Institute of Welsh Affairs

You can now listen to the launch of our latest report, Sharing Power, Spreading Wealth. Read the full report here: https://www.iwa.wales/our-work/work/sharing-power-spreading-wealth/

Welcome to the welsh agenda podcast. In this episode, our resident editor Matthaus Bridge reflects on his journey as a bilingual English and Welsh speaking journalist as he enters the professional world after learning the language in school. A few words from Matthaus: 'Like many people my age, I learnt Welsh in school, and am now the first and, to date, only, fluent Welsh speaker in my family. In my life, I navigate different professional and personal identities, and it sometimes feels like it can be hard to reconcile both. In this podcast, I spoke to researchers, government officials and artists.' In this podcast, Matthaus speaks to Dr Sion Jones, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, stand up comedian Leila Navabi, Professor Martin Johnes, and Welsh language commissioner Efa Gruffudd Jones. This podcast includes Matthaus's conversation with Dr Sion Jones in its original Welsh version.

Welcome to the welsh agenda podcast. In this episode, our resident editor Matthaus Bridge reflects on his journey as a bilingual English and Welsh speaking journalist as he enters the professional world after learning the language in school. A few words from Matthaus: 'Like many people my age, I learnt Welsh in school, and am now the first and, to date, only, fluent Welsh speaker in my family. In my life, I navigate different professional and personal identities, and it sometimes feels like it can be hard to reconcile both. In this podcast, I spoke to researchers, government officials and artists.' In this podcast, Matthaus speaks to Dr Sion Jones, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, stand up comedian Leila Navabi, Professor Martin Johnes, and Welsh language commissioner Efa Gruffudd Jones.

The IWA are delighted to bring you a discussion between Chris Stark, CEO of the UK Climate Change Committee (UKCCC) and Wales’ Future Generations’ Commissioner, Derek Walker. In this conversation we will touch on where Wales stands on its net zero journey, how we compare to other nations, and how we can accelerate our transition and adaptation to the climate emergency.

In the sixth episode of our series Wales: A Work in Progress, the IWA's Policy and External Affairs Manager Joe Rossiter talks to Professor Mark Barry about the future of Wales' transport networks. Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. Episode notes You can read Mark's report A Metro for Wales' Capital City Region here

This week, we release the recording of our recent event Social Security Spotlight with Mairi Spowage.  Mairi is a Professor of Practice and Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute, at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland. In this event, she and Auriol Miller discussed Scottish Government's policy on social security. Scotland has a significantly larger package of powers devolved in this area compared to Wales. The Scottish Child Payment, a new devolved benefit, is particularly pertinent in this discussion, displaying different ways of managing welfare spend. This session was an enlightening discussion of the complexities of funding devolved policy, and of the lessons Wales can learn from Scotland in this area. Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why.

This week, instead of an episode, enjoy a recorded version of our recent event with Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. Akash came to speak to the IWA's Director Auriol Miller to discuss his recent paper, submitted to the Independent Commission for Wales' Constitutional Future. In it, Akash proposed a comparison of the UK nations' settlements. In this event, Akash discussed:  What the gaps are in Wales’ current settlement What we can learn from other parts of the UK Where does the evidence suggest Wales needs more powers to improve delivering for the nation? Where do we go from here? Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. Akash's paper is available in full in the annex of the Commission's interim report.

In the fifth episode of our series Wales: A Work in Progress, the IWA's Policy and External Affairs Manager Joe Rossiter talks to Yvonne Murphy, the mind behind the Talking Shop, an innovative space created for people wishing to learn more about their institutions in order to become more active in their communities. Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. Episode notes: - You can find out more about The Talking Shop and Omidaze here - Yvonne Murphy's article about the Talking Shop for the welsh agenda is available on our website

In the fourth episode of our series Wales: A Work in Progress, the IWA's Policy and External Affairs Manager Joe Rossiter talks to the IWA's own Media and Democracy project lead Dylan Moore. Dylan discusses the aims of his research on media and democracy, the causes and impact of the media and information deficit in Wales, and what can be done to address it. Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. Episode notes: You can find the reports mentioned in this episode on our website: - Citizens' Voices, People's News: Making the Media work for Wales (in collaboration with the Open University in Wales) - Building Bridges: Wales' Democracy, Now and for Our Future

Welcome back to Wales: A Work in Progress. In our third episode, we tackle dialogue and democratic renewal. The IWA's director Auriol Miller speaks to Dr Anwen Elias, a member of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales and a reader at the University of Aberystwyth, and to Dr Jennifer Wolowic, Principal lead at Aberystwyth University's Dialogue Centre. Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why.

