Yes campaign must look to the future
In a guest blog for Cymru Yfory, Political Commentator Lee Waters looks at the challenges facing the Yes campaign in the forthcoming referendum on the Assembly’s powers.
Though they present themselves as political innocents the No campaigners are sophisticated political operators. And though opinion polls consistently show that they are out of touch with Welsh public opinion, once the date is named for a referendum they’ll be given an equal platform by the broadcasters.
So how should progressives deal with their backward looking pessimism?
1 It’s about the future
As flawed as the law making system is the referendum is not going to be about mechanics. There are bags of evidence that the LCO system is not working but it is of little interest to most voters. There is little profit in getting drawn into opaque arguments about the Government of Wales Act. The Yes campaign needs to focus on the future.
The No campaigners will dust off the Leo Abse playbook and conjure up the bogeymen of the past – the elites, the language fanatics, the constitutional obsessives who care little about bread and butter issues in their quest for an independent Wales. But the Yes campaign must not be distracted by the dog whistle tactics of the 1970s. We must frame the debate to be about the future and not the past.
Over the last decade the Assembly has gradually grown in stature and confidence. A Yes vote will help take Wales forward, giving Wales a stronger voice. It will give those we elect the tools to protect our communities from Whitehall indifference.
2 Hope not despair
We face tough times in the coming years and the Yes campaign must set out an optimistic vision for the future and contrast it with the backward looking message of the No campaign.
The choice is between a more confident Wales where young people don’t need to leave their communities in search of jobs and challenges, or a dependency culture where we look to others for solutions to our problems.
What is the vision of the future offered by the No campaigners?
3 The consequences of voting No
The majority of voters want to see devolution succeed, but the No campaigners want to hobble our Assembly.
They present a No vote in the referendum as a risk-free venture. Defeat the elites, says Oxford-educated Rachel Banner, and let Assembly Members carry on as they are. But staying as we are is not an option. If Wales votes no to the proposals for modest reform, the Assembly’s ability to stand up for Wales will begin to unravel.
We already know that London officials need little excuse to sideline Welsh affairs. If there is a no vote the slow and complicated system of law-making will get even worse. The holes in the devolution settlement will be systematically exploited as Whitehall mandarins feel they have a green light to frustrate the Assembly’s requests.
So the status quo is not an option. Forward or back, that’s the option. And let’s not pretend otherwise.
Tags: Cymru Yfory / Tomorrow's Wales, Gwir Gymru / True Wales, Referendum