holidays – because its an England and Wales thing. But we can do a range of other laws.
The answer lies in the name. Call St.David’s Day a ‘Bank’ Holiday, and we can’t do it. Wise up Wales. Avoid the trap. Call St.David’s Day some other kind of holiday!
Call Dydd Gwyl Dewi a ‘public’, ‘traditional’ or ‘Welsh’ holiday and we can make it official in Wales.. In Scotland a county can declare a holiday, so our own Senedd surely can.
Just don’t call it a ‘Bank Holiday’.
Its really very easy.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.convention.cymru
And see: www.firstdominion.wales
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

27/02/2025

83 – Welsh acquit Welsh Marine – why we need to protect Free Speech
Lets say you live in Penygraig in the Rhondda. Nowhere is more Welsh, they voted ‘Yes’ to get our own Senedd. But what’s this? You post a 12-minute video on Facebook, in which you urge people to stage peaceful protests.
A staffer who works for Welsh Labour, who represent the Rhondda, doesn’t seem to like the idea of peaceful protests by Rhondda people. All that Maerdy = ‘Little Moscow’ heritage means nothing now. The anonymous he/she reports you to the police. Instead of brushing the thing off, the Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service charge you on the basis that peaceful protest equals 7 years in prison if you’re not careful. You are arrested, remanded in custody, later let out on tag while awaiting trial – at Merthyr Crown Court.
As we now know, the Welsh jury acquitted Marine Jamie Michael in 17 minutes, less time than it takes to order coffee. Convention.cymru is very happy to thank the Welsh jury. But this must never happen again in Wales.
Jamie Michael was lucky that the Free Speech Union took up his case, with London lawyers. Convention.cymru is disappointed that no Welsh criminal defenders stepped up. Curious, back in the day, we did not need a Free Speech Union . But then, from 2019, apparently we did.
Wales needs its own First Amendment. We need to clear the air in Wales about the need for free speech, and we need a proper Bill of Rights because the ECHR one clearly is not working. Discussion and progress for Wales? Our very own Welsh Convention to write all this? Bring it on.
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.convention.cymru
And see: www.firstdominion.wales
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

03/02/2025

82 – Greenland v Wales
Why is Greenland getting many more headlines than Wales?
Geography
Greenland is 100 times the size of Wales. Wales has 50 times the population of Greenland. Greenland is not that green, has polar bears and is different. People discuss mining in Greenland with excitement, but not mining in Wales. We are only allowed to mine gold, for Royal rings and Rhiannon. But no coal to speak of, even for our own Great Little Trains of Wales.
Colonies
Wales and Greenland became colonies at about the same time, about 1300AD. How long did being a colony last? Greenland got ‘Province/County’ status in 1953. Wales got Devolution in 1998. These are very similar. Some devolution in both cases, but there was no doubt that London and Copenhagen had the last word. Wales is still a colony.
Moves to freedom
Greenland got the ‘Self-rule Law’ of 2009. Greenland (pop 57,000) now has
- Its own language
- Control of the legal system, the coastguard etc
- representatives in Copenhagen, Brussels, Reykjavik, and Washington DC
- the right to declare 100% independence if approved by a Referendum.
‘Dominion Status’
What Greenland has would be called Dominion Status in England. It is not 100% Indy because (a) Greenlanders have not discussed or decided and (b) they have not held that Referendum. But the excitement! The opportunity! The freedom to choose! The centuries of drift and neglect by Denmark, the colonial power, will end. A future rivalling that of Alaska (released from the dead hand of Russia in 1867 by the USA) is now - at last - open to Greenland if they want it. Could this mean a Gold Rush?
Welshman Aneurin Bevan described Wales as part of an island “made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish “ and added “Only an organizing genius could produce a shortage of coal and fish at the same time” as Wales now has. Let us write our own Welsh ‘Self-rule Law’. Call it ‘Dominion Status to suit English law-speak and lets fly.
Email: [email protected]
Website: convention.cymru
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

