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Brittle With Relics by Richard King; Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales – reviews

A gritty oral history and a vibrant set of essays examine Wales’s past and its renewed sense of purpose, sparked by a new generation of Welsh speakers

“I n Wales , we are doing things differently,” explains the Welsh government on its website, 25 years after devolution gave it control over matters such as public health, housing, education and the economy.

Covid-19 has upped the ante. In February, Wales became the first home nation to make vaccines available to five-to-11-year-olds, then launched a trial for a universal basic income. It also promoted the idea of a four-day working week (in line with its Well-being of Future Generations Act , the only legislation of its type in the world).

The government also promotes the Welsh language, sparking criticism. In the February issue of the Critic , Jonathan Meades railed against the “totalitarian project” to get a million people speaking Welsh by 2050 ( the current official total stands at 883,000, up by more than 150,000 from 2010 ). The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen also explored the topic in his Radio 4 series Being Welsh , complaining that the drive “to spread the language risks devaluing the identities of Welsh people like me”. You wonder why people choose not to celebrate a tongue that has survived centuries of suppression, but to fear it.

It didn’t pass me by that both men do not live in Wales, but I do; over the past 20 years, I have watched young people becoming the lifeblood of the language. This is clear from the rising popularity of Welsh-language schools and in cross-party, non-nationalist independence campaigns such as YesCymru , which is dominated by younger voices, speaking in English and Welsh.

Richard King talks about a “renewed sense of purpose” – a confidence the country seems to have gained in its separate identity – in the epilogue of Brittle With Relics: A History of Wales, 1962-1997 . But the chapters that precede it reveal how tough to tread the early years were. Beginning with a famous speech in 1962 on the possible extinction of the Welsh language by Saunders Lewis, co-founder of independence party Plaid Cymru, King’s book proceeds through the horrors of the Aberfan disaster , the flooding of a village, Capel Celyn, in the Afon Tryweryn valley in 1965 to create a reservoir to provide water for Liverpool, and the South Wales miners’ strike, as well as previous failed attempts at devolution.

Many rousing stories shine through this gloom: of the first march to Greenham Common from Cardiff, led by Ann Pettitt and Karmen Thomas, and the tales of Super Furry Animals and Gwenno , artists who have given the Welsh language a fresh edge. Brittle With Relics , however, is not a romantic book. Its construction as an oral history allows the story of Wales to appear less varnished, more nuanced, full of grit. Academics, activists, politicians and disaster survivors stand alongside the actor and now campaigner Michael Sheen, who has moved back to Port Talbot, Swansea’s former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Tredegar’s Neil Kinnock.

The latter’s youthful recollections are particularly fascinating – he grew up around the Welsh valleys town of Tredegar, home to the Workmen’s Medical Aid Society, which inspired Aneurin Bevan to found the NHS. Here, locals also contributed a penny a week to fund a huge local library, snooker hall and 2,000-capacity concert hall, where Kinnock watched many famous opera singers perform.

He also recounts his time as a young teacher at the Aberfan Workers’ Education Association in 1966, and the day he arrived at the village shortly after the slurry slip that killed 116 schoolchildren. “We realised after an hour or so that there was nothing we could do,” he says.

We hear, too, about the 14-year-old James Dean Bradfield, later the frontman of Manic Street Preachers, buying Kinnock his tobacco on the day of the 1983 general election on the orders of his dad. Grammy-nominated producer David Wrench (Caribou, Sampha, FKA twigs) remembers raves he attended in caves, while BBC 6 Music DJ Huw Stephens also talks about his late father, Meic, who was responsible for the famous graffiti saying “Cofiwch Dryweryn” (Remember Tryweryn) just before the village was drowned.

Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales offers a collection of younger, more racially diverse voices, alongside establishment figures such as Niall Griffiths and the Wales Arts’ Review ’s Gary Raymond. The editors include Swansea’s Darren Chetty, whose essay Whatever Happened to the Black Boy of Killay?, about a pub near his childhood home (and mine), hit me hard. Written from the perspective of a local with Welsh Indian and South African Dutch ancestry, it examines the removal of the pub sign and the stubbornness of the people who held on to its name, subtly underlining the racism endemic there, then and now.

The stunning writing of Kandace Siobhan Walker (who explores the Brecon Beacons, Blackness and a lack of belonging) and a brutal attack documented by Shaheen Sutton also stress that Wales is no utopia. Reading these voices under the label of Welshness is an energising experience, nevertheless, reminding us of how far the country has come and, also, how far it has to go.

Brittle With Relics: A History of Wales, 1962-1997 by Richard King is published by Faber (£25). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com . Delivery charges may apply

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Review: The impact of devolution in Wales – Essays edited by Jane Williams and Aled Eirug

Sarah Tanburn

Rhodri Morgan’s long shadow still looms over Welsh policy making and analysis, amply demonstrated by this book of essays due out shortly from University of Wales Press. The sub-title is Social Democracy with a Welsh Stripe and it is intended to accompany Rhodri Morgan’s personal memoir.

The distinguished collection of contributors explore the notion of a distinctive Welsh approach to policy without any insistence on, even an avoidance of, nationalism and deeply rooted in the evolution of Welsh structures and governance since 1999.

Across health, education, development and international relations, equalities and rights, the essays asks if such a stripe can be distinguished in key policy areas, and what difference it has made to the lives of people in Wales.

Geraint Talfan Davies gives the relevant warning that:

‘commentary on devolution in Wales during those first two decades tends to fall into one of two categories: patient understanding of the growth of a fragile new institution … and less patient frustration that the institution’s achievements have not been sufficiently impressive and radical, and have not realised the highest hopes that were placed in it by its proponents. ’

Other reviewers might be more embedded in Welsh politics than I am, and so, besides falling into one of these traps, be more minded to comment on this detail or that of events in the last twenty years.

Instead, I shall focus on what lessons might be taken from the book as a whole, and what that might suggest for the future.

Overall this is an elegant and nuanced study, filled with detailed knowledge and very well referenced. Any serious student of Welsh politics should have it on their shelves. Nonetheless, I would like to see the sequel, a request of which more below.

From multi-level evolution to disruption for its own sake

It is particularly important to note issues of timing, while recognising that the referendum was not ‘year zero’ for distinctively Welsh policy development, as the history of promoting Cymraeg, of developing an holistic approach to policy or to exporting Welsh culture all illustrate.

The first decade of devolution took place with a Labour government in Westminster, relatively beneficent public spending regimes and ongoing increases in the budget for the Wales Assembly Government.

The narrow majority in the first referendum put pressure on those early representatives to demonstrate genuine improvement from devolution, but they could work in relative partnership with Westminster and considerable stability.

Throughout Morgan’s tenure as First Minister he dealt with just two prime ministers and two chancellors in Blair, Brown and Darling. By comparison, in four years Mark Drakeford is on his fourth PM and fifth Chancellor. Of these, the longest Downing Street resident is Sunak, despite only entering Parliament seven years ago.