Welcome to the second episode of our podcast series Wales: A Work in Progress, the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. This week, we continue our in-depth exploration of federalism. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. In this episode, you will hear the second part of the IWA's director Auriol Miller with David Melding, Conservative MS for South Wales Central from 1999-2021, acting as Deputy Presiding Officer from 2011-2016, and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones, advocate for a UK-wide constitutional convention.

Welcome to the first episode of our podcast series Wales: A Work in Progress, the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. This week, we explore federalism. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. In this episode, the IWA's director Auriol Miller discusses all things federalism with David Melding, Conservative MS for South Wales Central from 1999-2021, acting as Deputy Presiding Officer from 2011-2016, and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones, advocate for a UK-wide constitutional convention.

Today, we kick off a new podcast series to accompany our new project supported by the Legal Education Foundation: Wales: A Work in Progress. In this series, we will explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country. In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why. In this episode, Policy and External Affairs Manager and Project lead Joe Rossiter and IWA Director Auriol Miller give a whistle stop tour of the work already underway to look at what the constitutional future for Wales should look like, and outline some of the issues the podcast series will discuss.

This is a recording of the launch of our report 'Broadcasting Regulation in Wales: What can we learn from Europe?', which took place on 9 March 2023.  This event was chaired by the IWA's Director Auriol Miller and included a presentation from the authors of the report, Dr Marlen Komorowski (Media Cymru), Dylan Moore (Media and Democracy Policy Lead, IWA) and Enrique Uribe-Jongbloed (Media Cymru). The devolution of broadcasting is under active consideration, with an Expert Panel set up as part of The Co-operation Agreement between Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru tasked with developing plans for a new regulatory framework that works for Wales. But what does ‘devolution of broadcasting’ actually mean? And in the current political context, how can Wales’s voice in the broadcasting landscape be strengthened? This event launched the second and third parts of the IWA’s research on legislative and regulatory frameworks for broadcasting in Wales. Our paper outlines four case studies from countries across Europe, from which derive vital lessons for Wales. Links and further reading: Read our full report Broadcasting Regulations in Wales (Parts 1, 2 and 3) Become a member and support the IWA Subscribe to our newsletter

Hear from Harry Thompson, author of the IWA's report Beyond Social Partnership? Devolved Levers to support Trade Unions in Wales, which was launched on 16 February 2023. This podcast is a recording of a discussion about the role of trade unions. Harry Thompson, the IWA's Economic Policy Lead, spoke to Hannah Blythyn MS, Deputy Minister for Social Partnership, and to Nisreen Mansour, a Policy Officer at the Wales TUC.

This is a recording of the launch of our report Beyond Social Partnership? Devolved Levers to Support Trade Unions in Wales, which took place on Thursday 16 February 2023. This event was chaired by the IWA's Policy and External Affairs Manager Joe Rossiter and included a presentation and Q&A delivered by Harry Thompson, the IWA's Economic Policy Lead and author of the report. As part of our work towards a fair economy for Wales, we have undertaken a short study into the trade union movement in Wales, and its potential to structurally re-balance Wales’ economy in favour of low and middle earners. We want to ensure that any growth in overall prosperity is distributed across society and across the economy, rather than being disproportionately absorbed by those at the top. We find that there is a high scope for empowered trade unions to help restructure Wales’ economy in favour of those on low and middle incomes, additionally ensuring that any new attempts to grow and rebuild Wales’ economy are systematically more evenly distributed. Empowered trade unions are likely to increase the share of national income that goes towards remunerating labour, and to ensure that the ‘wage share’ has a flatter distribution. They can also increase the quality of working life for many people at the bottom of income distribution, and contribute towards economic growth by increasing demand. Despite some patches of best practice from the Welsh Government with regards to the trade union movement, there is still far more that can be done to support trade unions in creating a more equal economy. Links and further reading: The full report Beyond Social Partnership? Devolved Levers to Support Trade Unions in Wales (EN)  Become a member and support the IWA Subscribe to our newsletter

In the IWA's report Fiscal Firepower and Effective Policy Making in Wales, our Economic Policy Lead Harry Thompson argues that reforming the Welsh Government’s borrowing powers is a key option to better enable transformative policy making in Wales. In this podcast, you can hear Harry in conversation with Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government, and Llyr Gruffydd MS, about the challenges of fiscal policy in Wales.

