Convention.Cymru

10/09/2024

64 – WALES AS A DOMINION
Here is a clear example of why Wales should get Dominion Status. Following most other British Colonies from Ireland to India. It’s a more than halfway house to Indy.
Look at the Crown Estate in Wales. It appears to have an annual income of say £60m, a lot of it from offshore windfarms. This is split 12% to the Crown (£7.2m pa) and 88% (£52.8m pa) to Wales. Er, no. The £52.8 goes to London. Getting Dominion Status would mean getting the £52.8m paid to Wales. What about the £7.2m which goes to the Crown? Here’s the trick. Let the Crown keep it. We need the Monarchy not to oppose Dominion Status, to support it even. So let the sleeping dog lie. Getting Wales the £52.8mn would be a big big advance. Plus, taking control of the Crown Estate in Wales also gives us control over our own land – a natural right for any proper country. When we get full Indy, having made Dominion Status work, we can look at the whole thing again. How do we get Dominion Status? We need a bottom-up democratic demand. Swansea Council has kept the issue of the Crown Estate in the news. Use the Councils, County and Community. Get the movement moving.

05/09/2024

63 – WELSH BUDGET
As you know Convention.cymru likes ships. So its back to Wales this time. We will be looking at the American Way again and again. Its based on liberty and 250 years of practice after all. So there’s a lot for us Welsh to learn.
Llew Gruffudd has winkled out a fact. Wales spends £2bn a year on Defence. Did you know that? What does it mean? Wales has a Gross Domestic Product of £85bn. So Wales spends about 2% of its GDP on Defence. Does this figure ring a bell?
Yes. It is the figure which NATO countries are supposed to spend. So Wales pulls its weight. Well done us.
OK we pay the £2bn for Defence via the UK. But all British Empire colonies start this way. At some point they start to run their own defence, taking over bit by bit. New Zealand did this. Wales is actually starting too.
See FPV Rhodri Morgan. Check out the ensign (flag) she’s flying – its got a Welsh Dragon. The Welsh navy as got to start somewhere. And we have.

28/08/2024

CONVENTION.CYMRU - THE AMERICAN WAY 1
Towards A Welsh Constitutional Convention..

What proportion of a country's population is needed to support a revolution? And how would we start it? There is a famous quote attributed to John Quincy Adams, second President of the United States of America, that about one-third of the population of the 13 colonies were for the war of Independence, one-third were against it (the Royalists) and one-third didn't give a monkeys either way.

In the context of a steady stream of opinion polls that consistently show around one third of the Welsh population now support Independence, a little historical context can be illuminating. We are following a well trodden trail of ex-British colonies.

And of course the whole thread of revolution in the States is shot through with subtle Welsh influence, from Thomas Jefferson, who claimed Welsh maternal ancestry, to Dr Richard Price, whose democratic ideals fired the revolutaries,

charge of the new nation's economic policy "because he was too old"!

It's important to note that the American revolution did not start with armed revolt. It began with the Second Continental Congress, which adopted the Lee Resolution, declaring independence from Britain on July 2, 1776, and in which the Congress unanimously agreed to the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4th, 1776.

Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, proposer of the famous Declaration, was in turn instructed by the 5th Virginia Convention who had already declared Virginia an independent state and produced it's own constitution and bill of rights.

These conventions were the mechanisms by which the 13 original colonies replaced their colonial governments with republican constitutions, based on modern democratic principles of separation of powers, with legislative, executive and judicial branches.

has fuelled revolutions the world over. Yet 250 years later sluggish, bamboozled Britain remains mired in feudalism. A backward little island sat on the fence line between progressive democratic systems on both sides of the Atlantic.

Constitutional conventions are not alien to the UK. In 1989, the Scottish Constitutional Convention was set up by a coalition of churches and political parties to establish a framework for devolved power. More recently, a new Convention has been proposed by the SNP­ ied Scottish government to set the foundation for something a lot more radical - a permanent constitution for an Independent Scotland.

Towards a Welsh Convention.

Over the summer of 2019, a whole string of Town and Community councils across Cymru tabled motions supporting Welsh independence. The momentum was such that by the end of the summer, Labour-led community councils in the Valleys and even Gwynedd County Council had

For all their small size, town and community councils are units of government, and as such their importance should not be underestimated. If local communities are the cornerstone of a healthy grassroots democracy, then town and community councils could be the building blocks of a whole new constitutional settlement.