The second decade brought Osborne’s austerity to Westminster and a very different attitude to devolution. Of course, we have also had the 2016 referendum and the increasing turbulence which has followed. In his article on sustainable development, Terry Marsden accurately describes this as a move from multi-level to disruptive governance.

When I wrote Wales, the United Kingdom and Europe in 2013, it was indeed a different age, even given the centralising impact of global financial collapse and the consequent hit on European regionalism.

The disruption has of course accelerated: when Marsden wrote this essay, Johnson seemed secure in No. 10 and the nightmare of Truss’s ‘fiscal event’ was not even imagined.

Despite the enormous challenges of such disruption, there is clearly an electoral appetite for it, whether in the vote to leave the EU or the Welsh support for Truss herself (including from the newly appointed Welsh Secretary).

Marsden is writing specifically about a proper alignment of food policy, greater economic equity, and addressing environmental catastrophe, but his words apply to many other areas of policy development:

‘The analysis and recommendations have demonstrated the need to find collective hope and energy in exploring the real paradoxes that this disruptive governance also creates.

These are opportunities to re-set and redesign former sectoral, fragmented and unevenly devolved policies and competences in ways that meet now the wider [sustainable development and climate change] goals our international, as well as national, public commitments demand….

That is what present and future generations will expect of today’s governments, and that is what is embedded in Wales’s Well Being of Future Generations Act. .. This is what the onset of disruptive governance is in part telling us, and why its critical analysis both in the UK and beyond is of vital importance in … an enlivened debate about participative and devolved forms of effective democratic governance.’

The book as a whole demonstrates that global discontinuities, from climate crisis to ongoing technological revolution, play out in institutions and governance, and that the ways policy makers and legislators respond will matter for people’s everyday lives and long term futures.

Marsden and, to a lesser extent, Geraint Talfan Davies point both to the ambition for disruption explicit in narratives from Farage to Kwarteng and to the opportunities it might represent for Wales.

While the current Welsh Government has been applauded for calmness during Covid, and (at least in that context) prioritising communication which treats the public like adults, the world around us is in upheaval: are the authorities in Cardiff Bay willing, able and ready to address that reality?

In a range of proposals which sometimes smack of rearranging the deck chairs of government rather than fundamentally addressing the purpose of the voyage, the importance of reinstating a Minister for International Affairs stands out.

If Wales is to assert its position as a mature, functioning country capable of considerable impact despite the difficulties in London, this is a significant and relatively straightforward step.

Wales does have levers, from the world-leading Wellbeing Act, to the disproportionate reach of our sport and culture, to our role in agri-business but we are not yet using them sufficiently. A number of common themes across these policy essays suggest why.

A pass mark, but could do better

Every author in this volume identifies a Welsh stripe in the area of policy they examine, the much touted clear red water between Westminster policy and Cardiff.

The standout is of course the Wellbeing Act, but we can also highlight, for example, basing children’s engagement and services on rights, a distinctive approach to qualifications and the ongoing resistance to marketisation in health or schools.

In each area, there is plenty of evidence of innovation and value-driven development in domestic policy.

It is also interesting to note the comparisons used both by these analysts and by politicians. Despite the media insistence on comparisons with our wealthy neighbour, there are better places to look, small countries like Singapore, Finland and Czechia. Yet the researchers themselves sometimes do not look far enough.

There are over 8 million Catalan speakers spread across Spain, France, Italy and Andorra, for example. Te Reo Māori, another poster child for linguistic resurgence, has just 183,000 speakers, almost all in one administration. Wide-reaching internationalism in policy and outlook can only bolster Welsh innovation.

There are identified successes, not least the Welsh approach to the UK’s withdrawal from the Europe-wide Erasmus scheme encouraging student exchange and building collaborations. Geraint Talfan Davies says:

‘Taken together, the Erasmus replacement scheme and the Global Wales initiative present a case par excellence of a devolved administration pushing its way further into the international arena from the base of its devolved powers . ’

We can also recognise the importance of the Welsh approach to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Jane Sullivan summarises the first decade’s adoption of the Convention by saying:

‘[P]romotion of child rights-aligned policies played to strengths within the Assembly at a time when Welsh devolution was often seen as the weaker sibling of devolution elsewhere in the UK.

It provided an opportunity to demonstrate that Welsh devolution enabled distinct, principled policy developed through collaboration and consensus, not only between political parties but also with voluntary and statutory sectors and with children and young people themselves.

And it offered positive exposure on the world stage: an opportunity to present Welsh innovation in policy and law reform in favourable contrast to other countries in the UK, especially England, and the world.’

Her words show the mixture of motivations that influence more than one policy arena: the importance of policy driven by values of participation and justice, the drive to promote the benefits of self-determination, the ambition for cross-sector and multiparty consensus and the desire to be seen on the world stage.

Despite these laudable ambitions, a common thread in these studies is the recognition that innovative thinking has not been matched by life-changing delivery, particularly for many of our most disadvantaged children and young people.

Inevitably, such failures are normally attributed to external lacks – of power, resources, or even media shortcomings.

These of course are real. In addition, though, these analyses suggest three key internal barriers: a failure to join plans up and take a bold, holistic approach to sustained change; insufficient rigour in governance structures and, perhaps most of all, the group think engendered by a closed circle of so-called partnership and inward-looking policy making.

Making the big leaps

‘Boldness’ has gained something of a bad reputation in recent months, yet it must be admitted that big changes need both the vision of what our society can be, and the rigorous decision making needed to carry it through. And in a disrupting world context, clear vision needs to be accompanied by evidence-based, sustained interventions undertaken within a robust governance framework.

Children living in poverty are of course particularly vulnerable. Jane Williams reminds us that:

Wales has continued to have the highest percentage rates in the UK of relative income poverty for all age groups.  Of all age groups, children are most likely to be in relative income poverty and children in lone parent and larger families, some BAME families, workless households and in households with a disabled adult or child are disproportionately affected. 

Pre-COVID-19 data covering the periods 2015–18 show 29 per cent of children in Wales living in relative income poverty, and by reference to multiple indicators, children in poor families were on average living further below the poverty line and experiencing poorer outcomes in 2018 than in 2013.

The impact of COVID-19 has yet to be fully appreciated, but evidence suggests that it has worsened and will continue to worsen the situation, specifically exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. … [I]t remains the case that pupils in receipt of free school meals scored lower and school exclusions, which increased in a 4-year period from 2015, disproportionately affect children from poorer backgrounds, additional learning needs and some protected characteristics and the rate of permanent exclusions doubled between 2014/15 and 2017/18 and has continued to increase.

A sobering statistic is that at the end of the ‘well-being’ decade in Welsh policy, pupils in Wales were less satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, more likely to feel miserable and worried, and less likely to feel joyful, cheerful or proud.

