The results of the Brexit in Wales

Re-elected in 2015, David Cameron organizes the elections and at the same time he reaches an agreement within the European Union in February 2016. David Cameron will be campaigning for "Remain" (to stay). But not everyone in his party agrees and the Eurosceptics are gaining ground. Former London mayor Boris Johnson becomes his main opponent. On 23 June 2016, the "Leave" won with 51.9% of the vote and a turnout of 72.2% of those registered.

In Wales, the results were as follows: 52.50% voted in favour of Brexit with a turnout of 71.70%. The regions that voted overwhelmingly against were : Cardiff, Glamoran Valley, Ceredigion and Gwynedd. And overall, the younger generations preferred to vote to stay in the European Union. David Cameron announces his resignation the day after the vote, which will take effect in October. On the same day, the foreign ministers of the six founding countries issue a joint declaration, wishing to trigger the exit procedure as soon as possible. The meetings will soon follow one another, with the first post-Brexit European Council on 28 and 29 June 2016.

State structure

The National Assembly for Wales is made up of sixty elected members who each represent a specific region of Wales as a member of a particular political party, or as an independent member. As Wales is part of Great Britain, it retains members at Westminster and the laws passed apply.

Wales is a principality - which is symbolically recalled by the title "Prince of Wales", given to the heir to the throne since 1301. Wales is also one of the four administrative provinces that make up the United Kingdom along with England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II is therefore the Head of State (since February 1952), but above all plays a symbolic and representative role. It is divided into 22 unitary authorities which are responsible for setting up local public services in the fields of education, the environment, social assistance, roads, etc. They include 9 counties, 3 towns and 10 boroughs. The counties are : Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Powys. And the three cities: Cardiff, Swansea, Newport.

The different parties

The Labour Party: the British Socialist Party or Labour Party, in power from 1997 to 2010 with Tony Blair, then Gordon Brown. It was in the 1920s that the Labour Party really took off in Wales, in the face of the decline of the Liberal Party. The miners' communities in the north of the country, who were experiencing deplorable working conditions, abandoned the Liberal Party of the day for the Labour Party. Wales is a Labour stronghold as Scotland once was. The Labour Party has always been the largest party in the Welsh National Assembly, but has never had an absolute majority (at best 50% of the seats). It currently has 29 seats.

Welsh Conservatives: Founded in 1921, the Welsh Conservative Party is one of the most popular political parties in Wales. It holds one of the four Welsh seats in the European Parliament and eleven of the forty Welsh seats in the British Parliament

Liberal Democrats: centre party founded in 1988 following the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. There is a Welsh branch in the National Assembly for Wales (five Liberal Democrat MPs out of sixty)

Plaid Cymru: the Welsh Nationalist Party, founded in 1925 by Saunders Lewis, follows a political line of increased autonomy for Wales - even pure independence. It would be several years before the party was taken seriously with the election of a Plaid Cymru MP in London in 1966. The party then entered into head-on opposition with the dominant British parties. It currently has 10 seats.

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP): Nationalist and Eurosceptic party. In the May 2016 elections for the Welsh National Assembly, the UKIP Party made an unprecedented push in South Wales, despite being a Labour party. It holds 1 seat.

Green Party of England and Wales (GREENS): the main environmentalist political party in the United Kingdom, based in England and Wales, emerged late in the 1980s, and to date remains significantly weaker than the Plaid Cymru autonomists from an electoral point of view.

The main economic resources of the country

Agricultural sector. The centre has few resources other than animal husbandry and forestry, adapted to the low population density. Agriculture is still vigorous and very productive, Wales is covered with small farms. On the uplands there are many farms specialising in sheep farming. In the valleys there are cattle farms. The fishing sector is also developed, but is currently suffering from the decline in the volume of fish in traditional fishing grounds.

Industrial sector. Since the 1970s, with industrial relocations and privatisations, the number of coal farms has collapsed. Oil refining (Milford Haven) and the chemical industry (Swansea area, Port Talbot) have also taken over from the mining industry.

Tourism sector. The future of Wales depends largely on the development of the tertiary sector (concentrated in the south coast) and the increase in the supply of tourism. Although less important than in Ireland and Scotland, tourism has become an important source of revenue. Nearly one million tourists visit Wales each year. As a result, the tourism sector accounts for 7-8% of GDP and is becoming a less and less neglected resource.

Today, the Welsh Government seeks to maximise the benefits of tourism activity, while minimising its potentially negative impact on Wales' communities, cultures and identity. Tourism-related businesses continue to invest to support better quality and competitiveness.