23/01/2025

81 – Name that Convention
When is a Convention not a Convention? Answer – in Welsh politics.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION as in Sewel Convention: this is the worst of many deceptions. In English politics ‘convention’ means ‘something we always/usually do’. So don’t worry, it’s a tradition. You can trust us. Things have always done this way in England, like playing cricket, since at least the time of Good Queen Bess. Don’t buy this if you are Welsh. An English Constitutional Convention can be invented overnight, and scrapped just as easily. Take ‘Sewel Convention’. This is the rule that England will not ‘normally legislate with regard to devolved matters without the consent of’ Wales. This even got put in an English law, section 2 Government of Wales Act 2017. The word ‘normally’ should put you on your guard. Experience has confirmed – this is the classic Chocolate Teapot.
“Wales has held 2 Constitutional Conventions” but only if you want this to be true, when it isn’t.
2009 All-Wales Convention (Hughes-Parry, Chair): was set up by the Wales First Minister and Deputy First Minister. It dealt with possible tweaks to Cardiff Bay. Its members were all selected by a process which the Ministers decreed. Noone remembers it now.
2015 Constitutional Convention of the Institute for Welsh Affairs: ah, this sounds promising. Not set up by the Welsh Government, but by something independent and Welsh. Had a £3000 Crowd Funder. So what went wrong? It looked at something called the United Kingdom ie England. You can’t even find the report on the internet now.
Convention.cymru wants a genuine All-Wales Constitutional Convention. How will we know it if we see it? It will
- aim for government of the people of Wales by the people of Wales.
- replace the existing system in Cardiff Bay. It will not mess with England or expect Cardiff Turkeys to vote for Xmas
- write rules for the new system on internationally recognised lines including a Welsh Bill of Rights
- Have elected members, elected democratically. Appointed members are out.
How will Wales get this genuine All-Wales Constitutional Convention? Blueprint coming soon!
Email: [email protected]
Website: convention.cymru
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

18/01/2025

80 – More Games with Names
“Dominion” as in ‘Dominion Status’ is a name with a lot of baggage. We can pick up the story here in Wales, in 1535. Henry VIII’s Laws in Wales Act called us "the Dominion, Principality and Country of Wales". So we could call ourselves The First Dominion. ‘Principality and Country’ we can perhaps live with. It makes us sound like Monaco, prosperous and sunny. But we are not so sure about ‘Dominion’. There is no getting away from it, England got dominion over Wales and ruled us, whether we like it or not, and still does. Wales can deal with this in one of two ways.
Between 1922-1937 the Irish accepted being called a Dominion. But many Irish felt it smacked of subjection to England. Other Irish were happy to live with it until they got full Indy, which they duly and quickly did. The beauty of ‘Dominion’ as applied to Ireland was that England was happy to use it as a flexible means of hiving Ireland off into Indy without losing too much face. Are you listening, Wales?
The other trick is to turn the label of subjection into a label of pride. This takes nerve, but often works. People in the Dominion of Virginia in the US had plenty of nerve. They led the Americans in their Declaration of Independence from England in 1776. And they were happy, very happy, to boast about being the Old Dominion. You see the name everywhere - on big shiny 18-wheeler Mack trucks hurtling everywhere on the Interstate Highways - see photo. Proud, and a million miles from subjection. ‘Wales – the First Dominion’ anyone? Surely we can do something with this!
Email: [email protected]
Website: convention.cymru
CYMRU RYDD – FREE WALES