Such figures make sobering reading indeed.

Thus In considering educational achievement, there is a clear need to reduce (rather than re-arrange) the number of organisations involved in setting policy but not in actually educating children, while also significantly enhancing the capacity of educators and school leaders.

There have been numerous efforts in this direction, yet as David Egan makes clear, there is still a great deal of talk and not enough real outcomes in classrooms.

By comparison, Williams points to recent actions addressing poverty taken by Welsh government during the COVID-19 pandemic, including increasing benefits take-up, progression of support such as free school meals, period products and access to cultural and leisure activities, alongside pupil development grant and better public transport access for young people.

Various forms of discretionary assistance and financial advice services are being enhanced. It is interesting that housing issues are omitted from this list and indeed from the whole book. It is a crucial area for Wales and one where almost all relevant policy is devolved, unlike control over most benefits.

The latest plan does include milestones and data collection, essential if policy is to learn from what works rather than starting from scratch in each political cycle.

Such information will enable policy-makers to see if such direct interventions, alongside praiseworthy, rights-based actions, really make a difference to those who need it most, improving educational outcomes and life chances by a clear focus on the front line rather than organisational musical chairs.

Scrutiny and capacity

Although not directly examined in this collection, there is widespread recognition of the need for a larger Senedd.

Despite cross-party agreement to the principle, there is still a lack of transparency about the process and a confused approach to creating the electoral lists, as Professor Laura McAllister set out in a recent article for the Constitution Unit of UCL.

At its heart, there is a lack of scrutiny of the work of the executive, and insufficient separation of powers between that executive and the legislature.

Wales is of course dominated almost exclusively by Labour, despite various partnerships with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats.

However one individual might vote, there are obvious risks to such long-standing control, which should be matched by an emphasis on probity, openness and accountability. Instead, as these analysts show, the opposite is true.

To give one example, in the detailed implementation of the Government of Wales Act, responsibility for both the Childrens’ Commissioner and Funky Dragon (predecessor to Young Wales and ultimately the Welsh Youth Parliament) went not to the legislature (now the Senedd) but to the executive. Williams says:

‘This was odd, because both functions, one statutory and one discretionary, were purposed towards holding the executive to account, which would have been better aligned with the purpose of the parliamentary function in the evolving Welsh constitution.’

In general, this chimes with a weak process of scrutinising emerging legislation, with Senedd Committees hugely overstretched by the current raft of responsibilities, limited evidential capacity on existing impact and, perhaps most worrying, a failure of political leadership to even understand the importance of their transparency.

There are also ambiguities and inconsistencies, betraying an incomplete over-arching vision of what government is for . Williams again, speaking of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 noted the tendency

‘towards absorption of rights, with their internationally recognised, normative value, into the more malleable and less enforceable concept of well-being. … [T]he focus on well-being in the legislation as the cornerstone to good administration has led to the marginalisation of other foundations, e.g., human rights, equality, and specifically, principles of administrative justice that had been developed for Wales.’

There is a conflict between the much-admired sustainable development principles of WFG Act and how wellbeing may be seen to undermine the approach to embedded rights and more formal approaches to social justice.

We can spot a missed opportunity for a cross-governmental holistic approach in the ‘international strategy’ of late 2019. Geraint Talfan Davies spells out that

‘On the business and research front it wants to focus on three areas in particular: cyber security, compound semi-conductors and the creative industries. Some business people would have liked that list to be longer, but those who in the past have criticised the government for failing to prioritise can hardly complain.’

Despite his strictures on list-making, the strategy makes little or no reference to food production and agri-business, discussed in illuminating detail by Marsden. Tourism or energy are also fundamental to Wales’ development of a higher-value and resilient economy, yet they too are omitted.

Such mis-alignments matter in a government so consciously and determinedly driven by its values. If the Welsh stripe is to mean anything, it is in the values underpinning policy and governance and yet we can see here the ambiguities which in turn undermine boldness in delivery.

Longevity, partnerships and exclusion

Our third barrier to sustained change is evident almost in the cast list of the book itself. Many names echo from the 1980’s onwards.

The most prominent today is of course Mark Drakeford himself, the man largely responsible for the original notion of ‘clear red water.’ In addition to the evidence in this text, he said as much in his recent interview with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart.

Adam Price is quoted by Eurig calling the creation of Welsh Labour a ‘master stroke’ which ‘stole Plaid’s intellectual territory.’ Clearly, however, the two men have found a way to work together in close partnership today.

This is further evidence, if it was needed, of the ambition of the political leadership of Wales to find collaboration and partnership to develop policy.

Elin Royles and Paul Chaney remind us that such notions have always been central to the campaign for and delivery of devolution. Their excellent essay examines the notions of ‘civil society’, ‘equalities’ and ‘inclusion’ as they have played out in practice, and draws some important conclusions.

They suggest, with good evidence, that in some arenas the devolved government has enabled more participative structures, exemplified by the considerably greater visibility and volume afforded to Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities today compared to the earlier, lamentable record and the failure to elect any ethnic minority candidate to the Assembly till 2007.

Highlighted here is also the growth in the number of women elected to the Senedd (a cause for congratulation in other essays too), although less attention is paid to the many other structural, sex-based inequalities in Wales, such as the very poor rate of convictions for sexual assault or rape.

Even when these are not devolved areas, the Senedd and Welsh Government must recognise the ongoing specific challenges facing women and people of colour, despite progress in representation.

I have noted above that a fully holistic approach has not been achieved, which undermines genuine understanding of plurality and inclusion.

Nonetheless, this commitment has led to a greater involvement of marginalised groups in policy making, not least through the use of the language and some of the techniques of ‘mainstreaming’ equalities, with a greater ‘system openness’ evident on many topics.

In this respect, there is indeed clear water both between Cardiff and Westminster and in the developments from the pre-devolution closed shop of the Welsh Office, with the language of equality now embedded in policy and legislation.

In addition, Royles and Chaney identify the early promotion of networks to facilitate engagement of under-represented groups, and the statutory equality duty contained in Welsh governance legislation. The latter remains unique amongst the devolved administrations and is robust both in its phasing and in much associated guidance.

Thus, from the beginning an apparent commitment to a stronger civil society, to more inclusion and to redressing historic inequality in representation, was baked in to the way the Assembly and now the Senedd expects to function.

The authors, however, also point to early concerns that some of the mechanisms put in place might have negative democratic consequences. Considerable funding has been invested in capacity development and policy networks intended to

‘facilitate activism and voluntary activity, and … to channel grass- roots views into the policy process as part of influencing policy-making.’

These concerns have materialised in some systemic failings. A study as early as 2007 found:

‘Increasing power inequalities between professionalised organisations with well-developed lobbying capabilities, both formally and informally, and those with limited resources. In addition to some organisations having the advantage of being better equipped to be represented in the political process than others, there was evidence that devolved institutions exacerbated existing inequalities. More exclusive relations were forged with some organisations , particularly through receipt of Welsh Government funding and support for policy networks.