On their own, these motions are kudos for the movement; as part of a wider framework however, these little community councils could become part of something larger and more significant.

A Claim of Right

In 1989 the Campaign for a Scottish Assembly also crafted and signed a Claim of Right, declaring the sovereignty of the Scottish People. The Claim was re-affirmed and debated by the Scottish Parliament in 2012. Of course it's natural to take the view that the Scottish Parliament, representing the collective will of the Scottish people, has the right to uphold the

However that is not the view of the UK government, which asserts (and hypocritically flouts) the principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty, a constitutional principle that makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK, with unlimited power to enact any law.

Such power means that theoretically, Parliament can abolish both the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament. And in fact in recent years Conservative governments, emboldened by Brexit, have consistently challenged and undermined the devolved administrations in both Alba and Cymru.

Of course, a Claim of Right has no no legal force, but it articulates a fundamental principle; that Sovereignty does not lie with the UK Parliament, but with the historical nations of this island, including the Welsh Nation.

As such there is no reason why a Claim of Right - a simple declaration of sovereignty - cannot be declared by a constitutional convention here in

Cymru cannot organise such a Convention. In this way we can build a real base of power amongst those democratic institutions that are ready to make the break with a corrupt and undemocratic Westminster system, and give a real voice to that third of our population that is - like Americans 250 years ago - ready for Independence.

25/08/2024

61 – FREE WALES? START NOW
Last month saw the Final Report of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. It was born 3 years ago and it shows. The Commission gratefully acknowledge the contribution made by Black Lives Matter – remember them? The Commission did not follow up, or even note, the contribution made by Convention.cymru. Not openly anyway. But…
The Commission accepted the 2 main points which we put forward.
NEW STRATEGIES FOR CIVIC EDUCATION SHOULD BE A PRIORITY
Yes. But remember that the last 3 years have led to attacks on our liberties, especially free speech. What kind of Civics will be taught now? We can think of 2 very different kinds. One kind will stress our freedom, from attacks by a Welsh government which doesn’t seem so keen on our freedom to think, read and say what we like. The other kind of Civics will stress conformity. Because anything else might add up to hate. Who will end up writing the syllabus?
A PROJECT TO ENGAGE CITIZENS IN DRAFTING A STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES FOR WALES
Ah, yes! What project and who will run it? The Commission was set up by the Welsh Government and has emerged in a Labour-run Wales. So the Commission assumes that the Welsh Labour Government will set up and run this project. This being Wales, this will indeed happen (a) if it still happens to suit Labour including Labour UK and (b) if no one comes up with a better idea. Convention.cymru does have a better idea. This project should not be Government/top-down. After all, the whole point is to review what Wales thinks of the Wales Labour Government and the Bay system. And to replace them if we can do better. Which we can.
You heard it here first
Look out for a meeting held near where you live. The meeting will not be a Constitutional Convention, but it will be a meeting aimed at getting one. A Convention which will give Wales a modern world-leading Bill of Rights and a Constitution to replace what we have in Cardiff Bay.

19/08/2023

60 – FREE WALES THIS SUMMER
We in Wales need something we can all agree on. Convention.cymru suggests an All-Wales Constitutional Convention, to write the rules we can agree on, how to run Wales. Votes on policy come later. It would help if we had something bright Welsh and positive. As its summer, we offer the sea, a boat and YesCymru flags – and optimism. We can do this!

22/07/2023

59 – WHO CHOOSES?
Mike Hedges, Labour MS for Swansea East likes ‘devo-max’. Under which Wales raises and spends its own taxes. Many Tories want this, so its doable. Mr.Hedges has ideas on what devo-max means. There are “obvious areas that need to be held centrally such as defence, foreign affairs, national security, currency, interest rates, overseas aid, immigration, driver and car licensing, central bank, and National Insurance numbers.” Not clear to Convention.cymru why overseas aid can’t be run by Wales but never mind. There is one big question. Who takes the decision on devo-max and what it means in reality? It can’t be the Senedd, under existing devo laws. Under the 100-old Welsh system it could be some Labour party committee. Or it could be an All-Wales Constitutional Convention. In fact it has to be – it’s the normal way to get a proper mandate to set up a country. Just never been done in the UK. Yet. No reason why not, though.

