Labour for an Independent Wales

Labour for an Independent Wales is a group of Labour Party members who "believe the best way to achieve a democratic socialist Wales is through independence".^[1]

Background

Labour for an Independent Wales held their first event with Neville Southall, at Welsh Labour Conference 2018. A second event took place at the 2019 Welsh Labour conference. The group formed a constitution in 2020. An executive committee was elected in 2021.^[2]

President of the group is Rachel Garrick.^[1]

Support for independence in Welsh Labour

Elystan Morgan (1932-2021), a former Labour MP for Ceredigion and a life peer in the House of Lords,^[3] was a lifelong supporter of devolution and, following the Brexit vote, for dominion status for Wales.^[4][5]

Gwynoro Jones, a former Labour MP has argued for a constitutional convention that would explore a movement towards a sovereign Wales.^[6]

In August 2020, a YouGov poll showed that "if there was a referendum tomorrow", 39% of Welsh Labour voters would vote for independence with 37% against. The Welsh Governance Centre also found that at the time of the 2016 Senedd election, over 40% of Labour voters supported independence.^[7]

Blaenavon council, with a Labour majority, voted in to support independence.^[8]

In the 2021 Senedd election the co-founder of Labour for an Independent Wales, Ben Gwalchmai,^[9] was selected as the first openly pro-independence Welsh Labour Senedd candidate in the history of the Senedd; Dylan Lewis-Rowlands and then Cian Ireland were later selected as the second and third openly pro-independence Welsh Labour Senedd candidates.^[10]

It has been suggested by Labour for an Independent Wales that Welsh Labour could support Welsh independence in the future.^[11]

Vision

Labour for an independent Wales set out their answers to the public consultation of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales:

• "constitutional, environmental, legal, and social systems in place for a fair & sustainable country"
• "building a national framework fit for the 21st Century, containing all the constitutional,  environmental, legal, and social systems necessary for a fair & sustainable country"
• Oath of allegiance to the people of Wales, rather than the monarch and nationalising the crown estate of Wales
• To become an sovereign nation state with a Welsh central bank
• "putting people and the environment first, not profit"
• "changes to the constitution of Wales should be part of a nation-wide consultation"
• "Strengthening and developing the Welsh language"^[12]

See also

• Plaid Cymru
• List of movements in Wales

References

1. Garrick, Rachel (14 May 2022). "Rachel Garrick on Wales, the Senedd and the Union". The National Wales. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
2. "About". Labour for an Independent Wales. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
3. "No. 48624". The London Gazette. 1 June 1981. p. 7455.
4. "Could Labour Lead Wales to Independence?". Novara Media. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
5. "Welsh devolution is being betrayed, says Lord Elystan-Morgan". BBC News. 2017-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
6. admin (2018-09-14). "Plaid Cymru leadership election, Yes Cymru and Independence". Institute of Welsh Affairs. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
7. "Why the Welsh independence movement needs Labour supporters to win". Nation.Cymru. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
8. "Labour-run Blaenavon town council backs Welsh independence". Nation.Cymru. 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
9. "The first four years of Labour for indyWales: A timeline of persistence". Nation.Cymru. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
10. "Third Labour Senedd candidate supports Welsh independence". Nation.Cymru. 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
11. "Could Labour Lead Wales to Independence?". Novara Media. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
12. "Labour supporters lay out vision of independent Wales". The National Wales. Retrieved 2022-09-18.^{[permanent dead link‍]}