View source for 1997 Welsh devolution referendum

{{short description|Pre-legislative referendum in Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox referendum
| name = 1997 Welsh devolution referendum
| title = Do you agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly as proposed by the Government?
| location = [[Wales]]
| outcome = The Government of Wales Act 1998 passes and the National Assembly for Wales is formed.
| previous_year = 1979 
| previous_referendum = 1979 Welsh devolution referendum
| next_year = 2011
| next_referendum = 2011 Welsh devolution referendum
| country = Wales
| date=  18 September 1997
| yes = 559419
| no = 552698
| total = 1116116
| electorate = 2222533
| map = Welsh devolution referendum, 1997.svg
| mapdivision = unitary authorities
| notes = Saturation of colour reflects the strength of the vote.
}} {{Politics of Wales}} {{UK Referendums}}
The '''1997 Welsh devolution referendum''' was a pre-legislative [[referendum]] held in [[Wales]] on 18 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a [[Deliberative assembly|National Assembly]] for Wales, and therefore a degree of [[Self-governance|self-government]]. The referendum was a Labour manifesto commitment and was held in their first term after the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 election]] under the provisions of the [[Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act 1997]]. This was the second referendum held in Wales over the question of devolution: the [[1979 Welsh devolution referendum|first referendum]] was held in 1979 and was defeated by a large majority.

The referendum resulted in a narrow majority in favour, which led to the passing of the [[Government of Wales Act 1998]] and the formation of the [[Senedd|National Assembly for Wales]] in 1999.

==Background==
A [[1979 Welsh devolution referendum|referendum was held in 1979]] (with a [[1979 Scottish devolution referendum|parallel referendum]] in Scotland) proposing the creation of a Welsh Assembly, under [[James Callaghan]]'s Labour government. The referendum stipulated that a Welsh Assembly would be created if supported by 50% of votes cast and 40% of the total electorate. The Scottish referendum achieved the first condition but not the second, while the Welsh referendum was defeated by almost a 4:1 majority. Indeed, although the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] had committed itself to devolution in 1974 (following the advice of the [[Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)|Royal Commission on the Constitution]]) several Welsh Labour [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MPs]] (including [[Neil Kinnock]]) were very much opposed.

The 1979 referendum had been such a resounding defeat that it killed off any prospects of devolution in Wales for a generation. The almost wholly anti-devolution, unionist [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] won the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]] (though [[Welsh Labour]] remained the largest party in Wales, the [[Welsh Conservative Party|Conservatives]] only won 11 out of 36 seats in Wales)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp2003/rp03-059.pdf| title=UK Election statistics 1945-2003 }}</ref> and remained in government until [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997]]. Over this time, the Conservative Party became increasingly unpopular in Wales. The Conservatives mostly appointed [[England|English]] [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MPs]] representing English constituencies to the post of [[Secretary of State for Wales]], including [[William Hague]] and [[John Redwood]] (who famously attempted to mime the words to the [[Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau|Welsh national anthem]] at the 1993 Welsh Conservative Party conference.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIwBvjoLyZc|title=- YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}}</ref>)

A commitment to the creation of a Welsh Assembly with executive powers was again put into the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] manifesto for the [[1992 United Kingdom general election|1992 general election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab92.htm#dem |title=Labour Party 1992 election manifesto |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209110043/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab92.htm#dem |archive-date=2013-12-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Labour Party shaped its policy of a Welsh Assembly under the guidance of [[Shadow Cabinet|Shadow]] Welsh Secretary [[Ron Davies (Welsh politician)|Ron Davies]] and [[Welsh Office]] spokesmen [[Win Griffiths]] and [[Rhodri Morgan]]. In March 1996, Ron Davies signed an agreement with [[Alex Carlile]], the Leader of the Welsh [[2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election|Liberal Democrats]], which committed both parties to support a "Yes" vote in a Welsh devolution referendum in the event of a Labour victory at the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]]. The agreement was made in the context of a potential Lib-Lab pact should Labour not win an overall majority.

There was no inter-party Constitutional Convention in Wales to define devolution [[Scottish Constitutional Convention|as there had been in Scotland]]. Labour's initial proposal to elect a Welsh Assembly using the traditional [[first-past-the-post]] system was reversed in late-1996 in favour of the [[Additional Member System]]. This change was vital in order to gain the support of [[Plaid Cymru]] and the [[Welsh Liberal Democrats]] in the event of a referendum.

==Referendum question==
Unusually for a referendum just as in the [[1997 Scottish devolution referendum]] the electorate was asked to vote on two statements rather than a question which corresponded to the following proposal. The statements were issued both in [[English language|English]] and [[Welsh language|Welsh]].

