What Wales Could Do Next

A new newsletter for a new Welsh economic conversation

Welcome to What Wales Could Do Next

In the days after a Senedd election, much of the attention will inevitably be on parties, coalitions, personalities and parliamentary arithmetic. That matters, of course, because politics shapes priorities, determines resources and sets the tone for the next five years.

But the bigger question is what Wales now does with the powers, institutions and assets it already has. Not only do we have a new and different government in place, but we have 67 Senedd members who have never held office before.

That is why I am launching What Wales Could Do Next, a new weekly newsletter exploring practical ideas for strengthening the Welsh economy. It will not be party-political, and nor will it be another exercise in calling for more ambition without asking how that ambition might actually be delivered.

Having been a business columnist for the Western Mail for over 22 years, the aim of this newsletter is simple: to create a serious but accessible space to test ideas, challenge assumptions, and ask what Wales could actually do next.

Some editions will look at innovation, entrepreneurship, scale-ups, procurement, universities, funding, the green economy, skills, towns, regions and public institutions. Others will ask what Wales can learn from elsewhere, and how those lessons could be adapted to our own economic reality.

But every edition will return to the same basic question: how do we turn good ideas into practical action here that makes a real difference to our economy?

The starting point is that Wales does not lack talent, ideas or commitment, and across the country, there are entrepreneurs building businesses, scientists developing new technologies, communities trying to regenerate local economies, and public servants working hard within systems that are often more fragmented than they need to be.

But if Wales is to become a more prosperous, productive and confident economy, then we need to move beyond the language of potential and have a more serious conversation about delivery, execution, commercialisation, investment, procurement, exports, institutional accountability and the practical machinery of growth.

That is what this newsletter is about - not simply what Wales should want but what Wales could actually do next.

If that is a conversation you want to be part of, please subscribe, share it with others, and send me your thoughts, challenges and ideas for future editions.