Autumn 2016
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The Welsh Nation Forward. Stronger. by Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Leader
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his autumn we will gather once more in Llangollen for our National Conference. Party members will come together in a spirit of defiance and resilience as politics continues to shift following the referendum vote this past summer. The vote to leave the European Union makes Brexit the defining issue of our times. For the moment, we are still in the EU, and the UK Government has yet to trigger the ‘Article 50’ process. We accept that a narrow majority of the people of Wales gave the UK Government a mandate to withdraw from that union. Plaid Cymru now has a duty to help secure the type of withdrawal which best suits Wales’ interests. We know that a ‘Hard Brexit’, whereby Wales and the UK leave the Single Market as well as the EU, is not in the Welsh national interest. 200,000 jobs in Wales are related to the Single Market and these must be protected as our first priority. Membership of that market through the European Economic Area (EEA) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) would represent the best currently available deal for Wales considering the challenging circumstances in which we find ourselves. And what about the future of the United Kingdom? If people in Scotland choose to leave, the state will cease to exist. In that scenario, all options must be available for
Wales. And it must be people in Wales who decide on our future. Decisions about Wales should be taken in Wales. Some, emboldened by the referendum result, now hint that Wales should move closer to Westminster. That would be a mistake. No self-respecting country should question its ability to govern itself. We can and should do more for ourselves. We can and should move towards more independence, not less, in response to the UK leaving the EU. We’ll be making this case to people as part of a new campaign which we’ll be launching soon and I would urge all of our members to get involved. Get out on the streets, talk to people about democracy, the future direction of our country. It will also be linked to our local election campaign. You may be aware that the minority Labour Government joined UKIP, supporting a Conservative motion effectively advocating a ‘Hard Brexit’ position. Wales’ economic and cultural interests are in the hands of a government which has no plan and
no clue as to how to deal with the new political context. The only way we can guarantee that people know which party is working hard to represent their interests, given that Welsh matters are all too often ignored by the media, is to tell them directly. That’s why the outcome of our National Conference must be to get organised, mobilise and take our message out to the people. Changing Wales for the better is our mission and we must always remember that this change starts at the local level. It starts in your community. On your street. It starts with you. So let us meet in Llangollen in the spirit of unity and commit to move Wales forward. Stronger.
Thank you Ian Johnson first joined the Plaid Cymru team as a researcher in Westminster. There he won the Dods/ epolitix Researcher of the Year award in 2011 for his work in uncovering stories that were part of the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.
When he was elected to both the Vale of Glamorgan and Barry Town Councils in August 2012 he moved back to Barry and joined the team in the Assembly before becoming Plaid Cymru’s Head of Policy in 2013. As Head of Policy, he used his wealth of knowledge and expertise ranging across all tiers of government to develop Plaid’s policy base to the level of a global thinktank. Ian has contributed tirelessly to the party’s progression and his unfaltering dedication is an inspiration.
Congratulations Congratulations to Cilycwm’s new Councillor, Dafydd Tomos, and the Carmarthenshire team for running such a successful campaign.
Conference The Annual Conference takes place in Llangollen Pavilion on 21 and 22 of October. We are looking forward to welcoming you there. Full details in your copy of Forward.
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Autumn 2016
Word from Tyˆ Gwynfor Chief Executive Gareth Clubb averaged 41% since 2008*, with 8% of seats uncontested in 2012. But it’s not simply the facts that STV would improve turnout, eliminate uncontested seats and rejuvenate democracy in Wales that has led Labour to bury Professor Sunderland’s magnum opus.
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was fortunate enough to be a student at Bangor University during Professor Eric Sunderland’s custodianship of the University College of North Wales, as it then was. He came on a field trip to Rhosneigr with a group of students and pointed out to me the difference between various species of top shell. Professor Sunderland achieved many great things – aside from demonstrating his keen eye for detail to a budding marine biologist. But one of his finest works was his report on local government in Wales, published in 2002. Complaining that Wales suffers a high proportion of uncontested elections and an average 41% turnout, the Sunderland Commission made multiple recommendations, including: • Single Transferable Vote
for multi-member (3 to 5 members) wards, in time for the 2008 elections • The age of entitlement to vote be reduced to 16 years of age The report, commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government, is nowhere to be found on the Welsh Government’s website. It’s captured for posterity by Professor Roger Scully – apparently after a long Freedom of Information battle with the Welsh Government. Why would the Welsh Government want to bury this report? In Scotland, turnout in local elections has been an average of 46% since STV was introduced in 2007. There was not one uncontested seat in Scotland in 2012. In Wales, turnout has
Wales’ interests have been usurped by Labour’s self-interest. That’s the only conclusion to be reached from the opinion of the late Peter Law, who foresaw “[Labour] corridors running with blood” if the changes were approved. What’s this got to do with us? It’s got everything to do with us. If Labour won’t permit our democracy to be rejuvenated through statute, we’ll need to do it through action. That means ensuring that the electorate have the option to vote for Plaid Cymru in every single corner of Wales. And for those of us who live in parts of Wales where there’s been no Plaid candidate to place a cross against in the polling booth, it means stepping up, contacting your local branch and committing to be a candidate. Professor Sunderland’s legacy should be nothing less. And the future of our country deserves nothing less. * 38.6% in 2012, 44.3% in 2008 and 41.0% in 2004 (contested seats only)
Introducing Gareth Clubb Our new Chief Executive Gareth Clubb is originally from Bridgend. He has worked for the Department for International Development, European Commission, National Assembly, Welsh Environmental Agency and most recently as the Director of Friends of the Earth Wales. He lives in Penarth with his wife and their three children. He was the Plaid Cymru parliamentary candidate for Bridgend in the 2005 Westminster election.