18/06/2023

58 – Grrrr – No Petition?
How could Wales get a Constitutional Convention? Ask our own Senedd? Er, maybe not. Remember, our so-called Parliament of Wales is officially ‘incompetent’. We can’t pass laws “relating to…the union of the nations of Wales and England”. See the Wales Act 2006 section 108A(2)(c) – such a snappy name. So we can’t pass a Welsh law creating a Welsh Referendum on Welsh Indy, presumably following the Supreme Court’s decision on Scotland.
So could our Senedd pass a law setting up an All-Wales Constitutional Convention? Or would we hit the ‘relating to’ ban again? It could very well be.
Convention.Cymru wants a Petition to the Welsh Senedd which would lead to a Constitutional Convention. This is where we in Wales assemble and make our own decisions. Will our own Senedd say they are incompetent and can do nothing which is “relating to” Indy? Not even a Petition! Lets at least try. Watch this space.

05/05/2023

57 – Allegiance
The Archbishop of Canterbury (an English Province, no jurisdiction in Wales) has invited us to take part in pledge of allegiance. “I swear that I will pay true allegiance to Your Majesty, and to your heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.” Three problems
(1) If pursued, being English, will set a bad precedent as it will become ‘traditional’ and compulsory.
(2) Under UK law, Parliament sets the rules for the Monarchy, and Parliament’s laws do not provide for this. No Wales Act either.
(3) Is a sad confusion with the American Pledge of Allegiance ‘I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.’ This is part of US tradition, less common now, and voluntary. And great if you live in Republic with a Constitution and a fantastic flag. So in my version of a free Wales we could copy this, freely and not because the Archbishop of another country says so.

18/02/2023

56 – There is a way to do Indy.
But its not what Wales thinks at the moment. Sturgeon resigning means that anyone interested in Indy must work things out more carefully. After all, the SNP has not cracked Indy in Scotland, having been distracted by the Gender Recognition issue. But the SNP is way way ahead of Plaid Cymru. Listen to one Scot in particular. The answer for Wales and Scotland is a Convention. Listen to Alex Salmond

“Nicola had a number of very considerable achievements…but getting closer to independence hasn’t been one of her achievements.”Former first minister of Scotl...

13/01/2023

55 – A Free Port. Convention.cymru likes anything with ‘Free’ in the title. These days, with freedom, its very much use it or lose it. And we like Ports and ships. Does this ring a bell: fantastic deep-water harbour but remote; naval base which never quite made it (too far from London) but did have seaplanes; good place for oil and gas? Don’t tell me….One last clue. There’s going to be a ‘green freeport’ and billions of pounds of investment and tens of thousands of jobs for regions in – which country?
It's not Milford Haven and its not Wales. Yet. Its yes to Invergordon in the Cromarty Firth, which is of course right in the north of Scotland.
Wales has delayed saying yes to the Celtic Freeport, Milford + Port Talbot. Why? Because the idea came from London? It didn’t. Or because there is an iron rule that Wales never takes any initiative but, eventually does a pale imitation of Scotland? Welsh citizens and voters can’t be happy with a Wales where this happens.

30/12/2022

54 KEEP INDY SIMPLE it can go wrong if you don’t. Scotland is flashing a red warning light. Scotland is passing its own law. Good. On health and social policy. Still good. We favour Indy, right? But the law is opposed by over 60% of Scottish voters. Ah… How can this happen? By not keeping Indy simple. Independence happens when a country exists, and gets itself a government of its people, by is people, for its people. Self-determination is a right given to people – not to a government. In a sensible well-run country, the government is there to serve the people, to get them where they want to go. If a government does this, people vote for the party that provides the government and support it. They will go further. If the country is attacked and the people and their government are united in its defence. They may well die for their country. Well, Ukrainians anyway. We’ll see how the Welsh shape up. So a united people and government wield enormous power. This is indeed simple. Like a Land Rover, this is a vehicle which can take you almost anywhere. The problem comes when somebody is tempted to grab the wheel. Somebody, anybody, may feel strongly enough about an issue, any issue, to do this. Convention,cymru does not want to make the people of Wales (meeting in their Convention) to pick Social Policy A over Social Policy B, They must be free to choose. But the Scottish Gender Recognition Reforms Bill shows the danger to Scottish Indy, which is a danger to Wales as well. Somebody feels strongly about the lower age limit, more strongly than they care about what Scots feel, or about Indy perhaps. Because they not only offend 60% of Scots, which does not seem to bother them, they tempt London to use its powers and intervene. Which London can claim to do with Scottish support, to rescue Scotland from the person who grabbed the wheel. And stop Indy in its tracks. Section 114 of the Government of Wales Act means it could happen here too. If someone in Wales grabs the wheel and cares more about their Policy than they do about what we think, or getting us to freedom. Who decides? Not the grabber. We decide.

