@Md139115
Princes and Princesses of Wales
Gwilym Lloyd George (Liberal-Conservative-National Democratic coalition, then Wartime Solidarity coalition) 1938-1947
"His Elected Majesty"
As part of Neville Chamberlain's "Home Rule All Round", Wales was given its own Parliament, which was named the Senedd. David Lloyd George's name still held much sway over great swathes of Wales even as the place increasingly went to socialist forces and so when his son Gwilym was announced as the new leader of the Welsh Liberal Federation, the split Social Democrats and ILP couldn't prevent the Liberals from coming a comfortable first in the new election. Forming a coalition with the Tories and Nat Dems, a mirror of the Westminster government only excepting the SDP, he then took part in one of Wales' most bizarre rituals and all thanks to his father's perhaps generous influence over the constitutional committee
He went to Machynlleth, the claimed coronation place of Owain Glyndwr, and was officially inaugurated there by the President. Churchill reportedly despised doing such, claiming "it was made for DLG and DLG can have it for all I care!" but he did so, being the elected President. As the coronet went on to Gwilym's head confirming him as the first democratically-elected Prince of Wales, a new era for the Principality of Wales began
Gwilym would a year later summon the SDP and Agriculturalists and officially request them to join his cabinet to present a strong face of unity for Wales in the Second World War. They both agreed and the Wartime Solidarity coalition began
With foreign policy and the Armed Forces being that of Westminster's policy, it was mainly Gwilym's charge to keep Wales' powers for itself and to not let Westminster, even in wartime, violate Home Rule All Round. He had to walk the tightrope between appearing patriotic and not compromising his office
In 1941, there was a motion in the Senedd to expel Cynghrair Cymru for opposing the wartime effort and "supporting Hitler's regime". Some Independent Labour Senators opposed this motion but it passed and the by-elections showed considerable Government gains, damaging Welsh nationalism at a political level. All of this was silently approved by the Government in London
But Gwilym would put his foot down, prodded along by Social Democrats, National Democrats and more urban Liberals, when it came to interning Welsh people of immigrant extraction. "Nothing without a fair trial. We treated them like people, and like people we shall treat them". The Westminster Government found the Liberals broadly in agreement, yet overrode the Welsh government and went ahead with plans anyway
"Bards under the bed" was coined as a saying by Westminster politicians to refer to the "defiant" Welsh government and the perceived danger of Welsh nationalism alike. Gwilym grew to regret his stance, saying in his memoirs "people influenced me to make a ill-considered decision that portrayed me as going against my Country". But he would hold on until the end of the war, when there would be a fresh election, called in 1947
S. O. Davies (Independent Labour-Social Democratic coalition) 1947-1950
"The Red Prince"
S. O. Davies always insisted on being called "President" of Wales, deploring the "royalist" connotations the Lloyd Georges brought to the office. He declined the coronet, preferring a staff of office. Working with Prime Minister Philip Noel-Baker and the Secretary of State for Wales, he helped bring the Social Revolution Noel-Baker brought to Britain, to Wales, including the National Health Service
When Noel-Baker and American President Wallace authorised an intervention to protect China from Soviet-supported troops of the People's State of Manchuria, S. O. Davies vocally opposed this move, declaring that China was under a fascist government and expressed his firm support of the Soviet Union, declaring "Britain stands on the wrong side. It should stand with the workers against the fascists". This led to a crisis that led to the SDP withdrawing and a fresh election called. With war fever still in the air even if subsiding and an increasing perception of the ILP as unpatriotic, it was brutal
Megan Lloyd George (Liberal-Social Democratic coalition) 1950-1957
"Breaking Glass"
In 1950, Wales elected the first female head of government in the UGB, that of Megan Lloyd George. With Gwilym seen as "tainted goods" and an expectation of losing another election, the Welsh Liberal Federation elected Megan as their new leader. And in 1950, she successfully won an election against a reeling ILP and a SDP too dazed to seize the opportunity it had. She got on very well with Prime Minister Noel-Baker and it was overall a time of relaxed tension between the Senedd and Westminster. But when Noel-Baker lost the election of 1955 to former PM Oliver Stanley, it got frosty. In her first ministry, she continued the implementation of the National Health Service, including provision for Welsh language services and prescription for free eyeglasses. Calling a new election in 1954, she successfully won a new mandate
In her second ministry, things got more rocky, especially as the SDP gained at the expense of the shakily-united National Party and increasingly-unpopular Agriculturalists at a federal level. When a by-election in Cardiff went the SDP's way, they pulled out and forced a vote of no confidence
Tudor Watkins (Social Democratic-Independent Labour coalition) 1957-1962
"Preserve and Survive"