..[T]he devolved government’s engagement methods lacked adequate recognition of the risks of creating more exclusive relations that could result in issues regarding the representativeness of organisations, increasing inequalities within civil society with repercussions for the relative autonomy of organisations, including challenging their propensity to scrutinise government as expected in a vibrant democracy.‘ (Emphases mine)

The clear risk is that in paying some organisations to develop robust networks to represent and engage specific marginalised communities, they become lobby agencies for particular agendas.

Because the Senedd is so stretched, those lobbying agencies become the source (and in some cases the author) of policy documents ostensibly the property of Welsh Government itself.

Those partnerships, originally created to promote diversity and inclusion become the originators and endorsers of specific interests from which contrary voices may be actively excluded.

This challenge is borne out by research. The authors cite Rebecca Rumbul’s study of scrutiny in Wales, arguing that activist citizens outside the charmed circle of funded partners feel:

‘disengaged, disillusioned and disregarded by the political and public sector institutions in Wales, … Of particular concern were assertions of ‘institutional lethargy’ on the part of WG in its approach to broadening the participation of civil society in policy development and delivery beyond the ‘usual suspects’.’

As one outside that circle, I have seen these mechanisms operate across diverse topics, from forestry ownership to sex-based rights to the choice of a dignified death.

Informed voices who do not adhere to the agenda of established and funded partners find it impossible to gain even a basic audience with Welsh Government representatives. In effect, criticism of the pre-determined lobby agenda is silenced.

This is a sore failing in a maturing social democracy. Closed minds and suppression of dissent can only inhibit sustainable delivery and count against the presumed success of a distinctive Welsh approach to inclusion and social justice.

As Williams concludes, these are:

‘key ongoing challenges in realising the vision of social democracy with a Welsh stripe; particularly addressing … the need for sustained efforts to enable a critical, diverse and independent civil society as an essential ingredient of a revitalised and healthy Welsh democracy.‘

So what about that sequel?

This structured and important research shows clearly Wales has all the intellectual capacity to create a genuinely rooted, imaginative and committed government, even when that brainpower is stymied by shortage of resources for evidence and too small a Senedd.

Yet delivery is frustrated and remains timid. These essays suggest a cross-Senedd lack of boldness and holistic vision. They reveal a charmed inner circle engaged in group-think and a lack of serious challenge or scrutiny. These are all solid but demountable barriers to ambition.

A worthy sequel to this book would be an review of routes to overcoming those barriers. It would be well evidenced but accessible to the lay reader. Such a book would offer government tools to open up to robust debate, trusting all its citizens to have a voice.

It would encourage everyone involved in policy to understand each other’s constraints and drivers – from the interaction of family farms with the survival of the Welsh language, to the importance of railway management to women’s incomes.

And it would offer concerned citizens and activists the promise that Welsh Government, whatever its party dominance, has a meaningful commitment to improving the participation, environment and lives of everyone in Wales.

I look forward to the day I can shelve such a volume alongside this collection.

The Impact of Devolution in Wales: Social Democracy with a Welsh Stripe ? is published by University of Wales Press and available here or from good bookshops

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Home » The Welsh Agenda » Culture » Review: The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution

Review: The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution

Dylan Moore shares his thoughts on The Welsh Way, a new anthology of essays decrying the hold of neoliberal values in the Welsh public sphere.

The Welsh Way begins with an introduction attributed to the 400-page volume’s three editors, Daniel Evans, Kieron Smith and Huw Williams.

It gives a broad overview of the consensus that governs Wales’ public sphere centred on a pre-pandemic speech by Mark Drakeford which ‘had it all: radicalism, a sense of a Wales that is distinct (and always defined against England as a yardstick) in its pursuit of equality, motivated by hagiographic notions of Wales’ radical socialist past’.

The authors contend that this ‘narrative of Welsh social democratic distinctiveness’ – which, let’s be honest, we all recognise – has become ‘an article of faith… widely accepted by the Welsh political class (consisting not just of politicians, but academics, journalists and commentators)’. The book’s central thesis is that the picture painted by Drakeford and by extension by all of us is ‘not remotely true’; it substantiates this repudiation in twenty-three essays that take Welsh Labour to task across a full gamut of social and policy fields.

‘Wales is… a deeply neoliberal country’ they say, and the evidence is overwhelming – and damning. Devolution is a ‘passive revolution’ that has resulted in ‘the continued collapse of Welsh society under the pressures of late capitalism’; ‘the Welsh Way is to play the subordinate partner in… relations with international capital’ and to ‘tinker around the edges’. Policies hailed as Welsh Government success stories – ‘plastic bag charges, 20mph speed limits, banning pavement parking [are] small gestures within a system that continues to immiserate people.’ 

‘The Welsh Way is a full frontal attack: jabs, hooks and near-fatal body blows delivered from the Left.

Let me begin, then, by admitting the presence of a log in my own eye. Editing a current affairs magazine for a leading Welsh think tank, there is of course a danger that I, together with this very magazine and the IWA more widely, are a part of the very ecosystem that perpetuates cosy consensus and thereby facilitates neoliberal orthodoxy and props up political timidity.

Having said this, however, the bibliographies following each essay reveal that around a third of the book’s contributors draw upon articles published in the welsh agenda . So at the very least we are hosting the debate – although this is little succour when that debate characterises our nation, with stacks of evidence, as a place of ‘nuclear colonialism’ (Robat Idris); ‘marketisation of universities’ (Joe Healey); ‘a lack of affordable housing’ (Steffan Evans); ‘the highest rate of incarceration in western Europe’ (Polly Manning); and ‘discriminative policing’ against both ethnic minorities and the homeless (Mike Harrison).

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Former IWA Chair Geraint Talfan Davies has often called Wales ‘the land of the pulled punch’, and if this has for many years been true, with a soft and consensual centre-left fending off occasional aimless roundhouses from the Right, The Welsh Way is a full frontal attack: jabs, hooks and near-fatal body blows delivered from the Left.

‘Unsurprisingly, neoliberalism is held to make little sense of ‘something as basically, unquantifiably, elusively human’ as culture.

A central section of the volume is organised by ‘Policy Fields’ and I turn first to the areas where I have personally experienced the so-called ‘Welsh Way’ on the ground.

Dan Evans’ piece on education, ‘Standardising Wales’ rings immediately true:

‘In a world where everything is quantifiable, teaching and education now focus on producing data . Schools test children to track their progress, and schools and teachers themselves must be tested to ensure they are delivering high quality services. This culture forces schools to compete with one another… discourages solidarity and encourages overwhelmed teachers to begin “teaching to the test”.’

Evans sees ‘some progressive and ostensibly laudable ideas’ in the new curriculum but a fundamental contradiction in its wedding to ‘the logic of neoliberalism education’, governed by Wales’ overriding obsession with PISA rankings.

