Yes for Wales! is the name of a cross-party pro-devolution

Devolution

Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...

 group launched on 4 January 2011 which co-ordinated the successful campaign for a 'Yes' vote in the Welsh devolution referendum, 2011 to extend the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

.

The group was chaired by Roger Lewis, the group chief executive of the Welsh Rugby Union

Welsh Rugby Union

The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

., on the recommendation of the First Minister

First Minister for Wales

The First Minister of Wales is the leader of the Welsh Government, Wales' devolved administration, which was established in 1999. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the...

 and Deputy First Minister for Wales

Deputy First Minister for Wales

The Deputy First Minister for Wales can be the deputy leader of the Welsh Government, the devolved administration for Wales. The post was created October 2000 when Mike German of the Welsh Liberal Democrats was appointed Deputy First Minister as part of a coalition government with Welsh Labour...

 - Carwyn Jones

Carwyn Jones

Carwyn Howell Jones is a Welsh politician and the First Minister of Wales. The third official to lead the Welsh Government, Jones has been Assembly Member for Bridgend since 1999. In the coalition government of Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru, he was appointed Counsel General for Wales and Leader of...

 and Ieuan Wyn Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones

Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency...

. Lewis was not a member of any political party but having returned to Wales from a series of senior jobs in the music industry brought private sector credibility as well as a reputation for being passionate about Wales.

The campaign was supported by both parties of the One Wales

One Wales

One Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between Labour and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding...

 coalition government in the Assembly: Wales Labour Party

Wales Labour Party

Welsh Labour is the part of the United Kingdom Labour Party that operates in Wales. Labour is the largest and most successful political party in modern Welsh politics, having won the largest share of the vote at every UK General Election since 1922, every Welsh Assembly election since 1999, and...

 and Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

, as well as the Liberal Democrats. Although the Welsh Conservative Party were officially neutral all the Conservative AMs in the Assembly supported a Yes vote and the party group was represented on the Yes for Wales Steering Committee. The campaign also had the support of the other Permitted Participants recognised by the Electoral Commission: Cymru Yfory, Wales TUC

Wales TUC

The Wales TUC is the co-ordinating body of trade unions in Wales. With over 50 affiliated unions as of 2006, the Wales TUC represents nearly half a million workers trade unionists....

 and Unison

Unison

In music, the word unison can be applied in more than one way. In general terms, it may refer to two notes sounding the same pitch, often but not always at the same time; or to the same musical voice being sounded by several voices or instruments together, either at the same pitch or at a distance...

.

The Yes campaign was overseen by a Steering Committee chaired by Leighton Andrews

Leighton Andrews

Leighton Andrews is a Welsh Labour politician, currently the National Assembly for Wales member for Rhondda since 2003...

, the Labour AM for the Rhondda and Welsh Education Minister. On a day to day basis it was organised by a small team of volunteers led by Campaign Director Daran Hill, former Labour Special Adviser Cathy Owens, and ex-ITV Wales Political Editor Lee Waters.

The campaign set-up more than 30 local groups across Wales and within a two month period from January - March 2011 succeeded in printing and distribution 1.5 million leaflets.

1997 campaign

Yes for Wales was also name of the cross-party pro-devolution group launched on 10 February 1997 to co-ordinate the campaign for a 'Yes' vote in the Welsh devolution referendum, 1997 to create a National Assembly for Wales

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

. It was supported by the Welsh Labour Party, Welsh Liberal Democrats

Welsh Liberal Democrats

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties of the federal Liberal Democrats and operate within Wales, the others being the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England....

 and Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru

' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...

. During the 1997 campaign, the Welsh Conservatives were opposed to the campaign.

The Yes for Wales organisation placed a great emphasis on grassroots involvement in the campaign and established local branches throughout Wales. It also managed the difficult job of pulling together campaigners and politicians with very different perspectives who previously fought each other tooth and nail.

The pro-devolution campaign was fought against some fierce opposition from within both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Although the Assembly has gained increasing acceptance in both parties these tensions still exists.

The Yes for Wales! Campaign was chaired by Kevin Morgan, a Cardiff University

Cardiff University

Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...

 Professor. The campaign's national organiser was Daran Hill.

During the campaign for a Welsh Assembly, Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

 was killed in an auto accident in France. The campaign had been temporarily suspended and it was wondered what effect the death of the Princess of Wales would have on the election. Many commentators were concerned that the death of the princess and focus on the U.K. Royal Family

British Royal Family

The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...

 would distract from the devolution debate and affect turn out.

The Just Say No campaign in Wales was established by Betty Bowen

Betty Bowen

Betty Bowen , was an American journalist and art promoter. She was born in Kent, Washington, and earned an English degree from the University of Washington. She worked briefly as a reporter for The Seattle Times, and later as women’s editor for the Seattle Star...

 and Carys Pugh, members of the Rhondda Constituency Labour Party. This was the campaign group that was opposed to the Assembly referendum question. The Just Say No campaign ran on a anti-devolution platform.

External links

• Official website of the "YES" campaign "Yes for Wales"
• Our Assembly, support group of Yes For Wales campaign
• Designers of the "YES" campaign 2011 "Yes for Wales" logo