Article: published on 20 May 2023

Thousands of people are taking part in a rally calling for Welsh independence.

The event in Swansea comes after an estimated 10,000 marched in Cardiff and 8,000 in Wrexham last year.

Organisers, pro-independence groups Yes Cymru and AUOB (All Under One Banner) Cymru, estimated about 6,000 people at Saturday's march.

Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville Roberts said it was being staged "against the injustices we face as a nation - on rail funding, water, and the attacks on peaceful protest".

She said campaigners were "marching and protesting loudly - in defiance of Westminster's attacks on the right to protest - carrying on a proud Welsh tradition, not just of standing tall against injustice, but rising above it to create something better".

The march is the sixth organised by YesCymru since its inception seven years ago.

At the rally, Welsh author Mike Parker said in a speech: “This country has so much to share… but that cannot be until we have found our own voice and are able to use it.

“No amount of tinkering around the edges of the current settlement will give Wales its real voice.

“The UK has shown time and time again that it cannot and will not reform itself. Wales needs independence.”

In April, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said no more powers should be devolved to Wales.

He told the Welsh Conservative conference that voters did not want politicians focused on "constitutional tinkering".

Devolution is the process through which Welsh institutions have gained powers over areas like the health service and education since the creation of the assembly in 1999, now called the Senedd or Welsh Parliament.

In December, a report looking at how Britain could look under a Labour UK government stopped short of backing First Minister Mark Drakeford's calls for Wales' justice system to be run from Cardiff.