Welsh Devolution Timeline
796
(King Offa of Mercia (essentially what is now middle England) finishes a dyke to separate his and Welsh lands (well, Powys really). Though secretly some historians actually think the dyke work started work much earlier.
940
Hywel Dda writes his laws, accepted by many rulers in Wales. These laws are what gave Hywel his name: Hywel Dda (Good Hywel). Also, Ty Hywel, where the staff of the Senedd work in Cardiff is named after him. Some of the laws are seen to be before their time, notably around compensation and women’s rights. Despite this, they would look a bit rough to us these days. For example, a husband was allowed to beat his wife if: she gave away something which she was not allowed to give away, for adultery, or for wishing a blemish on her husband's beard.
1173-1240
Llywelyn the Great came to dominate other Welsh kingdoms, and, through military and diplomatic means, unified them into a single ‘Wales’. He changed some of Hywel Dda’s laws so that only his legitimate son would rule after him. I mean what’s the good of being king if you can’t tweak a few laws?
1282
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, or Llywelyn ein Llyw Olaf (Llywelyn the Last) was exactly that, the last known ruler of what you could call Wales back then. He was beset by sibling rivalry and ambitious English kings and in the end he died for it. Edward the First of England delighted in stripping Gwynedd (Llywelyn’s home) of any royal symbols and with that, the conquest of Wales by England was complete
1400-1415
A long-running rebellion rumbles on for 15 years. Owain delivers breath-taking victories in the field while gaining Scottish, Breton and French support. Early on things hot up as the English Parliament issues Penal laws against the whole of Wales (harsh) which in the end infuriates most Welsh folk, inspiring them to rebel. In the end though this Welsh war of independence fizzled out due to flagging hopes and a conciliatory English King, Henry the V.
1535
Henry VIII's (of Welsh Tudor lineage) Laws in Wales Acts mean Wales is governed by English Law and is allowed to put people forward in the Houses of Parliament in London.
1707-1800
The club expands! The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (nice short name guys) is formed during this era by the different Acts of Union - at different times - with both Ireland and Scotland.
1832
Property owners get the vote! Property owners think this is pretty good (understandable). Renters and people who live on boats are livid (understandable). So begins the Chartist movement. Chartists aren’t named after people who love pie charts, or any kind of graph really. Rather they are named after the People’s Charter which had 6 main goals which sought to expand the voting franchise, equalise society, human rights etc. etc. You know the score.
1839
Chartists are seriously peeved (understatement) when a bunch of their lads are held captive in Newport’s Westgate hotel. Some 10,000 bore down on the town and, well, it didn’t go well. An estimated 22 died with many more injured and leaders arrested. Did you know! The leaders were sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered, the last time that sentence was used in GB. Somewhat harsh you might say, and many agreed so they were sent to Australia instead. I’d take that.
1884
The Chartists did get their way in the end though with the 1884 Representation of the People Act, which extended the vote to (some) men without property (yes, men only, we’ll leave that alone for now).
1893
The University of Wales is founded as a federal university with three foundation colleges: Aberystwyth, University College North Wales (now Bangor); University College South Wales and Monmouthshire (now Cardiff U). Aberystwyth was the first Uni in Wales. The club would later expand to include Swansea, Lampeter et al. So you can thank those for all the hard work you’re doing now to get in to uni…
1918
(some) Women get the vote!
1950s
The Parliament for Wales campaign puts devolution back onto the political agenda. This cross-party campaign, led by Lady Megan Lloyd George MP, culminated in the presentation of a petition containing 250,000 signatures calling for the establishment of a Welsh parliament.
1964
The Labour Party creates the Welsh Office with a Secretary of State for Wales. That’s as interesting as we can make that sound. It is, however, the first rumblings of actual government for Wales as an entity.
1979
The first devolution for Wales referendum is held. It is a crushing defeat for the yes camp with the people of Wales voting 4 to 1 against Welsh devolution.
1997
A second referendum on Welsh devolution is held, but this time just about get it through with a majority yes vote, but my gosh was it close – 50.3%!
2006
The Government of Wales Act 2006 enables the National Assembly for Wales to pass laws for the first time since Llywelyn - but only after acquiring legislative competence from Westminster on a case-by-case basis - wait what? This is also the year the Assembly moved into the Senedd building. The building is undeniably excellent, especially when it comes to sustainability and being sympathetic to the environment.
2011
Another referendum another yes vote, the people of Wales vote for full law- making powers.
2017
The Wales Act 2017 is passed, making the Assembly permanent. Also the reserved powers model of devolution kicks in. Sounds confusing, right? Basically it’s a list of things that the UK Parliament looks after for Wales, like human rights and space, and for everything else Wales is responsible for passing laws for itself.
2018
The Welsh Youth Parliament is launched. 60 young people from around Wales gather 3 times a year. In the inaugural session they chose to focus on mental health, life skills and littering and plastic waste.
2020
The voting age in Senedd elections is lowered to 16-year-olds. That’s some of you lot so pay attention. The National Assembly for Wales is renamed the Senedd Cymru or Welsh Parliament (commonly known as the Senedd) to reflect its status as a fully-fledged parliament.