One Wales ( cy, Cymru'n Un, ) was the coalition agreement for the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

between Labour and

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid w ...

agreed to by

Rhodri Morgan Hywel Rhodri Morgan (29 September 1939 – 17 May 2017) was a Welsh Labour politician who was the First Minister of Wales and the Leader of Welsh Labour from 2000 to 2009. He was also the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011 and ...

First Minister of Wales , insignia = First Minister of Wales logo.png , insigniasize = 120px , insigniacaption = Logo , flag = Flag of Wales.svg , flagsize = 120px , flagborder = yes , flagcaption = Flag of Wales , image = File:Mark Drakeford (cropped).jpg , ...

and leader of

Welsh Labour Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1 ...

, and

Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is a Welsh politician who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Government from 2007 to 2011. He was the Member of the Senedd for the Ynys Môn constituency from 1999 to 2013, and he was also leader of ...

, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding National Assembly election which resulted in a large Labour plurality, but no

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster

History

On 3 May 2007, Labour won 26 of 60 seats in the 2007

election, four short of an effective majority of 30 (see

Speaker Denison's rule Speaker Denison's rule is a constitutional convention established by John Evelyn Denison, who was Speaker of the British House of Commons from 1857 to 1872, regarding how the Speaker decides on their casting vote in the event of a tie in the ...

for an explanation of why this is so). Originally, commentators had predicted a Labour-

Welsh Liberal Democrats The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decemb ...

coalition, after a previous coalition which had lasted from 2000 until 2003. Liberal Democrat leader Mike German, who had served as Deputy First Minister of Wales in the previous coalition, favoured the deal, which would have given the Government a majority of four. However, concerns within his party about propping up a weakened Labour party prevented such an agreement. An alternative option, the so-called "rainbow coalition" of

, the Liberal Democrats and the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, was negotiated between the leaders of those parties in mid-May, but was rejected at a Liberal Democrat special conference vote on 23 May. The new Assembly formally opened two days later with no clear majority, and Rhodri Morgan was elected First Minister unopposed at the head of a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats ...

. After one month of minority government, talks between Ieuan Wyn Jones and Rhodri Morgan resulted in the One Wales agreement between Labour and Plaid Cymru, giving the Government a majority of 22. The agreement was criticised by some Labour members as too conciliatory towards Plaid Cymru's

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

leanings, especially in that it included a provision requiring a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption o ...

on full law-making powers for the

, in line with the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Ho ...

. However, the Labour party agreed to the plan by a wide margin on 6 July. Plaid Cymru's membership approved the plan on 7 July. Negotiations on cabinet posts in the new government were scheduled to take place starting 9 July, but Morgan fell ill the night before. The next day, he had surgery to insert stents into on two partially blocked arteries. He was released from the hospital a few days later, and negotiations concluded on 19 July. Three Plaid Cymru AMs would serve as full ministers alongside six Labour members, with four deputy ministers from Labour and one from Plaid Cymru. The only Labour member to be struck from the government as a result of the deal was Deputy Economy and Transport Minister

Huw Lewis Huw Lewis (born 17 January 1964) is a Welsh Labour Co-operative politician who served as Minister for Education and Skills from 2013 to 2016. Born in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Lewis represented the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency in ...

, who had previously opposed the One Wales deal. In March 2010 Labour and Plaid Cymru AMs refused to cross the PCS union

picket line A picket line is a horizontal rope along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height (above the knees, below the neck) or overhead. The overhead form is usually called a high line. A variant of a high li ...

. The

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

Carwyn Jones stated that it was in the Welsh Labour party's political thinking not to cross a picket line. The

Welsh Conservative Party The Welsh Conservatives ( cy, Ceidwadwyr Cymreig) is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections, it is the second most popular political party in Wales, having obtained the second-la ...

and the

condemned the One Wales government for not attending Assembly business.

Content

The first page of the agreement states that it "delivers a progressive, stable and ambitious programme for government over this Assembly term." Under its terms, Ieuan Wyn Jones became Deputy First Minister and Rhodri Morgan remained First Minister. Other posts were divided up among members of the two parties by Morgan in consultation with Jones. The key policy proposals of the deal focused on increasing the amount of affordable housing in Wales through various incentives and schemes; investing in a comprehensive rail programme to link

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales commonl ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards t ...

more effectively; instituting a moratorium on community hospital reforms and promising to "agree and implement a new approach to health service reconfiguration" when "there is a local agreement on the way forward"; a new commission to tackle

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

problems and

alternative energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

questions; and, most controversially, an agreement to hold a referendum on new law-making powers for the National Assembly in the vein of those previously granted to the Scottish Parliament. The text also stated that Plaid Cymru and Labour had agreed "in good faith to campaign for a successful outcome to such a referendum." This last section was criticised by Welsh Labour MPs Paul Murphy,

Don Touhig James Donnelly Touhig, Baron Touhig (born 5 December 1947), known as Don Touhig, is a British politician and life peer who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Islwyn from 1995 to 2010. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he s ...

, and Kim Howells, Minister of State at the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' ministries of foreign affairs, it was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreig ...

, who claimed it would lead "nationalists to the gates of independence." The referendum was held on 3 March 2011. The outcome was 'yes', with 63.49% of the participants for and 36.51% against; 35.2% of the electorate participated.

Analysis

The agreement was seen variously as a first step towards independence, a sell-out on Plaid's part that propped up a Labour government, and part of a wider shift towards

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isl ...

. According to polling by the BBC in January 2007, only 20% of Welsh voters favoured independence, but 22.4% of Welsh voters supported Plaid Cymru — just one of a number of nationalist parties and candidates in the 2007 Assembly election. This was put down to more general dissatisfaction with Labour's

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

in the media, suggesting that any growth in nationalist sentiment might have been less important to the electorate's shift away from Labour than

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

political scandals.

One Wales Delivery Plan 2007–2011

The

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

published the ''One Wales Delivery Plan 2007-2011'', setting out 228 specific commitments in ''One Wales'' to be delivered by April 2011. Each section of the plan included a vision statement and success criteria.Welsh Assembly Government , One Wales Delivery Plan 2007-2011
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References

External links

Complete text of the One Wales agreement
{{Plaid Cymru Government of Wales 2007 National Assembly for Wales election Coalition governments Welsh Labour Plaid Cymru