Published in Today's Western Mail

Sir/ Referring to the comments in the 'Western Mail' by Stephen Crabb MP, these views reinforce the fact that the Conservative Party, just like the Labour Party, is divided on the issue of devolution and progress towards a Parliament for Wales. I suggest that Wales is steaming ahead towards its parliamentary destiny, and Mr Crabb aligns himself beside the Labour and Conservative MPs at Westminster who are holding back the tide in their belief that Wales is essentially the same place as England, which it never was, being substantially different socially, psychologically and culturally. On one side we have Nick Bourne and Glyn Davies in the progressive camp, while Stephen Crabb, David Davies and David Jones belong to the group of Welsh MPs famously termed "Yesterday's Men" who cannot accept the fact that Wales is following the path of Scotland, and indeed Ireland, in moving in the direction of self-government as nations within the European Community. The upshot of this is that the Union will become an irrelevance and subsequently defunct. The age of "Britishness" belongs to the past and we no longer rule the waves. The European Union now determines and influences our laws and policies.

(alanindyfed)