Politics in Wales since devolution

Abstract

A textbook chapter exploring developments in politics and society in Wales since devolution. The history of modern Welsh politics is better represented by continuity, rather than dramatic or radical change. Its electoral history has been characterised by loyalty to a single party: first to the Liberals (between 1885 and 1918), then to the Labour Party for most of the 20th century. There has been a tendency amongst scholars to overlook Wales. Consequently, distinctive aspects of the profile of the Welsh nation – notably its two languages, geography, demography, industrial and class structure and its politics – have been largely ignored outside Wales. This chapter provides an overview of recent developments in Welsh politics since the referendum on devolution in 1997 and the subsequent establishment of the National Assembly for Wales (Assembly) in 1999. In focusing on the key developments that have shaped Wales’s new democracy, we examine the development of the Assembly as an institution, the evolution of the political parties in Wales and their adaptation to devolution, and also new representation and voting patterns that have emerged since devolution. Finally, this chapter sets out the significant developments in scholarship on these areas.