Over 6,000 people marched through the streets of Barry on Saturday 26 April, calling for Welsh independence. The March for Independence, organised by YesCymru and AUOBCymru, brought people together from across the country in a powerful show of unity and hope for a better future:
A growing movement for Welsh independence
Since 2019, thousands have taken part in independence marches across Wales – in places like Caernarfon, Merthyr, Wrexham, Bangor, Swansea, Carmarthen and Cardiff – and now Barry, Wales’s largest town, has made its mark on that journey.
Barry has a proud political legacy, including a key role in the Cymru Fydd movement for Welsh self-government in the 1890s. Saturday’s march built on that tradition, with a new generation taking up the call for change:
Voices for indy
Following the march, a rally in King Square featured speeches, including by former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, Catalan campaigner Anna Arqué i Solsona, political activist Kiera Marshall, Wales Green Party spokesperson Tessa Marshall, and singer-songwriter Eädyth Crawford.
Local councillor Mark Hooper acted as MC. The event included live music from Emma Winter, known from Y Llais, the Welsh version of The Voice.
For the first time at a March for Independence, all speakers and performers – other than the MC – were women.
Kiera Marshall, a 27-year-old activist from Swansea, said:
How can we afford not to be independent? The UK system keeps us poor, while our children go hungry and cold. We are the generation bearing the brunt of this system – but we are also the generation who will change it. I cannot wait to stand here again one day, not in protest, but in celebration of a free and fair Wales.
Leanne Wood said:
It’s time to end our dependence. We have an opportunity to build an alternative to the failed economic model that serves the City of London while leaving crumbs for communities in Wales. In the face of growing intolerance and hate, our movement must offer hope. We know our country can do better.
Anna Arqué i Solsona, spokesperson for the International Commission of European Citizens (ICEC), said:
Movements like ours believe democracy is the best path to full self-determination, even when it clashes with the interests of the states we’re trapped within. That’s why solidarity among our nations is vital.
Tessa Marshall from the Wales Green Party said:
We can’t afford to stay shackled to the British state. Child poverty in Wales is not the result of bad choices – it’s decades of underinvestment and decisions made far from communities like ours. An independent Wales can stand for children, end hunger and cold homes, and fund a decent start to life.
Support for Welsh independence rising
The Barry march comes soon after a Redfield & Wilton poll commissioned by YesCymru, which showed that 41% of decided voters would vote for independence – rising to a staggering 72% among 25 to 34-year-olds.
Mark Hooper, local councillor and Barry native, said:
This march and rally in Barry shows the ambition of the independence movement. Whilst others in politics fight for the lowest possible denominator, the Welsh indy movement is vibrant, hopeful and above all, youthful. Demographics are in our corner – but we must move faster.
YesCymru Chair Phyl Griffiths said:
What we’ve seen today in Barry is a reflection of the mood across Wales – people are ready for change, and independence is no longer a fringe idea. It’s a serious, hopeful response to a broken system.
We’re seeing growing support, especially among younger generations who’ve had enough of being told Wales is too small or too poor. We know better – and today, thousands of people showed that we’re ready to take our future into our own hands.
Featured image and additional images supplied