A new Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative & Unionist Party will be announced on 5th September 2022. The new government formed will take over the promises made in the 2019 Conservative Manifesto around levelling up and regional funding post-Brexit. These include the nascent UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the future of the Levelling Up Fund, as part of the wider levelling up agenda. In this episode, Harry Thompson discusses the effects of Levelling Up in Wales, and what is needed to make it a success, with Sam Rowlands MS, Shadow Minister for Local Government and Member of the Senedd for North Wales. - To support our work, become a member or leave us a donation: https://www.iwa.wales/about-us/support-us/ - Read our latest report about Levelling Up, Putting Businesses at the Heart of Levelling Up: https://www.iwa.wales/our-work/work/putting-businesses-at-the-heart-of-levelling-up/

In this conversation recorded after our event with the Swiss Embassy, Auriol Miller, Co-Chair of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales Laura McAllister, and Swiss Ambassador to the UK Markus Leitner have an in-depth conversation about Swiss Federalism and what we can learn from it in Wales. Our event, The Swiss decentralisation experience & Wales’ constitutional perspectives, was held on 29 June 2022 at Capital Law's office in Cardiff. We are grateful for their support for this event. On the day, attendees heard from a panel of experts including:  Ambassador Markus Leitner – Ambassador of Switzerland to the United Kingdom Prof. Laura McAllister CBE – Co-Chair of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales Sir Paul Silk CBE – Former Clerk to the National Assembly for Wales (now Senedd Cymru) Glyndwr Cennydd Jones – Fellow of the IWA and writer on constitutional issues About the IWA: We are a think tank and charity, independent of government and political parties. By bringing together experts from all backgrounds, we conceive ambitious and informed ideas which secure political commitments to improve our democracy, public services and economy. We provide platforms for debate, opportunities for people to make their voices heard and agenda-setting research. We are funded by our members, income from our events and training sessions, and supported by trusts, foundations and other funding bodies. We are a proud Living Wage employer. If you enjoyed this podcast, and would like to support our work, do consider joining us as a member. 

This was the first of a series of joint events planned as part of the IWA's partnership with Bangor University. The North Welsh population is shifting dramatically. This is not only due to the ageing experienced by other developed nations, but local factors including inward migration of retirees from across the UK and working age people leaving the area. In the two decades leading up to 2018, the proportion of North Walians aged 65 and over increased from 18% to 23%, a trend projected to continue. At the other end of the scale, those aged 15 and under now make up only around 18% of the population compared to 20% in 1998. Combined with an overall population increase of 6% across the region, and the pressures on local services including health and care are building. The 2021 Census, as well as the wellbeing assessments conducted by the Public Services boards, will provide a much deeper understanding of demographic shift, when data are available in the coming months, but the trend is clear and continuing. How should we address these pressures in an environment of a reducing working age population share, whilst understanding the existing challenges brought by rurality and ultimately provide the first class services North Wales deserves? This was a 2-hour long seminar chaired by our director Auriol Miller, including a discussion with an expert panel. Panellists Prof Rhiannon Tudor Edwards – Professor of Health Economics, Bangor University Dr Sibani Roy – Founder, North Wales Regional Equality Network Mario Kreft MBE – Chair, Care Forum Wales Ceri Cunnington – Community Facilitator, Cwmni Bro Ffestiniog Agenda 10:00-10:05 Welcome from the Chair 10:05-10:10 Welcome from Prof Iwan Davies, Vice-Chancellor, Bangor University 10:10-10:25 The health economics of North Wales – presentation by Prof Rhiannon Tudor Edwards 10:25-10:45 Panel discussion 10:45-11:00 Break 11:00-11:25 Panel discussion 11:25-11.55 Q&A from the audience 11:55-12:00 Close Follow and support the IWA. Read the Chat transcript.