Something has changed in Wales. 

The 2026 Senedd election saw the end of Welsh Labour’s uninterrupted rule since 1999, Plaid Cymru take over the reins of power, Reform settle into its position as the official opposition, and a brand new voting system, to boot. But while so much has changed, there remains one constant: the Liberal Democrats still have only one MS.

We could be forgiven for keeping our heads down to focus on “rebuilding” the Welsh Liberal Democrat base, but I believe this would be a mistake. While Welsh nationalists run the government, British nationalists are at the gate. The need for a strong liberal opposition to push back against these forces has never been greater.

A nationalist government not only takes charge of the country, but of our story, too. Plaid Cymru prides itself on being the bastion of Welsh independence, painting every other party as antithetical to the cause. But to believe such propaganda would be to deny a simple truth: Welsh liberalism advocated for Welsh self-governance long before Plaid Cymru ever came into existence.

Cymru Fydd (translated “the Wales to come”) was a cause championed by Tom Ellis MP, a young David Lloyd George, and many other Welsh liberals. Its argument was simple: Wales should govern itself, be responsible for its own issues, and handle its own affairs, all within a reformed Britain. Reframed for the modern day, that is exactly what federalism is.

The movement itself, unfortunately, stalled at Newport on 16 January 1896. A motion to unite the Welsh Liberal federations into a single national movement was voted down at the South Wales Liberal Federation’s AGM, with David Lloyd George shouted down and refused the right to speak. From that point on, Cymru Fydd was considered dead and buried. Nationalist historiography views that AGM as evidence that liberalism would never put the needs of Wales ahead of support for the Union.

But that is not how I view the AGM.

The result of that AGM doesn’t signify a liberal retreat from supporting Welsh self-governance, but a failure of the movement at the time to bring the Welsh-speaking rural North and West and the anglicised, industrial South-East together in a single liberal movement. And it would be a mistake, too, to assume that Plaid Cymru are the natural successors to Cymru Fydd.

Liberals have engaged with the ideas of the movement throughout British political history: from Welsh Liberals championing the disestablishment of the Church in Wales, to the liberals championing the Parliament for Wales campaign in the 1950s, to the Welsh Liberal Democrats who successfully campaigned for the creation of the Welsh Assembly in 1997, to the Liberal Democrats in the coalition government who secured tax powers for the Senedd. The spirit of Cymru Fydd never left our movement, and our movement never truly abandoned the spirit of Cymru Fydd.

So why now? We know that the Liberal Democrats are a federal party, so isn’t this just rehashing what already exists? To that I say no — a Cymru Fydd rebirth is needed, now more than ever. Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are redefining Welsh politics, partitioned between cutting ourselves off completely from Westminster and being wholly subservient to it. I believe there must be an alternative to these false choices, and that alternative must be bold.

With Andy Burnham newly installed in Downing Street – a politician who has made clear his support for devolving power away from Westminster – now is the time for the Welsh Liberal Democrats to go full force in our support, not just for a few more powers, but for a federal Wales inside a federalised UK. The radicalism that flowed through our movement never went away, but it has been stagnant. It’s time to give it the shot in the arm it needs, and reclaim Cymru Fydd.

In 1890, Tom Ellis called for a legislative assembly for Wales; self-government as the inspiration and aim of a nation. It is time for us to be inspired once more, and march towards that aim.

* Jack Meredith is a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and an active campaigner and canvasser with Swansea and Gower Liberal Democrats. His writing focuses on democratic reform, social justice, trade unionism, economic democracy, and the institutional foundations of effective government. He has written for the Fabians, Lib Dem Voice, Liberator, Nation Cymru, Bylines Cymru, and Centre Think Tank.