Wales: Twentieth Century

Although Welsh interests had spokesmen in the British government in the early 20th cent.—the flamboyant David Lloyd George and the Welsh supporters of the Liberal party—chronic poverty and increasing unemployment continued almost unchecked until World War II. After the wartime industrial boom the Labour government, which drew substantial support from the socialist stronghold of S Wales, undertook a full-scale program of industrial redevelopment. This included reorganization of the coal mines and tinplate manufacture under government control, introduction of diversified industry, and improvement of communications, housing, and technical education. These actions did not save the coal industry; most of the mines in Wales have been closed, and the few remaining ones have been privatized.

As in earlier days, Welsh nationalism has undergone a revival since the mid-20th cent., with a special interest in education and the arts. The modern National Eisteddfod perpetuates interest in Welsh language, poetry, and choral music. Since 1944, primary and secondary schools have been established with Welsh as the sole language of instruction. A Welsh-language television channel opened in 1982, and there are several Welsh arts, opera, and literature councils on the national level (see also Welsh literature).

In 1979, Welsh voters decisively defeated a British proposal for limited home rule, but in 1997 they narrowly passed a referendum to establish a 60-member assembly. Elections were held in 1999, with the Labour party winning the most seats and forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Labour formed a government alone after the 2003 vote, in coalition with the nationalist Plaid Cymru after the 2007 vote, and alone after the 2011 and 2016 votes.

Parliamentary legislation passed in 2006 and effective in mid-2007 allowed the assembly to enact laws for Wales, subject to approval from the British parliament, in areas in which the assembly has devolved responsibilities. In 2011 voters approved increased legislative powers for the assembly, allowing it to act independently of Parliament in areas for which it is responsible.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Twentieth Century
• Seventeenth to TwentiethNineteenth Centuries
• English Incursion to Union
• Early History to Union with England
• Economy
• Land and People
• Bibliography

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