Unreal Wales
Sir: I am intrigued by the 'real world' that the Secretary of State for Wales claims to inhabit (Letters, 28 March) and which is such a distance from 'the universe inhabited by journalists'. The Black Mountains are largely populated by the occupants of English 'second homes': London stockbrokers, lawyers, politicians — not much of the 'real world' there, let alone 'real Wales'!
More worrying is his 'vision of the growth in Wales of a strong, diverse, high technology industrial sector'. Did not Sir Harold Wilson promise much the same for England? No one can turn back the clock, but for the Secretary of State to persist in the belief that he can help Wales by continuing to treat her as a marginal extension of England or Japan or some faceless multinational corporation is wholly misguided, however well-intentioned. Inevitably, under such an arrangement, it is at the margin that the first and heaviest cuts fall when recession bites.
Wales needs help after the exploitation of the last 150 years, but help to stand on its own. Handouts from London which serve to perpetuate our status as a dependent nation merely sap the fibre of our society. Wales has a part to play in the future of Britain, but its contribution will be all the more significant if it is inspired by a greater degree of independence and self-reliance.
William Williams,
4 Woodthorpe Road, London SW15
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