Welsh independence (Welsh: Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is a political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the killing of Llywelyn the Last, Prince of Wales. Edward introduced the royal ordinance, the Statute of Rhuddlan, in 1284, introducing English common law alongside Welsh law and custom and causing the recently established Welsh principality to be incorporated into the Kingdom of England. Owain Glyndŵr restored Welsh independence c. 1400–15, but Henry IV of England put down the revolt. Henry VIII of England introduced the Laws in Wales Acts between 1535 and 1542, English law replaced Cyfraith Hywel (Welsh medieval law), and the Welsh principality and Marches were integrated into England. and Wales gained representation in parliament and a new equality under the law. The Wales and Berwick Act defined "England" to include Wales in 1746, but the Welsh Language Act 1967, partly repealed this with the term "England and Wales".
The modern Welsh independence movement emerged during the mid-19th century, as did a movement for "home rule". Since 1999, Wales has been granted some legislative power as part of Welsh devolution from the UK parliament, and contemporary Welsh law within the English legal system. At present, the political parties Plaid Cymru, Propel, Gwlad, and the Wales Green Party support Welsh independence, as does the non-partisan YesCymru campaign group.
Opinion polls on Welsh independence show more opposition in Wales to independence than support.
History
Norman Conquest of Wales (1067–1282)
The only king to unite Wales was Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, who ruled as King of Wales from about 1057 until his death in 1063. Fourteen years later the Norman invasion of Wales began, which briefly controlled much of Wales, but by 1100 Anglo-Norman control was reduced to the lowland Gwent, Glamorgan, Gower, and Pembroke, while the contested border region between the Welsh princes and Anglo-Norman barons became known as the Welsh Marches. The remaining territory was divided between native Welsh principalities. The leading principality was Gwynedd, and, with other Welsh princes becoming their vassals, princes of Gwynedd took the title Prince of Wales. Although English monarchs had made several attempts to seize control of the native Welsh territories, it was not until Edward's war of conquest against Llywelyn, the last native prince of Wales, that this was achieved with the death of Llywelyn in 1282.
Revolts
Following the death of his brother, Dafydd ap Gruffydd led the initial revolts, until his capture by English forces and became the first person to be hanged, drawn and quartered for high treason. A cadet member of the House of Aberffraw, Madog ap Llywelyn would lead another nationwide revolt in 1294–1295 with another nobleman, Llywelyn Bren revolting in 1316. While fighting with the French in the Hundred Years' War, Owain Lawgoch also made a number of attempts to create an independent Wales with the support of France in the 1370s.
The most significant revolt against English rule was the Glyndŵr Rising of 1400–1415, which briefly restored Welsh independence. Owain Glyndŵr held the first Welsh parliament (Senedd) in Machynlleth in 1404 where he was proclaimed Prince of Wales and a second parliament in 1405 in Harlech. During the same period, the Penal Laws against the Welsh people was implemented, restraining Welsh rights which were reaffirmed during the 15th century and were not removed from the statute books until the 17th century.
Annexation
During the reign of the King of England Henry VIII, two statutes were passed that are often referred to as the "Acts of Union". The laws incorporated Wales (both the principality and the march) into the King's empire and imposed English law in Wales. Wales was geographically and legally defined, and the laws allowed the Welsh equal status and representation in the English parliament. Nevertheless, the Welsh did not share in legal or political sovereignty and English was insisted as the official language of government, administration and law, which proved to be unpopular.
The Act of Uniformity 1549 made English the language of the reformed church and no provision was made for a Welsh prayer book.
Home rule movement (1881–present)
Independence of church
The march for home rule in Wales began with the movement for disestablishing the Anglican church in Wales, and the first step towards this was the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881. This was the first legislation to acknowledge that Wales had a separate politico-legal character from the rest of the English state. Although the majority of people in Wales belonged to nonconformist chapels, the Church of England enjoyed legal and social privileges. This led to a widespread view that things could be done differently in Wales.
David Lloyd George, MP for what was then "Carnarvon Boroughs" (which also included several other North Wales towns), was committed to the cause of disestablishment, but it was not until 1914 that the Welsh Church Act was passed, giving the Church in Wales the freedom to govern its own affairs. The Act came into effect from 1920.
Cymru Fydd
In response to the Irish demand for "home rule", Liberal prime minister of the UK, William Gladstone proposed two bills on home rule for Ireland in 1886 and 1893, which both failed. In the same year, the Cymru Fydd ("Young Wales") movement was founded to further the cause. The main leaders were David Lloyd George, J. E. Lloyd, O. M. Edwards, T. E. Ellis (leader, MP for Merioneth, 1886–1899) and Beriah Gwynfe Evans. Their goal was a devolved assembly, but the movement was disbanded in 1896 amid personal rivalries.
Home Rule All Round
After the end of the First World War, there was widespread belief that "home rule all round" was an essential part of reformations and discussions of self-government for small nations were considered an essential part of any peace conference. Home rule for Ireland had been enacted via the Government of Ireland Act 1914 but faced opposition from Ulster unionists and the 1916 Easter Rising proving significant. The UK government considered home rule for Wales and Scotland to avoid making a special case for Ireland. In May 1918, a home rule conference for Wales was held in Llandrindod mostly attended by Liberals and a month later, "home rule all round" was in the Labour manifesto. A stance on federalising the UK was agreed by the South Wales Labour Federation and Arthur Henderson believed that a home ruled Wales could be a "modern utopia". Support was widespread in Wales and some Welsh media felt it was imminent.
