Institute of Welsh Affairs

Recently, during a visit to my grandparents near Mold, in Flintshire, I decided to walk from Hawarden Castle to Ewloe, two medieval castles on the border with England. Hawarden, built by a Norman marcher lord in the 13th centur...

As the new UK Prime Minister settles into Downing Street, many charities, councils and support workers in Wales are asking the same question: will Andy Burnham double-down on the hard-line approach to refugees that has failed successive governments, and arguably given rise to

This summer has been extremely hot. In Wales we have experienced several record-breaking heatwaves, with deadly ...

In May, Welsh voters made Reform the official opposition of the Welsh Parliament. 34Reform Members were elected to the newly enlarged 96-seat Senedd, second only to Plaid Cymru’s 43. This result shattered the 26 year Labour domination in Welsh politics. Both the new government and the new opposition had never held their respective roles. It was clear that Wales demanded chang...

Over twenty-five-plus years of devolution, a ‘blame game’ narrative has emerged. The Welsh Government frequently points to restricted funding, limited powers, or problems existing before devolution as reasons for current challenges, while critics maintain that ongoing policy failures are the fault of the government in power.

The Welsh health service has exemplified thi...