Brendan Behan, Rhodri Glyn Thomas and Realpolitik (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1

Let me explain. As far as I can see there were three truly substantial things being offered on the matter of the Welsh language in the One Wales agreement: a daily paper, a Federal College and a Legislative Competence Order that would give the Assembly the right to pass a Measure strengthening the staus of the language. Concerning the last of these, the new legislative process means that Plaid Cymru Ministers will have to ensure the agreement of the Wales Office and the two Houses of Westminster, as well as the consent of its governmental partner in Cardiff before it can get the LCO. Does anybody with any political sense at all believe that process isn’t bound to lead to a fundamental revision of Plaid Cymru’s desires? Already rumours are being heard of fervent debate behind closed doors in Cardiff. You can bet things are worse in London where there is no eagerness for new language legislation and where good will towards the coalition is still scarce. Yes, there will be a language LCO and a Welsh Language Measure, but you can bet it will be a the-best-that-was-possible-under-the-circumstances Measure, rather than the radical transformation that supporters of language desire. In other words: it is bound to dissappoint.

The matter of the Federal College is more complicated. I’m one of those who have been calling for a Federal College and I am pleased with the way that call has succeeded to put Welsh medium higher education on the political agenda for the first time in a generation. Dafydd Glyn Jones and his faithful followers together with the students of Aberystwyth deserve to be praised for that. I’m much less pleased to aknowledge – and I realise this is controversial – that at the moment there is no credible and viable plan for a Federal College of the kind that could be put into practice.

The William Salesbury Society has the most detailed plan by a long chalk, namely an updated version of an earlier scheme drawn up by Einir Young and Delyth Morris. The reason for updating the scheme is significant. It happened in the wake of the disappearance of the University of Wales as a meaningful federal institution. Now the university is but a shadow of what it was. With Bangor, Aberystwyth, Swansea, Lampeter and others following in Cardiff’s footsteps and becoming universities in their own right – and delivering their own grades – the University of Wales principle task is delivering grades to students of some of the weakest higher education institutions in these islands. Whilst the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies and the University Press continue to nestle under its mantle, the University of Wales saw fit to break the last practical connection with ‘these institutions’ of others (Bangor, Aberystwyth etc) by taking an axe to the Board of Celtic Studies. An act of intellectual vandalism which still scars some of us who witnessed it.

There are far-reaching consequences for the idea of a Federal College arising from the degradation of the University of Wales. After all, the Federal College was intended to be a college of that university, delivering the University’s grades. With the disappearance of the federal university that was, the task of creating the kind of arrangement proposed by supporters of a Federal College becomes much more difficult. If I’m not greatly mistaken, the William Salesbury Society’s response is to call for the use of a Federal College as a means of attempting to rebuilding to an extent the fortress that was destroyed. But in my opinion it is a very dangerous thing to yoke the future of Welsh medium higher education to the fate of an institution – namely the University of Wales – which has burned itself out to such a degree. Others will disagree, of course. But it seems to me that Cymdeithas yr Iaith, at least, have seen the way the wind is blowing. They are not trying to promote a specific model based on the University of Wales. Rather, under the energetic leadership of Rhys Llwyd, they are trying to nail people’s attention to four general principles which they believe should be incorporated into any Federal College. The bad news is that these principles do not touch at all upon one of the most fundamental questions of all – the most fundamental question of all in my experience – namely the proposed body’s salary pattern and the management of its staff.

The problem for Plaid Cymru and the coalition government is they are, despite the lack of credible plans, commited to a Federal College. So what in the world do they want to do then? From the point of view of those of us who are convinced that there is a need for fundamental structural changes before giving the Welsh language an appropriate place within the higher education system, I suppose the best we can hope for is the establishment of some kind of authorative review to come up with proposals. Assuming that review can count on sufficient resoursces and include members with real commitment for Welsh medium higher education – rare birds – then I would greatly welcome such a development. All kinds of questions have to be answered, some intellectual, constitutional and financial, together with international examples to be studied. But, of course, announcing the establishment of such a review (‘talking shop’ the cry will be) will a cause of great and understandable disappointment for those who took Plaid Cymru and the Coalition Agreement at its word – especially after the disappointment regarding a daily paper.

So then there were three big things for the Welsh language then: one of them, a Language Measure, depends on the scarece good will of Westminster; another, a Federal College, is a ‘scheme’ which, at best, needs substantial working on before there can be faith that it has any hope of proving to be practical; the last of the three, a promise to establish a daily newspaper. Unlike the other two this was an idea that would have been comparatively simplew to implement, It did not require any battles to be fought in Cardiff or London nor any diving into the very deep waters of higher education (a field, by the way, where nonew of the four mainstream parties in Wales have any policies deserving the name). It would even have been comparatively cheap. And indeed, there was already a prepared plan on the table in the form of Y Byd. Even if Y Byd’s plan did not prosper, and although I am among the shareholders I aknowledge that this is possible, even if the Culture Minister was not in a situation to judge one way or the other – new plans could easily have been invited. But no, Rhodri Glyn Thomas chose to break a clear commitment for a daily newspaper and support a different scheme to create a website.

Yes, unity and discipline are important, and its understandable that Plaid Cymru’s leadership remind its core supporters of that. But writing letters or publishing articles about it is not enough. As I have already said, it has to be nurtured. When the possibility presents itself of attaining something that the core support wanted then a wise party seizes the opportunity to realise it. If they fail to do that, then the leadership have nobody but themselves to blame when unity becomes brittle and discipline scarce. As Ieuan Wyn Jones, Adam Price and Alun Ffred Jones face the complaints and the hooting which are sure to follow on the matter of a Welsh Language Measure and a Federal College, they should remember that people would have been much more prepared to forgive if the promise to establish a daily paper had been realised, as it could – and should – have been.