Richard Wyn Jones – författare

Wales Says Yes provides the definitive account and analysis of the March 2011 Welsh referendum. Drawing on extensive historical research, the book explains the background to the referendum, why it was held and what was at stake. The book also explains how the rival Yes and No campaigns emerged, and the varying degree of success with which they functioned. Through a detailed account of the results, and analysis of survey evidence on Welsh voters, the book explains why Wales voted Yes in March 2011. Finally, it considers what that result may mean for the future of both Wales and the UK.

This revealing and controversial book weighs and reflects on the historical truth of the accusations of sympathy with Fascism against Plaid Cymru and its leaders.

For decades, otherwise highly respected figures in Welsh life have repeatedly claimed that Welsh nationalists sympathised with Fascism during the dark days 1930s and the Second World War. In this path-breaking book, Wales s leading political commentator assesses the truth of these charges. In addition to shedding new light on the attitudes of Plaid Cymru and its leadership during the period in question, this book offers an insightful and challenging interpretation of the nature Welsh political culture.

The Welsh criminal justice system is unique. While the country has its own devolved government and parliament, there is no Welsh equivalent of the Scottish or Northern Irish justice systems. Rather, the writ of England and Wales criminal justice institutions continues to run. Yet the extensive responsibilities of Wales’s devolved institutions ensure that they necessarily play a significant role in criminal justice. As a result, the Welsh criminal justice system operates across a ‘jagged edge’ of devolved and reserved powers and responsibilities.

This book provides the first academic account of this system. It demonstrates not only that Wales has some of the worst criminal justice outcomes in western Europe, but that even if the will existed to try to address these problems, the current constitutional underpinnings of the Welsh criminal justice system would make it nigh-on impossible. Based on official data and in-depth interviews, this is an urgent and challenging book, required reading for anyone interested in Welsh politics and society.

The Welsh criminal justice system is unique. While the country has its own devolved government and parliament, there is no Welsh equivalent of the Scottish or Northern Irish justice systems. Rather, the writ of England and Wales criminal justice institutions continues to run. Yet the extensive responsibilities of Wales’s devolved institutions ensure that they necessarily play a significant role in criminal justice. As a result, the Welsh criminal justice system operates across a ‘jagged edge’ of devolved and reserved powers and responsibilities.

This book provides the first academic account of this system. It demonstrates not only that Wales has some of the worst criminal justice outcomes in western Europe, but that even if the will existed to try to address these problems, the current constitutional underpinnings of the Welsh criminal justice system would make it nigh-on impossible. Based on official data and in-depth interviews, this is an urgent and challenging book, required reading for anyone interested in Welsh politics and society.

This authoritative book traces the development of Plaid Cymru’s political thought from its birth in 1924–5 to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999. Through a penetrating study of the political beliefs of its most important leaders – Saunders Lewis, Gwynfor Evans, Dafydd Elis-Thomas and Dafydd Wigley – we follow the party’s emergence from the political fringe to the threshold of a devolved Wales. The development of Plaid Cymru’s constitutional and economic policies are examined in detail, as well as its attitude towards the Welsh language. A vibrant discussion on the nature of nationalism and nationalist ideas locates the party’s intellectual development in a broader international context. This is a book that reveals Plaid Cymru in a new and sometimes controversial light.

This authoritative book traces the development of Plaid Cymru’s political thought from its birth in 1924–5 to the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales in 1999. Through a penetrating study of the political beliefs of its most important leaders – Saunders Lewis, Gwynfor Evans, Dafydd Elis-Thomas and Dafydd Wigley – we follow the party’s emergence from the political fringe to the threshold of a devolved Wales. The development of Plaid Cymru’s constitutional and economic policies are examined in detail, as well as its attitude towards the Welsh language. A vibrant discussion on the nature of nationalism and nationalist ideas locates the party’s intellectual development in a broader international context. This is a book that reveals Plaid Cymru in a new and sometimes controversial light.