Mr. Aled Roberts:

Yes, I think it would be. There was more hostility. If you look at public surveys conducted from the 1970s onwards, there is certainly a greater degree of support for language practice and legislation over the past ten years or so. It has been important that language has not been seen as the possession of one political persuasion. The fact it has become just as important for all the parties has been important.

What has also happened is that an increasing number of young people use and converse in the language every day. A survey was published at the beginning of this week by the Welsh Government which showed that the figure has increased again and now 56% of Welsh speakers use the language daily. For the government's strategy going forward, it is important we look at usage. Usage is one of the two main planks of its policy, rather than only increasing the number of speakers. There is not much point increasing the number of speakers if they do not use the language in their everyday lives and it becomes a museum piece. Through greater usage and normalisation, less hostility ensues.