On Culture, Kieron Smith inevitably begins with a long quotation from the Welsh godfather of its complex definition, Raymond Williams, before encapsulating it in a pithy and rather beautiful phrase of his own: ‘the very stuff of the individual and collective soul’. It is a welcome intrusion on the relentlessly Marxist framework for the book’s overall analysis, which predictably relegates spiritual aspects of the human condition beneath material concerns.

Unsurprisingly, neoliberalism is held to make little sense of ‘something as basically, unquantifiably, elusively human’ as culture. A similar claim could be levelled about Marxism and the soul, and to this we will return in conclusion. 

Smith goes on to use Raymond Williams’ distinction between cultural policy ‘proper’ and the concept of ‘display’ to interrogate the way ‘arts organisations… are expected to pick up the slack of a state that has failed to look after its most vulnerable’. As with education, the bureaucratisation of arts funding is immediately recognisable to one who has experienced the system.

‘Much more compassionate rhetoric emanates from Cardiff Bay than from Westminster, but it makes little difference to people’s lives.

More seriously still, Rhian E. Jones’ critique of ‘Institutional vs. Grassroots Representation’ in the arts and culture is equally unerring: ‘under neoliberalism… culture [is] increasingly pitched in terms of instrumental value rather than intrinsic worth’. She lists the National Eisteddfod, Brecon Jazz and Hay Festival as being used vacuously to ‘promote’ Wales, rather than ‘exploring or critiquing it more deeply’.

Jones also rightly points out ‘closures, cuts and downgrading’ of ‘libraries, cultural facilities [and] independent music venues’ as symptoms of ‘austerity’ associated with UK Conservative Governments, but – and here is the point The Welsh Way hammers home repeatedly – unmitigated by a timid and complacent Welsh Labour Government in Wales that has more tools within the current devolution settlement to build a truly different kind of society than they would have the Welsh people believe. 

One area where Welsh Government is beholden to UK-wide policy is immigration and asylum. Much more compassionate rhetoric emanates from Cardiff Bay than from Westminster, but it makes little difference to people’s lives.

As Faith Clark puts it: ‘the reality of seeking sanctuary in Wales is little different to seeking it elsewhere in the UK.’ For all that phrases like ‘A Tolerant Nation’ and ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ have become currency in Wales, in pointed contrast with the ‘hostile environment’ dreamt up in Whitehall, this language can be contested with the question marks that accompanied both the title of the University of Wales Press volume that ‘Revisit[ed] Ethnic Diversity in a Devolved Wales’ and that of Clark’s essay here. Our conclusion must be that, just like ‘clear red water’, such phrases serve as midwives to a pernicious status quo in which Welsh realities are masked by the comfort of endlessly repeating empty ideals.

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I have no doubt about the good intentions of many of our Senedd politicians, some of whom I know personally to be warm, caring and hard working individuals. But there can be no doubt that The Welsh Way is a wake up call. For Senedd members, and – let’s break the fourth wall here – for all of us. (When ‘we’ write ‘us’ in articles like this one, we should admit that ‘we’ are talking to ‘ourselves’ – other members of the ‘political class’ – academics, journalists and third sector good eggs, doing our little bit to mitigate the worst effects of a system we are failing to overturn).

And let’s also say this: even The Welsh Way , with its laudable commitment to social justice, its unpulled punches and its gender balanced range of contributors, hardly represents the collective lived experience of the people of Wales. Its editors make a point of claiming that ‘unlike most other books on Welsh policy [it is] written in the main by those on the margins of academia and the mainstream commentariat; PhD students, early career academics, ex-academics and activists.’

I have no doubt that many of the contributors have indeed experienced precarity, but it must also be recognised that this loose collective of marginalised academics represent a very narrow milieu of Welsh life. 

‘Any campaign for the improvement of workers’ rights to live and work in more humane conditions must demand something truly new.’

What we need much more of – and I am thinking internally here too, reflecting on my own practice as a teacher, writer, editor and some-time activist, as well as about the IWA – is the type of platforming presented in the final piece of this volume.

‘Interview with Butetown Matters’ gives voice to Shutha, Nirushan and Elbashir, three young people from south Cardiff who talk about their own experiences: that ‘it’s not exactly the kind of place where you are granted much opportunity’ (Bash); ‘we regularly feel let down by the authorities and those in power’ (Nirushan) and ‘you’ll get people coming into schools, the police telling you not to use drugs, don’t do this, don’t do that… but nobody talking to us about the right things to do’ (Shutha).

These are vital voices if we are ever to emerge from the national malaise the book identifies.

One step removed from this approach, Frances Williams’ piece on ‘How the High Ideals of The Well-being of Future Generations Act Have Fallen Short’ draws on her PhD research as a ‘participant observer within community groups at “the receiving end” of policy’. This depressing phrase comes from a volunteer’s characterisation of ‘the dynamic at play’. Awful because it speaks of people having policy – schemes, programmes, action plans  – done to them rather than with or even for them; depressing because true. 

I turn finally to Gareth Leaman’s piece: ‘Washed Up on Severnside: Life, Work and Capital on the Border of South-East Wales’. After the ‘Policy Fields’ I have worked in, here is a ‘View of a Neoliberal Wales’ from the place I call home. How much will I recognise amid the ‘post-industrial ruination’?

The writer excoriates the Western Gateway project that has seen the UK and Welsh Governments, and local councils, ‘complicit in… granting the residents of Gwent the freedom to devote all their waking hours to precarious, underpaid and unfulfilling jobs, and the freedom to coat their lungs in carbon monoxide in pursuit of this debasement’.

Leaman identifies gentrification and deregulation as neoliberal tools to disrupt and dissolve social cohesion. He goes on to analyse the way class tensions resulting from an influx of middle class Bristolians to working class Newport can be passed off as anti-English xenophobia. 

‘Unconditional love, community and hope transcend the material world that bound a Marxist analytical framework.

Leaman posits Mark Fisher’s concept of ‘red belonging’ – an ‘unconditional care without community (it doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are, we will care for you anyway)’ as a way out – and fittingly for a volume that owes so much of its theoretical underpinning to the work of Raymond Williams, ends with a search for resources of hope: ‘Any campaign for the improvement of workers’ rights to live and work in more humane conditions must demand something truly new’. He quotes Matt Colquhoun: ‘a form of existence which cannot be expressed in capitalist vocabulary’. It is the glimmer of a dream: to ‘demand more out of what it means to live, and never stop fighting for it’. A new Welsh Way. 

If only we could find the beginning of the path.

For that, the humility of removing logs from our eyes will be painful but essential. We would do well to revisit the teachings of the one who first used the metaphor – in Matthew 7:5 and Luke 6:42. This is not to suggest rehashing hagiographic notions of Wales’ Christian nonconformist past to match or replace the radical socialist ones, but gently to posit the notion that there are forms of existence outside of capitalist vocabulary and neoliberal hegemony.