Watkins came from the left of the Social Democrats and if he wasn't from rural Powys, would likely have been an ILPper. But nevertheless, he was a Social Democrat and now Prince of Wales. Like S. O. Davies before him, he took the staff of office instead of the coronet. Even though he won the '57 election, he was seen as untrustworthy and "slippery" for withdrawing the SDP from the coalition and for supporting the first withdrawal in '50. Nevertheless, he was now Prince. As Prince, his main focus was dealing with the environment. If the Fellowship Party was in the Senedd, they would have been in Government as Watkins shepherded several bills that established national parks in Wales. When Prime Minister Gaitskell was in power, Watkins would approve of building more houses. What brought him down was his coalition partner, the ILP
By 1962, the ILP was increasingly getting into foreign policy, and that damaged them with their traditional working-class base, dooming the government to defeat as Megan Lloyd George returned to power for the second time
Megan Lloyd George (Liberal-Cynghrair Cymru coalition) 1962-1965
"The People's Princess"
With the Welsh nationalists in tour, MLG returned to power. By this point, concern about the Welsh language declining was strong with Welsh nationalists and MLG was happy to oblidge them by passing several bills, including the one that made the Welsh language co-official with English in Wales itself. This got opposition but a firm whip led to it passing. In exchange for this, Cynghrair Cymru voted on bills that supported working women. This got MLG firm support with Welsh working-class mothers albeit it did not extend to her party
In 1965, President MacDonald was shot and died on the operating table. The government turned to see who would take office and to their horror it said the Prince of Wales. A clear work of art by David Lloyd George that got his daughter into the office he himself was denied
Roderic Bowen (Liberal-Cynghrair Cymru coalition, then Liberal-National coalition, then minority coalition) 1965-1968
"Splitting Headache"
Roderic Bowen was chosen as MLG's successor by a hasty meeting of the Welsh Liberal Federation's Senators. Bowen was on the right of the party as contrast with MLG being firmly on the Left. Bowen elected to change coalition partners, kicking out Cynghrair Cymru and bringing into the Nationals. Wales would have its first dose of the right in decades. The budget of 1966 would see spending cut and government focused on being more efficient. This led to tensions, which was reflected at a federal level with MLG being denied nomination by Emlyn Hooson, Bowen's ally
In the end, a chunk of the Welsh Liberal Federation Senators walked out, following the MPs, into Megan Lloyd George's People's Party. Bowen stumbled on a further year with a minority government before being forced to call an election which was predictable
Cledwyn Hughes (Social Democratic-People's-Cynghrair Cymru coalition, then Social Democratic-Cynghrair Cymru coalition) 1968-1977
"The Quiet Titan"
Cledwyn Hughes was a no-nonsense political titan that brought stability to Wales in a chaotic era for Britain. Reckoned as a moderate, he united the forces of the Welsh "centre" around himself and enabled the incorporation of the People's Party in Wales into the Welsh SDP. Holding the steering wheel, he oversaw a recession in the late 60s and rode it out to recovery before winning a new mandate in 1973
As Westminster churned in the wake of Thorpe's sudden rise and fall from power and the somewhat nepotistic appointment of Harold Macmillan by his own son, Welsh people grew to value Hughes' "boring" government. But as the economy stagnated and dipped once more in 1976...
Walter Padley (Independent Labour-Social Democratic minority coalition) 1977-1979
"Throwback"
A conscentious objector in WWII and somewhat long-term leader of the rump Welsh ILP, Padley did not expect to win the 1977 election, but revolution was in the air in Britain as the increasingly-left SDP leader Tony Benn brought the ILP back into government for the first time in decades and brought into the Fellowship Party for the first time ever. In Wales, this mood led to the surge of the Independent Labour Party at the expense of the more "establishment" Social Democrats and the entrance of Fellowship to the Senedd
Padley would form a minority coalition of the ILP and SDP with unofficial Fellowship support, but the Liberals refused to support him and in two years, it all fell apart and Wales went back to the polls, this time in a very much different atmosphere
Beata Brookes (National-Liberal-Agriculturalist coalition) 1979-1987
"Blue Dragon"
The Nationals were growing, and the Unionists were as well. Yet Brookes declined to work with the far-right Unionists, preferring to bring the Liberals and Agriculturalists in, the second one for the first time ever as they gained from more conservative Cynghrair Cymru voters who mainly voted on cultural issues. Britain was in a mood for sober conservatism, and they increasingly voted for right-wing parties that promised that
The Brookes ministry would be dominated by conflict with the unions, including toughing out the Long Summer of 1984, but also of social tension. Previous ministries liberalised LGBT rights, but there was now a push from young LGBT people to go further and from moral conservatives to roll it back. With the Liberals threatening to withdraw if Brookes pushed for any bill or suchlike and Brookes herself being a firm social conservative, the policy of the Welsh government on this was nothing. Meanwhile, the most lasting legacy of Brookes' ministry was firm disabled rights legislation, surprisingly enough. In the end, there was a blowback to the National brand Britain-wide and this damaged Brookes' chances in 1987
Alex Carlile (Liberal-Social Democratic-Globalist coalition with support from Cynghrair Cymru) 1987-1994