Liberal Joseph Chamberlain also proposed "Home Rule All Round" for all nations of the United Kingdom, but after the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, "home rule all round" lost support.
Plaid Cymru
In 1925 Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru ("the National Party of Wales") was founded; it was renamed Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales in 1945. The party's principles as defined in 1970 were (1) self government for Wales, (2) to safeguard the culture, traditions, language and economic position of Wales and (3) to secure membership for a self-governing Welsh state in the United Nations. The party's first Westminster seat (MP) was won by Gwynfor Evans in 1966. By 1974 the party had three MPs and in the 2019 general election it won four seats. Following the formation of the Senedd in 1999, Plaid Cymru won 17 of 60 seats in the initial Welsh election of 1999 and 13 seats in 2021. Following the 2026 election, the party became the largest in the Senedd, enabling it to form a government for the first time in its history.
In 1975, Plaid Cymru opposed remaining in the European Communities (EC). The party stated, at the time, that it felt that the EC's regional aid policies would "reconcile places like Wales to their subordinate position". Nevertheless, 65% of Welsh voters voted to remain in the EC in the 1975 referendum. The EC was incorporated into the European Union (EU) in 1993.
A Parliament for Wales
In the 1950s, the deterioration of the British Empire removed a sense of Britishness and there was a realisation that Wales was not as prosperous as south-east England and smaller European countries. Successive Conservative Party victories in Westminster led to suggestions that only through self-government could Wales achieve a government reflecting the votes of a Welsh electorate. The Tryweryn flooding which was voted against by almost every single Welsh MP, suggested that Wales as a nation was powerless. The Epynt clearance in 1940 has also been described as a "significant – but often overlooked – chapter in the history of Wales".
On 1 July 1955, a conference of all parties was called at Llandrindod by the New Wales Union (Welsh: Undeb Cymru Fydd) to consider a national petition for a Parliament for Wales. The main leaders were Megan Lloyd George, the daughter of David Lloyd George, T. I. Ellis, and Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards. According to the historian W. R. P. George, "Megan was responsible for removing much prejudice against the idea of a parliament for Wales". She later presented the petition with 250,000 signatures to the British government in April 1956.
The declaration of Cardiff as the capital of Wales in 1955, the Labour Party's 1959 commitment to appoint a Secretary of State for Wales, the creation of the Welsh Office in 1965, and the repeal of the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 two years later seemed to demonstrate a growing nationalist impetus. However, the heavy defeat for a proposed Welsh Assembly offered by Labour in the 1979 devolution referendum "suggested that the vast majority of the inhabitants of Wales had no desire to see their country having a national future".
In the early 1990s, Labour became committed to devolution for both Scotland and Wales, and in 1997 it was elected with a mandate to hold referendums on a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. The proposed assembly won a narrow majority in the 1997 referendum.
The National Assembly for Wales was formed in 1999, which was renamed Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament in 2020. Since the referendum on Welsh devolution in 1997 and formation of the Senedd (then National Assembly for Wales) in 1999, there has been increased support for and trust in the Senedd, with support for it to receive more devolved powers. Further powers have been granted to the Senedd by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Wales Act 2014, and the Wales Act 2017.
Support for independence has increased from around 14% in 2014 to its highest support of 46% in April 2021 when excluding don't knows. Although in March 2023, a poll showed support for independence had dropped to its lowest level since 2019 to 18%; with the drop potentially being attributed to the prospect of a Labour UK Government. However it increased to another high level in April 2025, with a poll for YesCymru stating 41% supported independence, when excluding don't knows, with 53% of people aged 18 to 24 and 72% of those 25 to 34 supporting it. On the topic of a referendum, a January 2021 YouGov poll found that 47% of people in Wales opposed one within the next five years while 31% supported it.
Independence movement
The independence movement has been present in Wales since the mid-19th century and Plaid Cymru has also campaigned for it throughout the majority of the 20th century, since it was founded in 1925.
In the 21st century, the question of Welsh independence became more prominent following increased discussion on a second Scottish independence referendum.
YesCymru
Non-partisan pro-independence group YesCymru was founded in 2014 and open to the public for membership in 2016. In 2020, the group claimed that they had had a sudden rise in membership with 17,000 members by the end of 2020, partly influenced by the British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Referendum proposals
In 2017, there were plans to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said there needed to be a national debate on Welsh independence. In July 2020, Plaid brought forward a motion to discuss a referendum on Welsh independence, but it was rejected 43 votes to 9. On 24 October 2020, Wales Green Party members voted at their party conference that the party would support Welsh independence in the event of a referendum being held on whether or not Wales should become independent from the United Kingdom. In July 2020, Plaid Cymru tabled a motion for Welsh ministers to seek permission from Westminster for the right of the Senedd to legislate for a Welsh independence referendum. The members of Senedd rejected this motion 43 votes to 9. This was the first time in history that Welsh independence was debated in the Senedd.
On 11 December 2020, Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price stated that if his party won a majority at the 2021 Senedd election, an independence referendum would be held in its first term in office. At Plaid's special conference on independence, held on 13 February 2021, party members formally approved Price's pledge to hold a referendum in or before 2026. In addition to Plaid, three other parties—the Wales Green Party, Gwlad and Propel—stood on a pro-independence platform at the Senedd election. In the 2021 Senedd Election, of 60 seats, Plaid Cymru won 5 Constituency and 8 regional. Gwlad and Propel both won 0.