16/01/2025

79 – Games with names
In international law, if you want to be recognised as an independent state, you need the other states/countries of the world to recognise you. What do other countries make of the England problem? In the 1540s, England took over Wales. The pride of their navy jumped right into the puzzle – see picture. The best English ship flew the England Flag (St.George). But also flew green and white colours. These were actually Welsh, but the Tudors grabbed them for England anyway.
After the 1540s this England went round the world and built an empire. So the world came to know what England stood for – and still calls England ‘England’. Its very simple.
What’s not simple is changing the name from England to Great Britain, United Kingdom etc and the flag to the red, white and blue, and claiming to run part of Ireland. Much better to call a spade a spade.
Convention.cymru house style will now use ‘England’ and not the other confusing labels. Apart from using the common US and international name, it’s a matter of realpolitik. England is over 1000 years old, has had a centralised government/monarchy throughout and was known as a very efficiently (centrally) well-run country with a stable legal system and currency. The parliament at Westminster consistently refuses to set up a devolved parliament for England, because the English think that the existing Westminster parliament is and always has been the parliament for England. As Texans might put it ‘Don’t mess with England!’
Convention.cymru works on the basis that England controls Scotland and Wales when the chips are down. What is England’s attitude to Welsh Independence? Convention.cymru believes that the English have no fundamental objection to Indy. But – but – the English expect an independent Wales to be well run (which it isn’t) and to pay for itself (which it doesn’t). And not to mess with England. Surely Wales can meet these basic standards! In fact, Wales pays for itself already, or very nearly. But we hand over our money for England to spend. For this and other reasons, we can’t claim to be well run or self-sufficient or to qualify for Indy. But we can try and fix this, can’t we?

08/01/2025

78 – the American Way 5 – US to take over Wales?
What is going on in America? The transition to Trump is going very smoothly. People seem glad that their country is going to advance at last. And solve its problems. Energy and ‘American Progress’ (see picture) are on the march again. Might the US now take over Wales?
No, it won’t go that far. The USA may be talking about taking over Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal. This makes Brits nervous. But in each case, there is at least a 100-year history of ‘maybe’ and a lot of geo-political logic. Plus Trump’s tongue in cheek Art of the Deal of course.
Why is Musk weighing in on UK politics? The answer is very simple seen from this side of the Atlantic. Musk’s heritage (S.Africa and the US) includes the English heritage of Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights of 1689. Plus he believes so strongly in freedom of speech that he spent $44 billion on it – in buying Twitter and calling it X. Wales should not mind Musk meddling. He – and most Americans – feel genuine horror that England, of all places, should be cracking down, gaoling people for saying something that makes our rulers nervous. Never has it been so clear what free speech – and the US First Amendment – do to keep freedom alive all over the world. Wales needs to look in the mirror. If Welsh people believed in free speech they very often left Wales, and the England holding them back, crossed the Atlantic and helped build the Land of the Free. Of the Welsh who stayed in Wales, how many can you name who fought for free speech (and freedom itself) right here in Wales? When eventually Wales organises a Constitutional Convention to re-make Wales we must, must remember to put in - front and centre - the Welsh Bill of Rights. But for this we will need to create the Home of the Brave. Right here in Cymru Fach.

30/12/2024

77 – President Carter and us
Diolch i Alun Lenny a’i griw am y ffoto – fishing near Tregaron? Yes Wales can be pleased that the 39th US President knew and liked Wales as he did. But how well do we in Wales know this man? There as so many pointers for us as we finish 2024 and move into 2025 and the Trump era.
Was President Carter sly, greedy, deceitful, corrupt and lazy? Happy to sell his country to China and the Ukraine for bribes? Did he trash his own justice system? Absolutely not, and the contrast with Biden will sober up anyone in the middle of the 12 days of Xmas 2024.
President Carter was transparently intelligent and organised. He helped the US Navy pioneer nuclear submarines, and was anti-war, as most sensible Americans have always been. Not only was he competent, he taught Sunday School all his life, as many used to do in Welsh Chapels before we threw away whatever it was we had for whatever the reason was.
President Carter made military and diplomatic assessments about Iran which were not successes, though he is not the only US President who got the Middle East wrong. He was socially progressive for his time. And he can’t be blamed because others charged through and exploited social doors which he opened so carefully, 30-40 years after he left office.
How should we in Wales assess our Welsh leaders? Yes, we can demand higher standards of competence and decency. We have every right to knock down and renew our politics if our politics fails to produce the people we need for our future. Nothing dramatic – just a Constitutional Convention to redesign the whole thing.