The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution

Eds. Daniel Evans, Kieron Smith, Huw Williams Parthian, 2021

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The Welsh Way | Essays

Adam Somerset reviews The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution , a collection of essays considering the emergence of neoliberalism in Wales and routes to an alternative and brighter future for the country.

At First Minister’s Questions in December 2019, Mark Drakeford responded to a question from Adam Price by accusing Plaid Cymru of “running down Wales at every opportunity”. In March 2020, then Economy Minister Ken Skates opened a Senedd debate by claiming, “I welcome scrutiny; it is right and proper that the National Assembly scrutinises the Welsh Government […] However, it is not right and proper to talk down the airport”. His Labour colleague and backbencher Rhianon Passmore echoed, “It is time for all to stand up for Wales and to end the talking down of Wales”.

A clear message underlies these exchanges; government and nation are interchangeable. To assault government is to assault nation. There is nothing new about this sort of political narrative – Thatcher urged her critics to “stop talking Britain down” in the later years of her premiership – but that this sort of language has made its way into Welsh political discourse is certainly interesting. The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution investigates the culture that has turned an exchange on the floor of the Senedd into a slight on Wales itself.

This is far from the first critical commentary on Welsh political discourse, but what has been published thus far is scattered across the internet. This new collection from Parthian Books is four hundred pages of concentrated interrogation and debate on the direction of Welsh politics, culture and society.  The book’s intellectual roots have been nurturing for a while. In 2015, Daniel Evans, one of the three editors, wrote for the Institute of Welsh Affairs that “Wales’ media and intellectuals […] have utterly failed the population. By buying into the hyperbole which surrounded devolution, both these institutions have failed to speak truth to power in Wales”. The twenty four essays that make up The Welsh Way may or may not speak truth, but they certainly speak to power in a way that is broad and unrelenting. 

The three-authored introduction sets the tone: “Welsh Labour’s relentless self-mythologising […] achieved little except to shore up Labour’s dominance in this struggling, disenfranchised, poverty-ridden enclave of the British Isles.” They reject “Welsh Labour’s narrative of kindness and success” and claim that the contributors to The Welsh Way “challenge the lazy claims made in Welsh government policy documents, regurgitated by the media and the political class”. Government activity, they say, focuses on “tinkering […] plastic bag charges, speed limits […] small gestures within a system that continues to immiserate.”

A hand-made sign on the main road in the Aeron valley a few years back read “Brad” (Treachery). The cause was the disappearance of a factory. It was there for a few years, with £20 million of Welsh government money to ease it in, then one day – bam – gone. Sam Parry attacks the whole foundation of economic policy, distinguishing between “asset-exploiting” and “asset-augmenting” activity. Wind power generation is just another natural resource for the benefit of out-of-Wales companies and consumers. 

One of the book’s central and recurring arguments is that the government not only lacks will but is deficient in competence. There are details of £4 million spent on a site for Ineos, only for the automotive company to pull out, of the failed Pinewood Studios project, of almost half a million lost because of a forgotten VAT liability, and of £6 million spent on a dilapidated building which lacked a full survey. The Circuit of Wales , the Techniums , and more add to this list of failures. 

Some of the authors home in on specific actions and policies. Angharad Tomos writes that planning policy erodes the Welsh language in describing linguistic preference as discrimination. Mabli Siriol Jones reports that childcare policy “offers benefits to some of Wales’ wealthiest families while giving nothing to the poorest”.  Underpinning the whole Labour enterprise is the preference for declaration over substance. A language target is set for decades ahead while another primary school in Gwynedd closes in 2021. Action, says Jones, leans towards “new procedures, training programmes and awareness-raising campaigns”.

Dan Evans tracks in fine detail the holders of the education ministerial portfolio. Polly Manning writes that the fifth value for staff at Berwyn prison is “bizarrely […] to embrace Welsh culture and tradition”. Georgia Burdett on health and social care describes the government approach as “head in the sand.”

Robat Idris compiles his list of failures: democracy, economy and future generations. Francis Williams heads her essay: “First as Comedy, then as Tragedy: How the High Ideals of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act Have Fallen Short.” The notes refer to the appointment of the Commissioner – not an economist, but a Labour loyalist; “it doesn’t appear that she has the qualifications or an interest in this field” said the opposition front-bencher.

Many will contest this book, but while its catalogue might be dispiriting, William Blake might be remembered: “Without contraries there is no progression” and “opposition is true friendship”. 

As an entity, The Welsh Way is stronger in parts than as a whole. The editors permit erroneous private biography to intrude and parts lack the crucial detail of reportage. The essay on universities is a cut-and-paste job from the public domain, making no mention of vice-chancellor dismissals, bogus CVs, and torrid episodes at the University of Wales . An essay from Severnside is composed in dead prose, lacking much connection to Wales or indeed to any real human beings. 

Then, there are the names that many of the young generation have barely heard of trotted out repeatedly: Pinochet, Reagan, Blair. Populism barely features. The literary references are antique: Fanon, Hegel, Gramsci. In fact, as Simon Brooks has written, Hegel never took root in Wales. There is no evidence of much reading from the last decade: no Brooks himself, no Lind or Goodhart or Haidt. 

At times the editing leaves plenty to be desired. There are a litany of typos and grammatical errors, and often assertion is given without evidence. Welsh is “a language steeped in the farm and its metaphors” apparently, yet no example is given. Queer farmers are declared as disruptive but we are not told how.

You can sense the urge of the writers to declare the exceptionalism of Wales, but this is sometimes without evidence or historical comparison. We are told that “Wales is often renowned for its warm, friendly locals” (locals?) and has a history of being a “welcoming” nation. There’s no mention though of anti-Semitic rioting , of immigrants dropped in the mud of the Usk or landed at night to evade attack. This strand of comment, that Wales possesses a non-material superiority, has a tradition. It dates back at least to Matthew Arnold in 1867.

But there are hard facts here. The census of 2021 is likely to reveal population decline in the west and north, the language in retreat. House-building in Chepstow is being bought by Bristolians, the absence of tolls an incentive. Farmland in the upper Tywi valley is changing hands, companies outbidding individuals. 

Rural Wales is poorly served by an essay. “We have offered little in the way of practical solutions or policy suggestions,” says the author, copping out. This is a time of the all-Wales nitrate vulnerable zones being imposed, extending from 2.4% of the land area to the whole lot. The unions fear consequences of destocking, thus making farmers poorer, or obliging them to buy more land. A £360m infrastructure figure is calculated by the Welsh government. This is serious and affects real people of Wales.

The Welsh Way has its omissions, obscurities and variations in quality, but it is an assertive, uncompromising and significant addition to the public sphere.

The Welsh Way: Essays on Neoliberalism and Devolution is available via Parthian.

Adam Somerset is an essayist and a regular contributor to Wales Arts Review.