Parliament has decided to consult people in Wales on the Government's proposals for a Welsh Assembly:
<br />Mae'r Senedd wedi penderfynu ymgynghori pobl yng Nghymru ar gynigion y Llywodraeth ar gyfer Cynulliad i Gymru:

;I agree there should be a Welsh Assembly
;{{lang|cy|Yr wyf yn cytuno y dylid cael Cynulliad i Gymru}}
or
;I do not agree there should be a Welsh Assembly
;{{lang|cy|Nid wyf yn cytuno y dylid cael Cynulliad i Gymru}}
(To be marked by a single (X))

== Campaign ==
The official Yes campaign, ''[[Yes for Wales]]'', was supported by Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, though they also ran their own individual campaigns.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/wales/briefing/yesno.shtml|title=Welsh Referendum|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Labour anti-devolution MPs (including [[Llew Smith]], among others<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/wales/briefing/dissent.shtml|title=Welsh Referendum|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>) were subject to a tight [[parliamentary whip]] to ensure that the Labour Party was seen to be publicly behind the campaign. ''Yes for Wales'' placed a large emphasis on grassroots involvement in the campaign, with sectoral groups such as "Pensioners say Yes", and local branches throughout Wales.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/wales/briefing/campaig.shtml|title=Welsh Referendum|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

Prominent campaigners for a Yes vote included [[Welsh Labour|Labour]] politicians [[Leighton Andrews]], [[Ron Davies (Welsh politician)|Ron Davies]], [[Alun Michael]], [[Rhodri Morgan]], [[Andrew Davies (Labour politician)|Andrew Davies]], [[Peter Hain]], [[Hywel Francis]], [[Edwina Hart (politician)|Edwina Hart]] and [[Val Feld]]; [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] politicians [[Mike German, Baron German|Michael German]], [[Jenny Randerson]], [[Kirsty Williams]] and [[Peter Black (Welsh politician)|Peter Black]]; [[Plaid Cymru]] politicians [[Dafydd Wigley]], [[Cynog Dafis]] Ieuan Wyn Jones and [[Leanne Wood]]; and academic [[Russell Deacon]].

The official No campaign, ''Just Say NO'', was chaired by [[Nick Bourne]], then-Conservative "Chief Spokesman in Wales". The No campaign lacked the structure and finance of the Yes campaign, and suffered from the fact that the Conservatives' landslide defeat at the 1997 general election meant there were no Conservative MPs (and therefore no MPs supporting the No campaign) in Wales. Additionally, the No campaign in 1997 did not have the support of [[Local authorities in Wales|local authorities]]; the fact that the Conservatives had [[Local Government (Wales) Act 1994|reduced]] layers of local government from two to one in 1994 meant that this was not an issue as it had been in 1979.

==Result==
{{Referendum
| title          = 1997 Welsh devolution referendum
| option1        = '''I agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly'''<br />'''''Yr wyf yn cytuno y dylid cael Cynulliad i Gymru'''''
| yes            = 559,419
| yespct         = 50.30
| option2        = {{nowrap|I do not agree that there should be a Welsh Assembly}}<br />''Nid wyf yn cytuno y dylid cael Cynulliad i Gymru''
| no             = 552,698
| nopct          = 49.70
| valid          = 1,112,117
| validpct       = 99.64
| invalid        = 3,999
| invalidpct     = 0.36
| total          = 1,116,116
| turnoutpct     = 50.22
| electorate     = 2,222,533
| noicons        = yes
| source         = 
}}

Note: In Wales under the [[Welsh Language Act 1993]] the Welsh language has equal status with the English language.

{{Referendum bar
| title = National referendum

| text1       = Agree/''Cytuno''
| vote1       = 559,419
| background1 = #bfd
| textcolor1  = #000

| text2       = Disagree/''Anghytuno''
| vote2       = 552,698
| background2 = #fdd
| textcolor2  = #000
}}

The overall result was declared in the [[Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama|Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama]] in Cardiff. The proceeding officer was Professor [[Eric Sunderland]]. The results of all 22 local authority areas were announced individually, and the result was close enough that everything in fact hung on the announcement from [[Carmarthenshire]], which carried the Yes vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/wales/live/index.shtml |title=Welsh Referendum |publisher=bbc.co.uk |access-date=2017-09-18}}</ref> The difference between the 'agree' and 'disagree' vote was 6,721.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-40947872|title=How Welsh devolution has evolved over two decades|date=18 September 2017|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

