In 1979 Nicholas Edwards was appointed Secretary of State for Wales by Margaret Thatcher following the Conservative election victory. This volume is an insider's commentary on British government and in events in Wales over the last quarter of a century. Lord Crickhowell describes the policies, events, issues and personalities of a period of significant change and development in British and Welsh politics. We learn of his views on devolution and constitutional change, Welsh-language broadcasting, arts funding, environmental issues, the restructuring of industry and the Cardiff Opera House debacle. He sheds light on the personalities of many of his colleagues and contemporaries, including Margaret Thatcher, Kenneth Baker, Jim Prior, Nicholas Ridley, Anthony Howard and John Elfed Jones.

Author Biography

Lord Crickhowell, once a member of Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, was formerly Chairman of the Cardiff Bay Opera House Trust, Secretary of State for Wales, and Chairman of the National Rivers Authority. He is President of the University of Wales, Cardiff, a director of Associated British Ports, and Chairman of HTV.