29/12/2024

76 – Welsh Farms
As a voter in Wales, what do you do about farming in Wales? This ought to be easy. We have miles of fields and moorland. Plenty of sun and rain, the Royal Welsh show, excellent Welsh butter, cheese etc in every Tesco. But all is not well, is it? Welsh farmers are not happy, clearly, but why? It can’t only be Convention.cymru that would like some simple answers. Wales is not that large and it ought to be possible for Wales to fix its own farming.
One fix is happening. There is an obscure body called the Law Commission. To its credit, and to Welsh lawyers involved, it is going to tidy up Welsh farming law, which is a jumble. Some of this law is run by London, some by Cardiff, and is all over the place. You can’t look at a Code of Welsh farming law – yet – so our first attempt at getting some answers on Welsh farming will fail. For now, until this part is fixed.
Inheritance tax on Welsh farms – how bad is this? If its bad, who fixes the problem? Pretty clear answer here – Wales can’t. Inheritance tax is definitely a London thing.
If Wales could get reliable Coops or the like to supply Welsh milk to Tesco at a better price would we in Wales want this? We’d pay more for our milk. But some are saying that if we fixed the supply market, Wales farms would actually be better off paying Inheritance Tax and we’d all gain. The head spins. All we know is that our Welsh Parliament does not have the power to put Welsh farming on a sound footing.
But won’t the slowly emerging Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme answer the maiden’s prayer? Well. Someone will have to explain to Convention.cymru what the advantages are of “Reducing the overall number of Universal Actions from 17 to 12” because its not obvious that Welsh (Labour) Government is well equipped to sort all this.
Here is another simple thing: we need to keep the quality of Welsh Food at EU Standards as they are now. The way to guarantee this is to get Welsh Independence. So, for example, we won’t have England doing a Trade Deal with the USA which allows existing American farm products to flood into Wales. At least, not until RFK Jnr, the Democrat who has joined Trump’s Republicans, has had a chance to clean up American food. This post is written from North Carolina so, Wales, you have been warned.
POSTSCRIPT – be very careful who gets hold of Welsh agricultural land. The US has a problem over this too. In Wales the problem is not China or corporations buying land. We have a curious combination of Welsh grant-grabbers and outsiders who are very interested in windfarms, solar arrays and re-wilding. But not, apparently, in our fellow Welsh who farm, look after our land and feed us their neighbours. If you don’t believe Convention.cymru, check out Jack o’ the North to see how this happens. Yes, we need Indy to nurture our Welsh farms.

16/12/2024

75 – Welsh Laws
Llyn issued a challenge to list ‘woke’ Welsh Laws. What is the Convention.Cymru definition of ‘woke’? Something done in order to signal virtue, advance a point of view, create paid sinecures without reference to the views of the majority of voters. The flaw with ‘woke’ is that there may be a majority seat mandate under the UK and Wales parliamentary system. But these are broken. Voters feel powerless to fix things. And beware the Executive Order – a Welsh government Scheme with little or no democratic approval of any kind. The ‘woke’ vision for Wales may not be the vision of Welsh voters. If we held an All-Wales Constitutional Convention to plan the Wales we want, we could find out.

LEGISLATION Passed by Senedd
Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) act 2015 Vague goals, unnecessary Commissioner, advisory panel and bureaucratic tinkering
Food Additives, Flavourings, Enzymes and Extraction Solvents (Wales) Regulations 2013 The Abergele Martyrs did not die to achieve a fizzy drinks law at the expense of laws to defend Welsh Steel production
Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Act 2020 Ditto. Wales is/was not the land of the cane
The Restricted Roads (20 mph Speed Limit) (Wales) Order 2022 Noone would drive through Newport Pembrokeshire at over 20, anyway, because of the narrow streets. Ignore 469,571 Welsh voters
Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021 Teaching gender identity and s*x to primary school age children in Wales is fine – Judge
An Act requiring the Welsh Government to set up an All-Wales Constitutional Convention Er, no such thing
WELSH GOVERNMENT SCHEMES May not need Senedd approval
Nation of Sanctuary Plan Undermines immigration control, draws attention from helping existing population
Anti-racist Wales Action Plan Assumes racism. Will prioritise the lived experiences of ethnic minority people ie relegate existing population
LGBTQ+ Action Plan Assumes need to advance LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion, and support for plan
Ethnic Minority ITE incentive scheme for Teacher Training The only white Welsh who can apply are Gypsy or Irish Traveller, Roma, Jewish

