Alan Trench

The Holtham Commission’s report, published on Tuesday, is a fascinating document.  It illustrates, vividly, an intriguing maxim of devolution in Wales (and the UK more generally): the conservatism of its radicalism.  For the third time now in recent Welsh history, an independent expert commission has looked at important aspects of how Welsh devolution works, and concluded that simply in order to make the underlying principles of the status quo operate properly, there needs to be very substantial changes.  In two of those cases – the Richard Commission in 2004, and Gerald Holtham’s Commission now – politicians have reacted with great caution. Read more...