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Steve Mann

The National Question in Wales - Outlines of a Strategic View

[1979; internal IMG discussion document]

With the abdication of the national question by the gentry, and the integration up to this day of Welsh capital into the British bourgeois state there is no class layer in Wales with a material interest in a separate Welsh state. The petty bourgeois layers who have maintained national aspirations throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (intellectuals, students, small farmers and 'low' church ministers) can defend their interests only in alliance with the major classes. Their movement has gained 'national' strength in Wales only when the working class has identified with their movement.

Thus, in former times the broadest development of the national movement was just prior to 1914 when the Liberals under Lloyd George and the ILP under Hardie both supported self government for Wales. Between the imperialist wars the national movement was reduced to its traditional supporters. This had begun to change by 1956 when a number of Welsh Labour MPs organised a 'Parliament for Wales' campaign, which included a petition signed by 250,000 people. Since the founding of the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Cymraeg (Welsh Language Society) in 1962, the adoption by the Welsh Labour Party of a policy of devolution in 1965, and the passing of a resolution calling for an Assembly with legislative powers by the Welsh TUC in 1974, support for national status for Wales has reached a new high point. What has not changed is the fact that the aspirations of the petty bourgeois and working class forces behind this movement cannot be met by the establishment of a separate state for Wales.

The dynamic of this rise is for n extension of bourgeois democracy. The contradiction upon which we base our intervention is the incapacity of the bourgeoisie to-establish a universal democracy. Thus while we have to acknowledge significant concessions from the Labour Government on the language question we are able to point to the struggle for the language from the mid 50s to today as being the real defence of the language. In addition we are able to indicate that the British state that now makes grudging concessions is the same one that attempted to destroy the language through the medium of the I870 Blue Books and the 'Welsh Not' in education. Defence of the language is then not carried through by a reform of the British state, but through the establishment of a social order that recognises the language's vitality. Similar points apply to the position of small farmers in Wales whose existence is being made more, not less, precarious by the EEC Common Agricultural Policy. Our intervention locates the questions raised by the nationalist movement in our strategy for socialism. Through this we defend and extend the alliance of the petty bourgeois layers with the organisations of the working class.

Within Welsh society there are two major interpretations of the national question. The first is that the resolution of the national question takes place through devolution of power in the British state. This is the position of the bulk of the Labour bureaucracy and rightist elements in Plaid. The second is that the resolution of the national question takes place through the establishment of an independent state. This is the position of the majority of the Plaid, and nationalist organisations. Both are bourgeois solutions that will not work. The class difference lies in the extent to which the reformist bourgeois solution is dominant in the working class and the radical bourgeois solution is becoming dominant in the petty bourgeoisie. A sustained fight against both currents is necessary but the reformist line is the major problem. The fight against political separatism is secondary to the fight against identifying the interests of the working class with those of the British bourgeois state. Through an understanding that self-determination for Wales is incompatible with the British bourgeois state, while not of necessity meaning an independent state for Wales, revolutionaries can develop a challenge to the reformists that is programmatically decisive.

The distinguishing feature of our interpretation of self-determination is that it is conditioned by our strategic understanding of the class struggle. At present we are against separation for Wales as it can only mean an independent bourgeois state for Wales. About the last experience the Welsh working class needs. However, should the Welsh workers race ahead of their English comrades we may well opt for separation. The relationship of the Welsh working class to the English is but one factor in how we pose the question of self-determination. Equally important is how we link the demand to our slogan of the United Socialist States of Europe. We are not bound to accept the boundaries of the 'Great Nation' states of Europe. The British bourgeois state attempts to subordinate all aspects of economic, political and cultural life in Wales to the needs of the British bourgeoisie. We insist that without Wales having control over all aspects of economic, political and cultural life it is hollow to talk of self-determination. We believe that the autonomy of Wales in deciding on these questions can be defended within the United Socialist States of Europe.

What Is the Wales Act?

[In the original text there followed a detailed analysis of the Welsh Act and its implications, missing from the copy we had to work from.]

The Constituent Assembly: How We Use the Slogan

From the summary of the Wales Act it is clear that the Assembly will be a reform of the bourgeois state that in the final analysis will serve the interests of the bourgeoisie. Whether this 'final analysis' is ever reached is dependent upon the struggle of the working class and petty bourgeoisie in Wales. The Assembly will be the subject of a fight or it will not prove worth having. To take part in this fight it is necessary to have a clear picture of the Assembly needed by Welsh workers. Coming months will allow us to elaborate our line further but the following interpretations are the minimum the branches immediately require.

An assembly that defines its own powers

Our aim is to develop political institutions in Wales that have the authority of Welsh workers and petty bourgeoisie behind their functioning. This involves a rupture with the British bourgeois state. To express the authority of the oppressed the Assembly has to define its political role as an autonomous process. We therefore reject the limitations of the Assembly's powers as laid out in the Wales Act. We also reject the notion that the Assembly should just have legislative powers. It needs these, but it must too act as an executive. Here too a rupture with the British bourgeois state is needed. At present the Assembly's legislative powers would be executed by organs of the British bourgeois state. The Constituent Assembly must define what social agencies will execute its legislation. This is counterposed to the sham Executive Committee of the Wales Act, which is a collection of high level civil servants, masked by political affiliation.

Is not subject to Parliamentary or ministerial vote

From the very beginning of its functioning the Assembly of the Wales Act will be under the thumb of Whitehall. Hardly a sovereign assembly. In addition this is a guarantee that the Assembly will be dominated by the most parochial careerists. The least parochial careerists will continue as before by standing for Parliamentary seats, or for the EEC Parliament. Fighting against the veto will not be a guarantee against careerism. It will however open up the actual conflict between the problems of Welsh workers and the inability of Parliament to solve them.