23/11/2022

53 SCOTLAND IN COURT – THE RESULT can we (or Scotland) pass a law a which ‘relates to’ the union? The Government of Wales Act, passed in Westminster not Wales, says ‘no’. Would a Welsh (Senedd) Act giving us a Referendum on Indy relate to the union with England? After all, it would not have legal effect and make Wales independent. It only sets up a vote. So Wales could do this, right? No. The UK Supreme Court (Welsh Judge agreeing) blocked Scotland (and Wales) because a Referendum on Indy would have a political effect. Convention.cymru is surprised that a UK Court allows a political consideration to have legal effect. Are you surprised, though? Apparently we in Wales are ‘expected to achieve self-determination within the framework of (our) existing state.’ Meaning the UK ie Westminster. Will we be able to persuade Westminster to grant Wales Indy? Political rulings like this don’t make it any easier. But who said Indy was easy? London let other colonies go. Wales will have to stand taller and shout louder than we have so far. Will we?

15/10/2022

52 SCOTLAND IN COURT Lets keep this simple. The legal way for Wales (or Scotland) to get Indy is to ask Westminster. Many UK colonies did get Indy in this way. Wales could, if Wales were organised and credible, which is miles away. Another way to make Indy legal is to ignore Westminster and (like the Americans) declare your Independence and be prepared to fight for it. Doing this is harder, with more risk of war. Convention.cymru does not favour war, except in national self-defence. So, what is Scotland doing in the Supreme Court? Clearing some ground maybe, not more. And not getting a decision on the big question. For what its worth, Wales faces the same problem as Scotland. We can’t pass a Welsh law on ‘the union of the nations of Wales and England’ ie to break the union. Scotland is not suggesting a break, just a Referendum about a break. But neither can we (or Scotland) pass a law a which ‘relates to’ the union. So is a Referendum relating to a break going to be legal? Scotland’s claim in the UK Supreme Court may not even produce an answer, because there’s another – very abstruse – issue. Before you get excited about an Indyref remember the view of Convention.cymru: write your Constitution first! Note: the Scots have. Wales hasn’t.

17/09/2022

51 ROYAL PRINCE Apparently Prince William doesn’t know what the Welsh want from him. Fair question. Here are practical suggestions from Convention.cymru. Prove your sympathy for Wales. Assent to Wales getting Dominion Status (90% independence). Do not insist on another Investiture (people died at the last one). The title is given by the Monarch, not the Welsh people. Don't bother with using Welsh, its unlikely to be authentic. Clarify this Duchy of Cornwall confusion. To the extent that it holds land in Wales, set up a Welsh body for the purpose. Are you going to have a home in Wales or not? Llwyn y Wermod has not taken off. I suggest that royal lands in Wales are reorganised to include a working farm, like Llanrug say. Getting experience of actual Welsh farming would boost Wales. I don't mean mean farming subsidies, eg the green ones. And don't overdo re-wilding, though we do need the afanc (beaver) back. If it is true that Prince William liked his time at RAF Valley let it also be true that Wales gets to like him for positive things ie the above agenda. Verb sap.

26/06/2022

50 – ROYAL WALES
Prince Charles has told the Commonwealth “I want to say clearly, as I have said before, that each member’s Constitutional arrangement, as Republic or Monarchy, is purely a matter for each member country to decide.” Yes, provided that the people in each member country get a say as part of such a decision. But Wales won’t get a say. Why? Because we have not made ourselves a member country of the Commonwealth in our own right. Lets say we get Dominion Status, light-years ahead of Wales in 2022, what would we decide?. Three options: 1. King Charles III; 2. Prince William of Wales (?) then King William V or 3. A descendent of Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf or Owain Glyndwr if we can find one. But Welsh people, in their own Constitutional Convention may say “Dim diolch, no Royalty at all”. What would we choose?