"A Social Viewpoint"
By 1987, Carlile and his brand of Liberals were now in control and they now could lead Wales. With Britain continuing to polarise on social issues as the Unionists rise, exploiting social conservatism and a perception that the Nationals and Agriculturalists were weak, the Liberals also gained. In Wales, Alex Carlile led the party to return to power for the first time since the split of 1967
Bringing in the Globalists and Social Democrats while working out a deal with Cynghrair Cymru, Carlile had to walk a thin line. Himself firmly socially-liberal, he knew many in the Social Democrats and Cynghrair Cymru wouldn't be. So that is why he focused on the most pressing issue, namely transition of jobs from mining to technology. The Long Summer of 1984 and the Pym ministry's response to that dealt a blow to Britain's mining industry and so it was time for a Welsh answer to a British problem
Bringing into American advisors, especially from their Rust Belt states, the plan was written up and implemented in 1990 after a snap election narrowly gave them a new mandate even as the Unionists and ILP gained. The centre couldn't hold for ever. But the plans was implemented in 1991 by a narrow vote where ILP people condemned the "betrayal of our working men"
Carlile mainly conflicted with Prime Minister Rhodes Boyson, an Unionist who aimed at rolling back social progress decades. When Boyson implemented a bill in 1992 that banned LGBT people from teaching in schools and teaching of the existence of LGBT people, Carlile spoke out against it and was one of the vocal opponents of such a bill. In early 1993, the economy crashed
By 1994, the Unionists were wiped out Britain-wide, seen as too preoccupied with social issues to care about the economy. Meanwhile the Liberals were increasingly blamed for Wales' economic woes and the voters turned to the ILP. But... the voters also shifted priorities
Ron Davies (Independent Labour-Cynghrair Cymru coalition) 1994-1999
"Sea Change"
The ascendance of Ron Davies and the "Red-Green" coalition of the ILP and CC reflected a shift in Welsh politics. With CC in third place in a Welsh election for the second time ever and continuing growing, politics were increasingly more about "Westminster vs. Wales" as Davies described such in 1997. Davies was notably someone who preferred more power be in Wales than in Westminster, but he was not a full-blown nationalist yet
With the ILP under modernising John Maxton and just getting over a split in its Scottish branch as the left-wing nationalists left to form Scottish Left, the fact its Welsh branch was led by someone who often sounded like his coalition partner more than he did the Prime Minister irked the central committee but they were reluctant to do anything while the Welsh ILP was still in power
Instead of Carlile's technological solution, Davies preferred a more traditional one that kept miners working in jobs familiar to them. Namely, subsiding the mines. The Globalists decried this while Social Democrats lambasted it as impractical and Liberals declared it harmful idiocy
On social issues, the policy of the day was a free vote. Which led to Carlile pushing through several social programs now free of having to balance coalition partners. Most controversially was a bill to recognise trans people as who they were. In the end, that passed narrowly despite vocal UGB-level outrage. None of them would bring down Davies. What would is the increasing impatience of the central ILP leading to a leak that accused Davies of being in gay relationships while married. In the end, the ILP split between "Daviesites" and "Maxtonites" heading into the 1999 election
Kim Howells (Social Democratic-Liberal-Globalist coalition) 1999-2006
"Welcome to the Wales of TOMORROW!"
Kim Howells, often known as "Howling Howells" for his outspoken nature, was a proud member of the "Third Way" faction in the SDP, and his government would in some ways prove a blueprint for the later Mandelson-Miliband era of British politics
First making headlines for his declaration "We are all capitalists now" as he oversaw the Welsh SDP striking out any mention of socialism in its platform, he ran a confrontional campaign against not the fractured ILP, but the rising Cynghrair Cymru. Portraying it as a battle between "Wales' past and its future", he ended up triumphing and bringing in the Liberals and Globalists, even as CC rose to a comfortable second place thanks to the ILP fracturing between those loyal to Maxton (the future rump ILP) and those to Davies (later renamed Cymru Ymlaen and turned more explicitly nationalist). Wales' politics were shifting more and more every year
The "Megaphone", as some of his Senators jokingly referred to him as, brought back Carlile's technological employment transition plan while combining it with more of a focus on preserving Wales' environment with the help of the Globalists. Mining subsidies were cut in 2000 and finally abolished in 2005 as job training programs went full blast to retrain "Wales' workers for the world of tomorrow" as he loftily declared
Meanwhile, with the SDP more socially-liberal than ever, it was time to push Wales' social values "forward, not back" and many bills expanding LGBT rights beyond the UGB baseline, expanding upon Brookes' standards for disabled care and unofficially sending a Welsh "ambassador" to the CoN
In early 2006, Howells retired as Prince, the only one to ever retire at his discretion and not that of events outside his control
Jackie Lawrence (Social Democratic-Liberal-Globalist coalition) 2006-2007
"Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg?"