===Results by unitary authority===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Council Area
! rowspan=2 | Turnout
! colspan=2 | Votes
! colspan=2 | Proportion of votes
|-
! Agree<br />''Cytuno''
! Disagree<br />''Anghytuno''
! Agree<br />Cytuno
! Disagree<br />''Anghytuno''
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Anglesey]]
|56.9%
|{{yes2|'''15,649'''}}
|15,095
|{{yes2|'''50.9%'''}}
|49.1%
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Blaenau Gwent]]
|49.3%
|{{yes2|'''15,237'''}}
|11,928
|{{yes2|'''56.1%'''}}
|43.9%
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Bridgend]]
|50.6%
|{{yes2|'''27,632'''}}
|23,172
|{{yes2|'''54.4%'''}}
|45.6%
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Caerphilly]]
|49.3%
|{{yes2|'''34,830'''}}
|28,841
|{{yes2|'''55.7%'''}}
|44.3%
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Cardiff]]
|46.9%
|47,527
|{{no2|'''59,589'''}}
|44.4%
|{{no2|'''55.6%'''}}
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Carmarthenshire]]
|56.4%
|{{yes2|'''49,115'''}}
|26,119
|{{yes2|'''65.5%'''}}
|34.5%
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Ceredigion]]
|56.8%
|{{yes2|'''18,304'''}}
|12,614
|{{yes2|'''59.2%'''}}
|40.8%
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Conwy]]
|51.5%
|18,369
|{{no2|'''26,521'''}}
|40.9%
|{{no2|'''59.1%'''}}
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Denbighshire]]
|49.7%
|14,271
|{{no2|'''20,732'''}}
|40.5%
|{{no2|'''59.5%'''}}
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Flintshire]]
|41.0%
|17,746
|{{no2|'''28,707'''}}
|38.2%
|{{no2|'''61.8%'''}}
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Gwynedd]]
|59.8%
|{{yes2|'''35,425'''}}
|19,859
|{{yes2|'''64.1%'''}}
|35.9%
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Merthyr Tydfil]]
|49.5%
|{{yes2|'''12,707'''}}
|9,121
|{{yes2|'''58.2%'''}}
|41.8%
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Monmouthshire]]
|50.5%
|10,592
|{{no2|'''22,403'''}}
|32.1%
|{{no2|'''67.9%'''}}
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Neath Port Talbot]]
|51.9%
|{{yes2|'''36,730'''}}
|18,463
|{{yes2|'''66.5%'''}}
|33.5%
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Newport, Wales|Newport]]
|45.9%
|16,172
|{{no2|'''27,017'''}}
|37.5%
|{{no2|'''62.5%'''}}
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Pembrokeshire]]
|52.6%
|19,979
|{{no2|'''26,712'''}}
|42.8%
|{{no2|'''57.2%'''}}
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Powys]]
|56.2%
|23,038
|{{no2|'''30,966'''}}
|42.7%
|{{no2|'''57.3%'''}}
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Rhondda Cynon Taff]]
|49.9%
|{{yes2|'''51,201'''}}
|36,362
|{{yes2|'''58.5%'''}}
|41.5%
|-
|{{yes2|}}
|[[Swansea]]
|47.1%
|{{yes2|'''42,789'''}}
|39,561
|{{yes2|'''53.0%'''}}
|47.0%
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Torfaen]]
|45.5%
|15,756
|{{no2|'''15,854'''}}
|49.8%
|{{no2|'''50.2%'''}}
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Vale of Glamorgan]]
|54.3%
|17,776
|{{no2|'''30,613'''}}
|35.5%
|{{no2|'''64.5%'''}}
|-
|{{no2|}}
|[[Wrexham]]
|42.4%
|18,574
|{{no2|'''22,449'''}}
|44.3%
|{{no2|'''55.7%'''}}
|}

==See also==
*[[Referendums in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Referendums (Scotland & Wales) Act 1997]]
*[[1997 Scottish devolution referendum]]
*[[2011 Welsh devolution referendum]]
*[[Yes for Wales]]
*[[Senedd]]
*[[Welsh devolution]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/wales/live/index.shtml BBC coverage of results]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ha8o7Gd6HY BBC coverage of the final referendum result]

{{Welsh devolution}}
{{Welsh elections}}
{{United Kingdom local elections, 1997}}
{{Opinion polling for Senedd elections}}

[[Category:Referendums in Wales]]
[[Category:1997 referendums|Welsh devolution referendum]]
[[Category:1997 in Wales|Devolution referendum]]
[[Category:Senedd]]
[[Category:Welsh devolution]]
[[Category:Autonomy referendums]]
[[Category:September 1997 in the United Kingdom|Welsh devolution referendum]]