Wales 20 years on: just the beginning

A win is a win, even in politics.

On 18 September 1997, the people of Wales took part in a referendum that would change the course of Welsh – and British – history. They did so rather reluctantly: by a margin of 50.3% to 49.7% on a turn-out of only 50.2% they chose to embrace a devolved system of government after centuries of direct rule from Westminster. It was a margin so narrow that the verdict could not be confirmed until the very last vote had been counted.

Twenty years on, is Wales better governed? Is devolved government now the norm? Has devolution changed our notion of what is is to be Welsh in this century of revolution and change? These are important questions to ask, especially so in a country where media scrutiny of politics and public life is so weak.

In July this year I covered hundreds of miles meeting people in every corner of Wales for a BBC documentary. I wanted to leave the politicians in Cardiff Bay and talk to individuals making a difference in their own communities. It was – for the most part – an uplifting experience. I met a GP in Old Colwyn who was so concerned about the fall in numbers of medical students that he started his own campaign to encourage young students into general practice. I met a woman running a charity providing a food bank in Pontypridd. Many of the people she helps have been sent there by agencies of the Department for Work and Pensions. I met a businessman in Wrexham who’s opened some of the most impressive private care homes anywhere in the UK, where most of the residents are funded by local authorities. I met a clothing manufacturer in Gorslas who’s already counting the significant cost of Brexit because of the plunging pound. I met a group of headteachers in Tonyrefail – three very determined women – who are leading the new super-schools being introduced. I met a baker in historic Cardigan who’s part of the most notable town-centre revival in Wales. I met a headteacher and governor in Newport who are running the first Welsh-medium secondary school in that city – and they just can’t keep up with demand from parents, the vast majority of whom are not Welsh speakers.

The programme gave people the opportunity to share their experience, to give their views on devolved government, and to spell out what they needed in the years to come.

I was struck by two things: the extensive acceptance of the devolved framework, a framework still being expanded and modified, mixed with a less than thrilling view of how the Welsh Government and National Assembly have actually performed since they were created in 1999. There is nothing contradictory about that mix.

It is difficult to convey to people outside Wales just how big the change in national mindset has been. The Financial Times recently asserted that the attitude of the Welsh to devolved government was still 'ambivalent'. Every credible survey of opinion suggests the opposite. Recent findings based on data from the 2016 Wales Election Study and the most recent Welsh Political Barometer Poll indicate solid support for devolution (around 65%) and – crucially – a belief that politicians in Cardiff Bay are more trusted than those at Westminster to sort out Welsh problems.

The late John Smith – who firmly committed Labour to a policy of devolving power – once spoke about the ‘settled will’ of the Scottish people. Welsh voters have been on a rather more tortuous journey. The ‘settled will’ of the St David's Day referendum of 1979 was one of vehement opposition when Wales rejected any notion of devolved government by a margin of 80% to 20%. By 1997 – after 18 years of Conservative rule which had a huge economic impact on parts of Wales – this had turned into uncertain support. By 2017, it has become solid approval. This approval was implied time and again in my conversations across Wales.

There are still some who think Wales was better governed when Westminster grudgingly devoted some time to Welsh issues, but I am not one of them. I spent nearly 15 years as a political journalist at Westminster and saw at first hand how Welsh matters were treated with a blend of apathy, contempt or casual disrespect.

This is not to say that people are happy with the performance of the National Assembly and Welsh Government – both of which have been in Labour's control, including some periods of coalition, since 1999. This is a wholly different matter, and there's clearly a lot of room for improvement. The problematic performance of parts of the NHS in Wales and the disappointing performance of Welsh schools in the international PISA tables have rightly been criticised.

Governments perform best when they are challenged by an effective Opposition and scrutinised by energetic journalists working across a healthy range of mass media. There is a great burden on the BBC in Wales to provide a wide range of services. And in Wales, where the media landscape is less than generously populated, the BBC’s burden is an unhealthy one. Scrutiny also depends in part on the willingness of politicians to submit to sustained questioning. My experience anchoring The Wales Report for BBC Cymru-Wales taught me that Cardiff Bay still has some catching up to do in this quarter. Voters really do want to see their political leaders being pressed on the big questions.

We are marking this anniversary in a rather uncertain world. And because of the many distractions around us, I think we're in danger of missing the big story. We should perhaps pause and focus on the fundamental change that’s happened over the past 40 years. That’s the real story.

Wales is a nation now thinking in a different way about the best way to be governed. The national mindset has changed. As the turbulent Brexit process rolls on, the degree to which Westminster and Whitehall respect the devolved settlement is more relevant than ever. But devolved government – ‘government closer to the people’ in John Smith’s words – is here to stay.