10/11/2024

74 SOUNDS FAMILIAR? – THE AMERICAN WAY 4
Democrat or Republican, all sensible Americans will say to Wales – ‘get yourselves a Constitution!’
So just how difficult is it to write a Constitution for Wales? Not very. There are templates all over the internet. Remember though, Welsh voters will decide on the final wording, in a Constitutional Convention. And maybe approve it with a Referendum as well.
Here goes. Does this sound familiar?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Y5NujkooHheFnSizXJ5rEaWrK69gocD/view?usp=sharing
Yes you will recognise many of the phrases. Why?
This is the Constitution of North Carolina, the US State with 11m people which was a British Colony from the 1600s. Wales hasn’t declared Indy, but NC declared Indy about 250 years ago. Its Constitution, which it wrote, emerged from the melting pot of Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights Act (UK) of 1689 and from what the US Founding Fathers did. They wrote the US Constitution and 13 State ones, later increased to 50 of course.
With Constitutions, the wording is not the problem. The main issue is – who organises and approves them? We the People, or some higher power like the ‘Crown in Parliament’? This of course is UK code for ‘Not you, the People’.
50 US States and the US itself all held Conventions which set up the federal United States. All of them give We the People as the source of power, meeting in all those Convention called to organise the States and the Federal nation.
Yes, the People delegated to attend the Convention can tweak the wording. They are laying down the framework that will last for generations and be taught in schools.
Convention.cymru is not here to tell Welsh people what to decide when they meet in a Convention but only to urge one thing. Hold that Convention and make sure its us taking the decisions, not somebody else. If you want Indy, maybe with Dominion Status on the way to Indy, this is how you do it.

03/11/2024

73 A CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE
Post 72 asked whether we could get, say, 50% ie 1m plus to sign a Petition for a Wales. That wanted to call a Convention to rewrite Wales, or to approve a Constitution + Bill of Rights already written. Call a Convention? Almost never been done in the UK.
How would Wales arrange a Convention – a legitimate gathering of Welsh Founders? Petitioning the Senedd would create interest in and pressure for an All-Wales Convention. But no matter how you phrase the Petition, a Labour-dominated Senedd is going to object
(1) We don’t have the power. It ‘relates to the Union of England and Wales’ so is a reserved matter. Off limits for the Senedd.
(2) We are turkeys and we don’t want to vote for Xmas ie get replaced with a Parliament designed by people who aren’t us.
(3) We like the existing model. We like spending money raised by London, and moaning that its not enough. Actually raising the money sounds like political trouble!
WHO WILL BE THE WELSH FOUNDERS?
Convention.cymru has a confession. We would prefer our Constitution and Bill of Rights to be written by fresh faces, and not by the existing parties or sitting MSs. But we admit that a lot of (what passes for) political talent in Wales is found in the existing parties and the Senedd. Factoid 1: when the US wrote its Constitution the States (existing politicians) appointed the Delegates. Factoid 2: when the State of North Carolina got its independence from England, the delegates emerged from a long and nuanced process, local committees of various kinds bubbling and growing organically over a fair old period of time. The committees got stronger and acquired legitimacy step by step. Aha! This is what could work in Wales.
COMMITTEE NOT A CONVENTION
Lets get an All-Wales Committee. You can’t get a Convention of say 100 Welsh Founders together overnight. But you can do it over time if you set up a Convention Committee. The Committee has to set up something a bit like the Second House of the Wales Parliament, or something resembling a Citizens’ Assembly. Who will be eligible to stand? Will they be appointed (who by?) or elected (preferably, but who by?) Who will produce the first draft Constitution + Bill of Rights, the Committee? Of course the Convention will approve the Final Draft, maybe followed by a Referendum. Referendum – organised by whom? How will this Committee be funded? Yes, you will need a Committee for all this. Noone said Indy was easy. Scotland worked hard on all this, and still hasn’t won.
TAKE BARRY TOWN COUNCIL – see image
Lets use Barry Town Council as our worked example, the biggest Community Council in Wales. Barry seems to have 57,000 electors. How many does it take to call a Barry Community Meeting? 50 of the electors (if 10% of the electors exceeds 50 electors). 10% of Barry is 5700 so exceeds 50. But you only need 50.
Get 50 Barry electors to call the Community Meeting. Liaise with Community Councillors and professional staff to oil the wheels, but it’s the 50 doing the calling.
THE MOTION – this Community Meeting agrees to appoint a Delegate to an All-Wales Constitutional Committee of 16
- Consisting of 16 Delegates, one from each of the 16 paired constituencies of Wales, appointed by the same process
- Having the role of arranging an All-Wales Constitutional Convention which will draft a Constitution and Bill of Rights for Wales for the approval of the Welsh people.
Call that Meeting. Call 15 others. Lets get Wales on a roll!