17/06/2022

49 – 100 YEARS HAVE GONE
Why does Wales struggle with Indy? One reason is our passivity. But do we in Wales actually know how to do Indy? Replace ‘Ireland’ with Wales and the road opens up before us. Worth a longer read than usual from Convention.cymru. Its all there...
From The Times, June 17, 1922:
The proposed system of government which the Provisional Government have drafted for the Irish Free State will be studied in this country with considerable interest. Ireland’s essay in statecraft is, truly, after a new style of constitutional architecture. It differs fundamentally from the political theory of this country by placing constitutional amendments upon a different footing from ordinary laws. Its provisions can only be altered after a Referendum. In the construction of the legislature it follows the bi-cameral system, and institutes a Second Chamber, on the elective principle, but elective only insofar as a panel of candidates is to be presented for the popular choice. Here and elsewhere in its articles conservatism appears in democratic garb.
However, the character of the new Government will depend not so much upon the letter of the Constitution as upon the spirit in which it is put into effect. If the new Parliament is wise enough to realize that Ireland requires credit and capital for her restoration, and a Second Chamber composed of sound business elements, the Constitution may prove the means of salvation. If, on the other hand, its opportunities for expropriation and oppressive taxation were to be exploited, the paper safeguards it provides could only be illusory.
There is much in it that the public may find difficult to understand, be it the burden of bi-lingualism or the curious composition of the Executive Council. It would almost seem that the drafting committee had been instructed to seek methods of differentiating their proposals from British institutions. They have certainly propounded a formidable task for the Irish legislators of the future. The mere fact that this Constitution exists, however, should exercise a powerful influence upon the Irish imagination.
Here is the dream of the older Nationalists awaiting realization, not upon the deliberation of British Ministers, but upon Irishmen themselves. Here is the charter of a Celtic civilization, free from external influence and resting, through the oath of allegiance to the King, upon the Imperial system as an indispensable buttress to Irish liberty. Here also is the pledge of Great Britain’s friendship to Ireland, translated by Irishmen for Irishmen.

11/06/2022

48 – A Welsh Conservative Party
Now being discussed, might be a Tea Party copying the 2010 US one, not the one in Boston. It could be just what’s needed. Consider the policies (1) reduce the influence of the Cardiff black hole (2) emphasis on Free Speech (Wales needs a First Amendment) (2) “States’ rights” = Dominion Status for Wales, a huge step forward. (4) Wales taxes and balanced Budget – or do you want runaway inflation? (5) equality ie an end to identity politics because MLK was right, we are judged by the content of our character. Surely most of us would go for this? No? Really?

17/05/2022

47 – Wales Voting
Some Senedd Members think our ‘parliament’ needs a different way of electing its members. And that we should elect 36 more Members. Might this pass? Yes, since there may be a Labour(+Plaid) majority. Should we change our electoral system in this way? No, here’s why. How we elect our representatives is up to us. The representatives can’t organise their own elections, at least not without asking us. How could we give our approval? First, we could demand a Referendum. Second, and better, we should demand a Convention on the subject, or Citizens’ Assembly, call it what you will. Voters who share the concerns of Convention.cymru should work out where opposition to the Labour/Plaid proposal might come from. We don’t know if Welsh Conservatives are alive to the need for a Convention. It’s a cross-party issue, after all, or should be. Only 47% of us voted in the last Senedd elections. An awful lot of people need to switch on to making Wales work better.

07/05/2022

46 – Discussing real Indy
The reason Wales doesn’t have Indy is because getting it is hard. And it can be boring. For example, where exactly does a Convention/Citizens’ Assembly fit in? A pleasure to hear some Scots having a go anyway. Here they discuss how to handle the detail, the lawyers who write constitutions and the nerdiness of it all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmxgeaQ4rBY&list=WL&index=32&t=1302s Listen to the woman. She is prepared (sigh) to have a go at the dry stuff. But she does find the things that really inspire her in the process. The Scots are bang on. You really do need to build by discussion, and hold that Convention at the right point.