The Minister of Education in the Howells ministry, Jackie Lawrence was prominent in pushing for more access to Welsh language education and she was key to making support for the Welsh language cross the growing division between "Westminster vs. Wales", or increasingly more accurate, between unionists and nationalists. Lawrence's ministry would be primarily one of the economy, though, as a recession happened in 2006 that engulfed the world's attention. As the Social Democrats swept into control of Westminster in 2006 under Peter Mandelson, Lawrence hoped that similar good feelings would help give her a new mandate. But when she called an election in 2007, the polls were gloomy
Jonathan Edwards (Cynghrair Cymru-Liberal coalition then Cynghrair Cymru-Cymru Fydd-Globalist coalition) 2007-2012
"The Strange Split of Liberal Wales"
The leader of the Wales Liberal Federation at this time was Eleanor Burnham. Burnham was someone who inched close to nationalism at times yet led a traditionally unionist party. So when she announced that she would coalition with Cynghrair Cymru and help put a coronet on Jonathan Edwards' head, the Westminster Liberals expressed concern. Edwards was crowned all the same and the "Lemon and Lime Government" began
The Welsh economy recovered somewhat under Edwards, yet it was a sluggish one all the same. The Carlile Plan was continued yet people grew sceptic of the idea, arguing that instead the focus should be on education more than job training. The Carlile Plan had years, and it didn't have the impact it originally was envisioned to have, so they argued it should be scrapped. The Welsh Liberals maintained this was mainly because of insufficient funding, and that the current Government would invest enough in it
In 2011, the Welsh Liberal Federation split over a bill in the Senedd that would allow Wales to work with other countries, such as Ireland, in a quasi-diplomatic manner, something generally frowned on by a firm-handed Westminster. Also helping this split was the increasing perception that many in England and Scotland didn't understand Wales' linguistic concerns and so wanted to push for "English education for all"
And perhaps it was inevitable given Wales' politics was now more than ever one of unionists vs. nationalists. It's hard to say, but after all was said and done, there was two Welsh liberal parties - the Welsh Liberal Federation, and Cymru Fydd
Bringing into the Globalists, Edwards maintained his majority for another year, then called a new election, hoping that the recovery would boost him
Joyce Watson (Social Democratic-Independent Labour-Globalist coalition) 2012-2017
"Cracked Pavement"
The 2012 election was the most multi-party yet, with 10 parties in the Senedd. Joyce Watson was known as someone who steered the SDP away from the unrepentant Third Way of Howells and Lawrence, and back towards a soggy centre-left, including rekindling the relationship with the trade unions. Hence why she announced that she formed a "Popular Front" of the SDP, ILP and Globalists, the three "unionist" left-wing parties
With the Britain SDP still led by Peter Mandelson and David Miliband, there was a clear division between the Welsh SDP that was "been there done that" with the Third Way and the Britain SDP that was still firmly so. This was dubbed "clear red water" by Vaughan Gething, rising SDP star. The Watson ministry saw a focus on education and on fighting income inequality, seen as the main "culprit" for why Wales' economy was lagging
The economy did pick up, but the Welsh NHS's inefficiency leading to people not receiving healthcare promptly led to a backlash in Welsh politics and in the end it damaged the SDP as they were seen as the primary cause of it [but CC wasn't spared either] and in 2017...
Bethan Sayed (Cynghrair Cymru-Cymru Fydd-Globalist minority coalition supported by Independent Labour and Cymru Ymlaen) 2017-
"Cymru Ifanc"
The youngest to wear the coronet yet, Bethan Sayed entered power after weeks of coalition arithmetic with a 13-party Senedd and both the SDP and CC losing seats. In the end, with nobody willing to return to the country in a new election, a "Umbrella Government" was hammered out where it would be one of CC together with Cymru Fydd and (of course) the Globalists, propped up by the ILP and their splitter party Cymru Ymlaen
This was expected to last a year but it has prolonged longer than everyone thought. Nevertheless, the Princess thinks 2019 is high time for an election and one she expects will lead to a more stable coalition for her. Polls are ambiguous on this, but she is right that CC is enjoying yet another honeymoon going off their popular reforms and she wants to seize that opportunity sooner rather than later
Of course, there are talk that President Mike Woodin might not be in the best of health, and she might have to step in as Acting President in the case of his death or resignation. That would put the cat among the pigeons, both in Westminster and in Wales...