Further reading

• Memoir of a Magazine

The Best of 2023: Our Number Ones

State of a Disparate Union: Wales in 2023

The Western Mail Series

Whatever happened to Rick Astley? by Bryony Rheam

Best Welsh Poetry of 2023

Best Welsh Non-Fiction books of 2023

Reasons Everyone Should Visit Wales at Least Once

If you love hearty food, the great outdoors, cosy pubs, and discovering new cultures and old traditions then Wales will be great value for your time and money. In truth, the reasons to visit Wales amount to more than a dozen – but we’ve done our best to narrow it down for you.

We have more adventures around the world with our series of Mini Trips – bookable now with Culture Trip.

The language and song

Wales of course has its own language – Welsh – which today is spoken or used by more than one fifth of the population. You’ll hear Welsh spoken in more rural parts of the country, where it is some people’s first language, and on the radio and Welsh TV channels as well as seeing it on the road signs. One sign to look out for is a place called Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch… a town in North Wales with the second longest place name in the world. Wales’ nickname of ‘the land of song’ is reflected in the sing-song sound of the language. There is a strong tradition of singing in the country, which can be enjoyed today through choirs, operas, singing festivals such as Gymanfa Ganu or at an eisteddfod – a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance, a tradition which dates back the 12th century.

The green rolling hills and atmospheric scenery of Wales have inspired many. The landscape is wild, rich and beautiful with plenty to explore. There are the pristine lakes and rivers, the mountains to climb, such as Snowdon, the world-class beaches and the coastal paths. Then there are the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, of which Wales has five, the 74 nature reserves and the three national parks. That Wales has all this and is still a relatively small country will give you some indication of how richly green and scenic it is.

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The wildlife

If you know where to look, Wales is teeming with wildlife. There are dragonflies and butterflies at the many lakes and gardens, and on the coast you have starfish, crabs and other sea creatures in the rock pools, and dolphins, seals and porpoises in the water. It’s a great bird watching destination too, with one of the most unforgettable activities you can do being a trip to Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast between April and September. There you’ll see hundreds of puffins wandering around (they aren’t particularly afraid of people so you can get quite close) as well as a wealth of other birds and wildlife on this flower-carpeted island.

The food and drink

Forget France, Wales is home to some award-winning cheeses, from strong, creamy cheddars to goat’s cheese and special varieties such as Perl Las and Caerphilly. Passion for cheese is perfectly demonstrated with the famous Welsh snack rarebit: cheese sauce on toast. Other delicacies worth traveling to Wales for include glamorgan sausages (made of cheese and leeks – the later of which is, incidentally, the national symbol of Wales), Welsh cakes (preferably straight from the hot plate), laverbread (made from seaweed) and cockles. Wales is also well-known for craft beer and ales, which go perfectly with the tradition of great pubs. Surprisingly there are also some great wines being produced on Welsh soil too, as the UK wine market booms.

The myth and legends

The land of castles and dragons, the heart of Welsh culture is found in its myths and legends. What many don’t realise is that old Welsh tales such as those of The Mabinogion were the basis of countless stories, the origin of characters such as Merlin and Arthur and books including JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (Elvish was based on Welsh). These stories are all there to explore with re-tellings and performances around the country. With the flag even featuring a dragon, your visit to Wales is sure to be filled with a sense of magic.

No trip to Wales would be complete without a tour of the incredibly charming pubs where you’ll find live music, great food, top quality ales and the warmth of the Welsh people. Going for a walk along the stunning coast and spotting wildlife before ending your day by the fire in a pub can’t be beaten.

The people and hospitality

The Welsh are known for their sense of humour and hospitality. You’ll find a warm welcome and interest in where you come from at most places. They’re also lots of fun, and this is best demonstrated by going to a rugby match at the Principality Stadium. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric and you’ll soon find yourself singing along to a passionate rendition of the national anthem with the locals. It’s also a relatively safe country to visit: as long as you take the advice of the guide books and avoid the dodgy areas, you’re unlikely to experience any trouble.

Whether their team is expected to win or lose, sport fans flock to Wales – Cardiff in particular – to soak up the atmosphere at the large central stadiums. Cardiff is a sport fan’s dream with cricket, rugby and football stadiums all in close proximity or right in the middle of the town centre. This means the city is geared towards sport in a way other cities aren’t, ensuring you’ll have a great experience whether you’ve got tickets to the match or not.

The adventure activities

Wales is now a top destination for adventure activities and holidays, with excellent facilities and centres that provide everything you need. Try zip lining through tree tops, abseiling, coasteering, hiring bikes for a scenic ride, surfing, hiking up a mountain or going on a guided cave tour. Then there are the water sports, such as kayaking down rivers, sailing, kitesurfing, white water rafting and even scuba diving.

With the option of entire walking holidays or simply well-marked routes that can be finished in an afternoon, Wales is well built for the hiking enthusiast. While some complain Wales doesn’t exactly have a tropical climate, the temperate conditions make it perfect for a rousing walk where you’re unlikely to overheat and the lack of deadly creatures makes it a safe place, too. There are vast expanses of countryside to explore, plenty of pubs on the way to rest tired legs, mountains to ascend and coastal paths to follow. All in all a Welsh walking holiday is a once in a life time experience.

The beaches and coastline

Wales has some of the best beaches you’ll find anywhere, with several named among the best in the world. There are sand beaches beside pristine blue-green waters, dramatic rocky stretches backed by lush marshes, surf-friendly waves, coasts with a seaside holiday feel (yes, with rides and ice cream parlours), and plenty that are peaceful, secluded and unspoilt. Then there’s the rugged coast line, such as that along Pembrokeshire. Walking its grassy, flower-lined paths will give you incredible views over the sea and cliffs, with the chance to see diving gulls, seals and dolphins in the water below.

The stargazing

The lack of light pollution means several locations in Wales have been awarded International Dark Sky Reserve status. The first was the Brecon Beacons National Park, which was only the fifth in the world to be given this status, followed by Snowdonia National Park and the Elan Valley in mid-Wales. This means Wales is the perfect place to observe the night sky and ponder the universe – with the real chance of seeing shooting stars, too. There are also places with Dark Sky approval which will help you to get the most from the clear skies, such as the National Botanical Garden of Wales or the little Stargazer’s Retreat near Pen y Fan, which has a computerised telescope and an observatory.

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Places to Stay

Palé hall hotel: classic luxury in the beautiful surroundings of north wales.

The World's Greenest Department Store and the Unexpected Place You Can Find It

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The best beaches in north wales.

The Best Things to Do in Snowdonia, Wales

The Best Hotels to Book in and Around Portmeirion, Wales

The Best Hotels to Book Near Snowdon, Wales

The Best Hotels to Book Near Gwrych Castle, Wales

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Adverse Childhood Experiences in Wales

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How an Editors’ Note Fueled Another Kate Conspiracy Theory

A routine Getty Images caption beside the Princess of Wales’s cancer announcement has fanned disinformation about her. Researchers say there is no evidence that the video is fake.