Is prepared to act upon all economic, political and cultural matters in Wales

We need to make explicit the fact that for us self-determination is not a question of language or culture alone. We see the solutions to Welsh workers' problems as part of an international revolution. This will give Welsh workers real power over the economic, political and cultural relations in Wales. The Constituent Assembly will be the signpost of the future, providing it concerns itself with the actual problems, rather than those outlined in the Wales Act.

Is independent of all British state organisations

For a Constituent Assembly to be of value to the oppressed in Wales it must be independent of the organisations of the oppressors. The Assembly of the Wales Act will be part of the bourgeois state. The Constituent Assembly must be able to carry out its activity through the resources it raises. Whether it is a question of its financial independence, its legislative or executive powers, or even its right to exist, the Constituent Assembly will only guarantee its authority through the activity of the oppressed in Wales. The central point of its independence must be from the British bourgeois state.

Defends the interests of Welsh workers and farmers against those of British and international capitalism

Our action programme is a general set of policies that applies equally well to Wales as it does in England. It takes an enormous twist of the imagination to define the Wales Act as in accordance with our action programme. Yet we should not tie up the Constituent Assembly to the implementation of our action programme A workers1 government in Britain could carry this out equally well, if not better. We do insist that the Constituent Assembly has a function for Welsh workers and farmers quite distinct from the workers' government. This is to overcome the very specific disadvantages that the international capitalist economy has introduced into Welsh society. In this respect the Constituent Assembly must be independent of EEC institutions. In addition the Constituent Assembly must definitively break with the Wales Act which declares that the Assembly is unable to establish international relations.

For a United Democratic Campaign for the Yes Vote

The IMG should fight for a yes vote in the referendum on 1 March. It is tempting, but wrong, to say that this is demanding that the reformists 'implement their programme'. The Wales Act is a denial of the right to self-determination. We are not calling for a yes vote so that Welsh workers will discover this fact and draw revolutionary conclusions. We tell them now that the Wales Act is a hopelessly flawed piece of legislation that will ultimately serve the interests of the ruling class. We call for a yes vote because we are saying 'Yes to an assembly for Wales'. The type of assembly needed cannot be won by the ballot. For us the campaign for the yes vote is the starting point in the fight for a real constituent assembly for Wales.

Our support for self determination and a constituent assembly condition our whole approach to the referendum. Thus we reject the 'consultative' nature of the referendum. We insist that Wales not Parliament must decide whether there is to be an assembly or not. We also insist that the Labour Government must defend the right of Wales to self-determination. Claims that the limitations of the Wales Act and the referendum are dictated by a Parliamentary balance of forces cuts no ice. If the Labour Government supports the right to self-determination then the Welsh people are more likely to defend the Labour Government against Parliamentary, or extra-parliamentary, manoeuvres.

Similarly we oppose the 40% vote rigging clause in the referendum. This is a clearly undemocratic manoeuvre. As far as we are concerned any majority yes vote must lead to an assembly. Nor are we prepared to wait for Parliament to decide upon this question. With a majority yes vote we will campaign for a recall conference of the Welsh TUC and Welsh Labour Party to mobilise the organisations of the working class behind the setting up of a constituent assembly. To win the widest support amongst the working class and oppressed for a constituent assembly a united and democratic campaign is necessary This must involve both the Labour Party and Plaid. Only through united action will the workers who support these organisations be able to test their leaderships. The Welsh branches will therefore support and build local 'Wales for the Assembly' committees. In addition the only chance of shaking the hold of the Labour and Plaid bureaucracies in this campaign is through the calling of a activist conference. We therefore call for a national delegate conference to lead the campaign.

At present the radical and reformist bourgeois interpretations of the national question hold sway in Welsh society. For a real challenge to these interpretations to be possible there must be united action on the part of revolutionaries in Wales. While all revolutionary organisations in Wales defend the right of Wales to self-determination it is only the IMG and Y Faner Goch who are fighting for a constituent assembly. The failure of the SWP in particular, and the I-CL to a lesser extent, will hold back the development of revolutionary Marxism in Wales. It is necessary to sharply polemicise against the mistaken position of these revolutionaries. This unity offensive is different from the polemic we must make against the compromised Kinnock-Abse-Anderson grouping in the Labour Party.

Finally a solidarity campaign in England in support of the Welsh and Scottish yes votes should be undertaken. The fight against separatism is not a literary one. Those forces in the Scottish and Welsh working class edging towards separatism will only be won back if English workers prove in practice their support for the right to self-determination.

IMG Initiatives

a) A national tour should be organised with speakers from Y Faner Goch and Socialist Challenge. In Wales the titles of the meetings should be 'Yes to a Constituent Assembly', aiming for meetings in Swansea, Cardiff and Newport. In England the title of the meetings should be 'Why Socialists Support an Assembly for Wales', aiming for meetings in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and central London.

b) Two pamphlets should be produced, titled 'Why the IMG supports self-determination for Wales', 300 in English and 150 in Welsh. These should be jointly funded by the South Wales branches and the national organisation. A commission of two Welsh comrades and comrade Savage should be set up to write and oversee production of the pamphlets.

c) Space should be reserved in Socialist Challenge for the following items. An article outlining our position on the referendum in Wales. A polemic against the 'No' votes in the Labour movement (i.e. SWP/I-CL and Kinnock-Abse-Anderson). Short campaign reports. Coverage of Y Faner Goch/Socialist Challenge tour.

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