Welsh Devolution and the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evolving social media strategies

Abstract

This chapter examines the expansion of a nascent political movement, tracing its use of social media, notably Twitter, to generate engagement and mobilise a wider network by exploiting the dynamic inherent in the platform. Yes Cymru was formally launched in 2016. Modelled on the Scottish ‘Yes’ campaign, to the extent of adopting near-identical iconography, it was given additional focus by the Brexit vote later that year, and another spike in engagement followed the December 2019 UK general election. The wider (UK) political context has shifted considerably, with the movement attempting to mobilise the increasingly prevalent view that the tectonic plates of British politics are shifting to such an extent that previously unthinkable concepts now seem feasible. By appropriating empirical research conducted utilising the social network analysis software ‘NodeXL’ and debating these findings in line with Denis Balsom’s (The National question again: Welsh political identity in the 1980s. Gomer, 1985) ostensibly outmoded ‘Three Wales Model’, this chapter examines the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales both quantitatively and qualitatively. Moreover, it explores how Yes Cymru attempted to garner support for Welsh independence amidst the pandemic, in contrast to groups such as Abolish the Welsh Assembly who sought to generate closer ties to Westminster through staking anti-devolution claims.