The referendum result announced this afternoon has confounded the doom merchants, like me. The resounding 'Yes' vote certainly gives added legitimacy to the devolution project. Even the turnout at 35.4% was respectable by modern standards.
In Flintshire the 'Yes' vote won by the comfortable margin of 62.1% to 37.9% (although the turnout in Flintshire at 29.2% was amongst the lowest in Wales). So does it mean that Flintshire has stopped worrying and learned to love devolution? The low turnout still suggests that the vast majority have no connection with what goes on in Cardiff Bay. Historically the county of Flintshire has been far more influenced by the north west of England and the great city of Liverpool. However something has definately changed in north east Wales; the results for Flintshire and Wrexham both show an overwhelming majority in favour of the Welsh Assembly Government exercising powers without reference to Westminster.
The shift in favour of devolution has been significant. The result of the devolution referendum of 1979 showed deep hostility towards the idea with 88% of the voters in the old county of Clwyd saying 'No'. Even in the devolution referendum of 1997 in Flintshire 62% of the voters still said 'No'.
The conclusion has to be that devolution has now been accepted by the voters of the most anglicised county in Wales.
Certain factors I think have swayed this vote though: 1) The yes campaign was backed by all parties' AMs (no real surprise); 2) The question was not the straight forward For/Against devolution like in previous referenda and was largely played down as such by the yes campaign; 3)Aspects of the yes campaign played on the anti-English xenophobia (compounded by PC insisting on a referendum now just after Dydd Dewi Sant).
ReplyDeleteI think 64.6% is the real 'overwhelming' majority!
Personally I put it down to my vote as there was no one else in sight when I went up to Ysceifiog. I even hung around for a few minutes but no, quiet as the grave!
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