By Isabella Kwai

Reporting from London

When Catherine, Princess of Wales, announced last month that she had been diagnosed with cancer , it seemed to quell the rumors that had swirled over her stepping back from public life.

Not for everyone. With disinformation spreading fast online, at times amplified by hostile states , some social media users were primed for skepticism. A note from Getty Images beside the video announcement, released on March 22, said it “may not adhere” to its editorial policy and fanned more conspiracy theories over the video’s authenticity.

There is no evidence, according to researchers, that the video is a deepfake, and agencies routinely attach such notes to content given to them by third parties.

With images easy to manipulate, researchers say that news agencies are being transparent about the source of their content.

Getty says the caption is a standard editors’ note.

The editors’ note, added along with other details, including that Kensington Palace had handed out the video, was short: “This Handout clip was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images’ editorial policy,” it read.

That disclaimer is not unique to this video. A spokeswoman for Getty Images said on Wednesday that it added a “standard editors’ note” to any content provided by third-party organizations. Other agencies also use such notes routinely for clarity.

It was not clear when that policy came into practice, and the spokeswoman declined to comment further. Online sleuths, however, pointed out that the same note was added to a clip provided by a government agency of the bridge that collapsed last week in Baltimore .

Kensington Palace also did not produce the video alone: A branch of the BBC said in a statement that it filmed the message at Windsor on March 20.

“I don’t see any compelling evidence that it’s a deepfake ,” said V.S. Subrahmanian, a professor of computer science at Northwestern University who has researched deepfakes. Professor Subrahmanian ran a copy of the video through a system of 15 algorithms his team has been developing to detect manipulated videos, and he also manually examined it with another analyst.

Components such as the video’s audio and Kate’s movements appeared to be natural, and technical evidence suggested it was unlikely to be fake. “Context is a very big part of it,” he added. “The bigger context is that it was a video shot by the BBC, who is a highly reliable source.”

Getty’s effort at transparency inadvertently fueled the latest theories.

Photo agencies take claims of doctored images seriously and have severed ties with photographers who have altered their work.

When it is difficult to send their own photographers to a scene, the agencies may rely instead on “handout” images given out by group involved in a story.

“They are very keen not to take handouts and have their own photographers where possible,” said Nic Newman, a senior research associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. News agencies, however, have concerns about the way public figures, including politicians and celebrities, are increasingly using handouts to try to “control the narrative,” he said.

The note was an example of agencies’ efforts to be more transparent with their clients who used those photos, he said, but there was the risk that they could fuel conspiracy theories. “ People often take those labels and then blow them up out of all proportion .”

News agencies recalled an earlier palace photo.

Before Catherine announced her diagnosis, photo agencies caused a furor when they said a photo of her — released by the palace and widely circulated online — had been “manipulated” and urged news organizations to withdraw it.

The Associated Press issued a “kill notice” for the photo, saying that its staff had spotted changes that did not meet its standards. The Princess of Wales later apologized for the confusion , saying that she had been experimenting with editing “like many amateur photographers.”

The episode prompted news agencies to look again at their policies, Mr. Newman said, and re-evaluate which sources were trustworthy. “The whole question of whether you can believe what you see is certainly not as clear as it used to be.”

“There is a trust deficit in society, at least in the United States,” Professor Subrahmanian said. “Deepfakes have the potential to widen that trust deficit.”

Isabella Kwai is a breaking news reporter in the London bureau. She joined The Times in 2017 as part of the Australia bureau. More about Isabella Kwai

Why the BBC Has Spoken Out About Its Coverage of Kate Middleton’s Cancer Diagnosis

T he BBC released a statement in response to complaints from people who felt its coverage of Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, announcing her cancer diagnosis was “excessive and insensitive,” the British public broadcaster said. 

The royal announced in a video released on March 22—which was filmed by BBC Studios—that she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer following tests conducted after a planned abdominal surgery in January. After the procedure, Kensington Palace had announced she would be absent from the public eye until at least Easter, but the uncertainty about her health led to a media and public frenzy before her cancer diagnosis announcement.

The BBC’s statement in response to criticism of its coverage, released April 5 on its complaints website , read: “We broadcast in full the highly personal video message from the Princess of Wales, in which she spoke directly to the public about her cancer diagnosis . Our coverage reflected the significance of this story and the outpouring of support for the princess from around the globe. We explained to our audience what was known about Catherine’s condition, but did not speculate on details that had not been made public.”

The broadcaster said its reporting “made clear that this is a difficult time for the princess and the rest of the royal family; we have been mindful at all times to approach our coverage with sensitivity.” 

The news organization said that it examined the “intense speculation” about Kate’s health in the weeks preceding her announcement and reported on her request for privacy and the statement from Kensington Palace detailing her right for medical privacy. 

“We always give careful consideration to the editorial decisions we make. While we have a responsibility to report on stories that are of interest to our audience, we appreciate that not everyone would have approved of the approach we took,” the BBC concluded. 

The BBC produces fortnightly reports of complaints that number more than 100. It also releases public statements in response to coverage that has generated a significant number of complaints or raised notable issues.

The BBC already issued two public statements this year in response to complaints about prior Kate Middleton reporting and coverage of her father-in-law, King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis.

On March 21, the BBC responded to complaints that the public felt its reporting on the withdrawal of an edited photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children, released on social media on U.K.’s Mother’s Day, was “excessive and sensationalist.” Kate took credit for editing the image and apologized after multiple photo agencies pulled it, noting it had been manipulated.

The BBC said the photo generated global interest because it was the first official picture released since Kate’s surgery in January—and ignited even more interest after it was withdrawn.

“Our coverage examined why this had caused so much interest and looked at considerations raised over the royal family’s communication strategy and public trust in information given by the Palace,” the BBC’s statement read. “We heard a nuanced and broad range of perspectives, including from those who were sympathetic to the princess, and those who felt this wasn’t an issue, given it isn’t unusual for people to edit their family photos before sharing them. Once the princess had issued her own statement on the matter, this was featured throughout our reporting.”

On Feb. 9, the BBC responded to complaints that it had “given too much coverage to the King’s cancer diagnosis.” The broadcaster said the news was “a story of significance which has generated national and global interest,” one that posted challenges for the royal family and was revealed in a statement containing an “unprecedented” level of detail about the health of a British monarch. The BBC said Buckingham Palace explained the King wanted to raise awareness about cancer, and the broadcaster subsequently has reported on cancer charities and the disease.

The BBC has previously received complaints and issued responses regarding its royals’ coverage, particularly on major events. 

In 2021, the broadcaster received nearly 110,000 complaints for excessive coverage of the death of Prince Philip, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s husband. In 2022, the news organization responded to complaints that its coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s death was “biased” toward the monarchy.

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