04/04/2022

45 – Wales Commission, round 1
The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales has started work – with a surprise. It had very narrow terms of reference, which did not especially appeal to Convention.cymru. But chwarae teg it has thrown the net very wide. Wales needs to use this process to tell London what we want – if we know. Wales needs a Convention to educate itself and everyone else in its own civics. Read the Convention.cymru submission here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J-5j6_O1xgFPAYll4M7GQVosFHHss9j0/view?usp=sharing

31/03/2022

44 – Wales Police
Wales needs to ask an important question; “If we get Indy, will our Police be wonderful?” Do we know how it will work if we get control of our own Police? Wales (like Canada) seemed to like a tight lockdown. Will Wales (like Canada so far) want police goons to beat up a totally peaceful truck-driver demonstrator who moved from Ceausescu’s Romania to Canada to get away from State goons? If we hold a Convention, we the people of Wales can plan all this ourselves. Let’s see if there is a Police Chief who can give us some sensible advice. Step forward Jeremy Vaughan, Chief Constable of South Wales Police. First – he does not say ‘No’. Second – he agrees it worked when Scotland took over its own police.
Third – he says “…the devolution of policing….is a patently political decision.” Yes indeed. Which politicians? Just the ones in the Bay or will it be We the People, in a valid Constitutional Convention just for Wales where we make the new Wales.

25/03/2022

43 – We can do Taxes
“There was some better news for the Welsh Government in the OBR’s latest assessment of devolved taxes. Forecast growth in devolved revenues were once again revised upwards, suggesting the Welsh Government may have an additional £175 million in 2024-25…… tax devolution could reach nearly half a billion pounds by 2024-25.” Source – Welsh Governance Centre. None of us like paying taxes. But many of us want Indy. For this we need a self-sufficient economy. The latest Westminster Budget, and the UK economy run by Westminster, hardly look good. We in Wales could do better. We need to raise our own taxes, but not waste the money. This would be true Indy. Yes, we can do this.

23/03/2022

42 – Referendums in Wales and Ukraine
Want to vote ‘Yes’ for Indy? Referendums on Indy need a serious health warning. Setting up a new country can involve stirring up many dark emotions and actions, as well as those ‘dawn of new day’ good emotions. It all depends on whether the voters are consulted BEFORE the Referendum. Do they get information and a proper chance to discuss the big changes as a community? In Conventions – public meetings in every city, town and village, peaking in a National Convention which distils what people have discussed and chosen. Then write a Constitution. Only then do you call a Referendum, approving all that work and that Constitution. What can possibly go wrong? Just how far would you trust a Referendum (with no Conventions) on this list? Napoleon (many). Hi**er (many). Donbas and Luhansk (E.Ukraine) May 2014 – see photo. In Scotland in September 2014 they had a Convention (kind of) but had failed to discuss and decide on keeping the £, a big error. Its not just that you risk war, fraud and violence. Yes, you could set up Wales top-down with no information, no wide discussion, no Conventions, without We the People, only a Referendum. This is what Plaid Cymru want, for example. Convention.cymru would indeed like proper Indy. But, far better to copy 50 States in the USA and many other lands, hold Conventions, and base your Indy on rock, not on sand. If you don’t, you get Scotland (failed), Brexit (going well?) and maybe a war like Ukraine.

05/03/2022

41 – Ukraine and Wales
Would a Convention process help the Ukraine or Wales? Delegates to a Convention represent the place they come from. If Wales held a Convention, delegates would come from places from Anglesey to Abergavenny. Noone doubts that Welsh places are in Wales, or where our border is – Offa’s D**e (as amended since 796AD!). Not so with Ukraine. So did all places that were (or might be) in Ukraine all vote and agree to form an Independent Ukraine? After all, the history of Ukraine is complicated, and it wasn’t at all clear which places were in fact Ukrainian. Some obviously were. Some – like Donbas – were far from clear and were maybe really Russian. Answer? Each place would ideally agree whether to join Ukraine – or not – and send the delegate to the Convention with that mandate. And get a mandate on the language too, given that teaching Ukrainian and Russian were hot topics. Yes, the Ukraine ‘parliament’ (Supreme Soviet) voted for Indy in 1991. But they didn’t have Convention mandates from the places like Donbas. Sadly, the stresses were not addressed, remained unresolved and gave an excuse to Ukraine’s large neighbour to start a war. Two languages, large neighbour - sound familiar? Warning to the Welsh, if we seek Indy without holding a Convention, we risk building on sand.