First Highland Cow: “Och, she was so human, so articulate, so dominant, so confident, so formidable ..”

Second Highland Cow: “Aye, and most of the time so wrong!”

 Times Cartoon, 16th February 2023

Two of the devolved nations of the United Kingdom have featured strongly in the media over the past week: Scotland, with the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon, and Northern Ireland, as Rishi Sunak struggles to find a way through the Brexit Protocol. The nation which didn't get much of a look-in but which, in my view, thoroughly deserves it is Wales.

So this week, following a brief resumé of the chagrin of Nicola Sturgeon and a brief return to the question of Great Britain’s (as opposed to the United Kingdom’s) identity, we'll take a look at one of the most far-sighted pieces of Welsh legislation, which should be embedded in every national and international constitution throughout the world: ‘The Well-being of Future Generations Act’.

Please study it carefully: here are the opening two paragraphs on its webpage:

“The Well-being of Future Generations Act requires public bodies in Wales to think about the long-term impact of their decisions, to work better with people, communities and each other, and to prevent persistent problems such as poverty, health inequalities and climate change.

The Act is unique to Wales, attracting interest from countries across the world as it offers a huge opportunity to make a long-lasting, positive change to current and future generations.”

But first, let's start with the rather abrupt closure of Nicola Sturgeon's reign in Edinburgh. Many people had deep respect for her leadership, acknowledged in the quotation above from The Times. In contrast to the chaotic series of events in Westminster over the past couple of years, she seemed to have a steady hand on the tiller, a determined sense of direction, and to respect people from all walks of life.

But she was indeed so wrong for most of the time.

It may be that we should, from time to time, share oversight of the Union with Edinburgh and Cardiff as well as Westminster, but we absolutely should not break the Union of Great Britain. Meanwhile, the ridiculous spectacle of her committing hara kiri over the issue of trans identity, only to have it ridiculed still further by putting someone in the wrong prison, was clearly an example of judgement going walkies.

So, we will hopefully see the end of that challenge to the Union:  but not, I suspect, to the Irish challenge. As we wrote on 17th May 2021, it's time to place the emphasis on being British and that means looking seriously at the logic for and democratic dynamics of the six counties of Northern Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland has developed real momentum as a nation whose economic strategy has found the right balance within the European Union; something that we in Britain could never have accepted: one such example is the recent Astra Zeneca decision to choose Ireland in preference to Britain for its new manufacturing facility. So, let's not get too strung-up about finding long-term solutions to this intractable trade issue, with one border which is physical but non-existent while the other is artificially imposed across the Irish Sea. Let's instead start planning for a united Ireland when the population feels ready to vote for it, which is not that far away.

Wales, on the other hand, is streaks ahead of both Westminster and Edinburgh when it comes to strategic thinking, and with ‘The Well-being of Future Generations Act’ they are setting an example for all of us, not just nationally but globally. As its summary says, it gives the ambition, permission and legal obligation to improve the social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being for the long-term future. That's constitutional in character and, as we said last week, it should be embedded in constitutions the world over.

It's already been law in Wales for the past eight years.

It is also general in its application: everyone today can see its logic in relation to climate change, but the legislation goes so much further. It provides a constitutional basis for inter-generational rebalancing, and it recognises the degree to which modern society impacts the future so much more than those generations which preceded us: covering prosperity, resilience, health, economic justice, community cohesion, cultural identity and the environment.

It's the right way to start tackling the challenge of discounting the future, to which Nicholas Stern devoted so much focus in his 2006 review.

So — hats off to Mark Drakeford and his colleagues in the Welsh Synedd — you are providing the real long-term leadership for our devolved nations, and I hope that Westminster will soon recognise the significance of your constitutional example in order to provide equivalent legislation for the whole of Great Britain.

And may it continue to attract interest across the world, for the benefit of future generations.

Gavin Oldham OBE

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