02/11/2024

72 A CONSTITUTIONAL PETITION
A Petition to the Senedd has potential for Convention.cymru. There have been well over 1000 Petitions. If you get 10,000 signatures, its probably on a good solid single issue that has an organised All-Wales campaign behind it. It may fall foul of the Senedd Standing Orders, it may never get debated or acted on. But, hey, its useful publicity and pressure which may result in something down the line. Remember, all these Petitions are run by a Senedd set up by London, run by one political party which has run Wales for 100 years. We did not set this thing up. So keep our feet on the ground. Lets look more closely.
469,571 signed up for ‘We want the Welsh Government to rescind and remove the disastrous 20mph law.’ 469,571 signatures is 40 times the size of your average solid Petition to the Senedd. Did this shake the earth? Not really. All those signers wanted to change Labour policy in a Labour created and run Senedd. So even a monster Petition can achieve nothing, in the short term anyway. Most petitions let off some steam (or a lot of steam on 20 mph) but get nowhere. For political reasons.
Some Petitions, even the10,000 ones, can fail for legal reasons. The Petitions Committee will not accept your Petition if it “requests the Senedd to do anything which the Senedd clearly has no power to do”. Here is a question. Can you use a Petition to call for a Referendum, to change how Wales is run? Depends. The Senedd had the power to change the number of Members and how they’re elected. Lets say you dislike a one-party Senedd with closed party lists, because we should decide not the Senedd. This is straightforward. Go and sign the currently open Petition “We feel there should be a Referendum before the Senedd has a further 36 members.” This has 9,563 signatures so its one of those solid ones. And it concerns a legally valid Senedd action, so it seems legal. How far will it get? That’ll be political. So we’ll have to see what whipped instructions come out of the Labour Party in Wales. Best not to hold your breath.
Comment on Referendums – there is only one good kind of Referendum. The one held AFTER we’ve been given a full and thorough explanation of what we’ll be voting on. A fully written Draft Constitution and Bill of Rights for Wales, written by a Convention which we elected, just for example.
There are about 2.3m voters in Wales. So 469k signing a Petition on 20mph was certainly giant, in depressing low-turn-out Wales. This Petition got about 20% of voters. Could you get, say, 50% ie 1m plus to sign a Petition for a Wales? That wanted to call a Convention to rewrite Wales, or to approve a Constitution + Bill of Rights already written? The Senedd might have to turn it down because all this is reserved to London. And we don’t know what the Labour Party would do. But its all part of political pressure.
Is 1million beyond reach? It would need more preparation than your 10k Petition on Welsh Music, or 469k on 20mph. But given time and organisation, lets see…

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