Mark Drakeford’s mission to create a Welsh super state

Few appreciate how mischievous Welsh devolutionists are when it comes to embedding themselves in the national consciousness. Take the Welsh translation for ‘first minister’, prif weinidog, which means ‘prime minister’. What was once a linguistic trick has now become an informal touch point in Wales. Regardless of his title, Mark Drakeford behaves, looks and sounds like a powerful national leader rather than a devolved minister.

Few politicians exude such confidence but it should be no surprise: in the last year, Drakeford guided Welsh Labour to two triumphant victories in national and, more recently, local elections. He lectures the British Prime Minister on the future of the Union and then calls for him to resign. A YouGov poll even had him as the most popular politician across the UK last year. That is not down to luck but a reflection of Wales’s growing distinctiveness from its neighbours which was emphasised during the pandemic when Drakeford’s popularity soared after Wales adopted different Covid rules to England.