Summer School 2016 Math Wiliam, Senior Communications Officer
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laid Cymru’s Summer School was held in Ebbw Vale this year. Ebbw Vale is of course the main town in the constituency of Blaenau Gwent, where an incredible swing to Plaid was seen in this year’s Assembly election. The town was once famous for its innovation and industry, but has seen a steady decline since those industries were closed down at the end of the last century. With poverty and unemployment levels so high, the message of hope from Plaid candidate Professor Nigel Copner appealed to many. He explained during his session how he and his enthusiastic and hard working team (namely Eli Jones) came so close to pulling off a
massive shock by winning the seat. There was no magic bullet – they crafted a strong message based on providing answers to local concerns and succeeded in communicating that message extremely effectively. Distributing leaflets and social media both played their parts, but what was truly exceptional about the campaign was the number of people they spoke to directly on the doorsteps. Over 12,000 doorsteps. Eli and Nigel will give the presentation at Conference and I would urge everyone who can to go and see it. With the local elections on the horizon, winning council seats in 2017 was the focus of the rest of the weekend. Carl Harris, who is a member of Plaid’s team in Carmarthenshire, gave a masterful session on how to organise a campaign, tips on recording and keeping data and
the latest techniques that ensure our supporters vote on the day. It was great to see a fortnight later that these techniques really work, as Plaid Cymru won the Cilycwm council by-election. Other highlights included: • Presentation and discussion with Leanne Wood. • Discussion with Steffan Lewis AM about securing the best deal for Wales following Brexit. •
Session with Adam Price AM about the Programme for Opposition (see page 4).
• Data sessions with Geraint Day – contact him (geraintday@plaid. cymru) if you’d like to arrange a Treeware class for your branch. To close Summer School we had a session with two members of Leanne Wood’s Rhondda team, Danny Grehan and Alun Cox. The story of how they succeeded in turning Labour’s majority of six and a half thousand into a Plaid Cymru majority of three thousand felt like a Hollywood political thriller. But what was really striking was the Rhondda and Blaenau Gwent campaigns shared the same prime feature – their industriousness. Here lie the seeds of hope, since it means that there is nowhere in Wales where Plaid cannot win if we are willing to work hard. So why not arrange a meeting of your local branch today in order to work towards winning the 2021 election, while securing superb results in 2017 and 2020 on the way?
‘An opportunity to build our nation’s profile on the global stage’ Steffan Lewis AM
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he UK’s decision to leave the EU has thrown the future of our nation into uncertainty. Neither the Tories in London nor the Welsh Labour Government have been able to offer a full vision of what they want Brexit to actually look like. While Plaid Cymru is showing leadership by preparing a National Mitigation Plan that will set out how to protect Welsh communities and businesses from Brexit fallout, the Welsh Government barely even mentioned Brexit in its recently published Programme for Government. So many unanswered questions remain. Scotland has a strong bargaining position to argue for special treatment in negotiations with the EU. The issue of the potential of a hard border returning between the Republic of Ireland and the North, in contravention of the Good Friday Agreement, could have enormous knock-on effects for Wales. The constitutional makeup of the UK looks increasingly fragile. If we end up with some sort of joint England and Wales settlement, there is a danger that Wales’ voice will be permanently drowned out by our much louder neighbours. To prevent this, it is vital that we start to build our links with other countries around the world. We need to forge strong partnerships beyond our borders. It is not just about promoting investment and trade, but
also exercising soft power to develop our standing and influence. As the UK’s relationship with the EU is redefined, we have an unparalleled opportunity to reach out to build our nation’s profile on the global stage. There exists substantial precedent for this. Other sub-state nations engage in so-called paradiplomacy: international diplomatic relations carried out by regional Governments. Scotland, Quebec, Catalonia: these nations have not let their lack of statehood prevent them cultivating a substantial international presence. We cannot let Wales’ voice to the world be Boris Johnson, when we could be speaking for ourselves. This summer, I travelled to both London and Brussels to meet with representatives from EU states to discuss the implications of Brexit for them, their approach to the imminent negotiations, and to start building these vital links I mentioned. I found huge enthusiasm to understand and engage with Wales. The appetite is there, we just need a Government with the aspiration to seize the opportunity. Our immediate aim must be for Wales to become one of the most recognised sub-state nations on earth, like Scotland and Catalonia, as a natural precursor to us achieving independence. Rest assured that we are awake to the challenge Wales faces as the UK withdraws from the EU. To weather the economic and social storms that we can see on the horizon, Wales will need to be nimble and outward-looking. We have an unparalleled opportunity, as the UK’s relationship with the EU is redefined, to build our nation’s profile on the global stage. Plaid Cymru can lead the way. Steffan Lewis AM is Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for External Affairs
The Welsh Nation
Autumn 2016
Opposition for a Purpose Adam Price AM
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ince the election Plaid Cymru has made an impact in the role of official opposition to the Welsh Government. The electorate did not give any party the mandate on 5th May to press ahead unhindered with the implementation of its manifesto or to govern without seeking areas of common ground with opposition parties. The minority Labour Welsh Government must remember that it is a minority. If it forgets, we will remind it. We have a duty to the people of Wales to provide effective opposition to the government, and unlike the Labour opposition on the UK level, it is a responsibility we’re taking extremely seriously. This means providing thorough scrutiny of the government’s actions, challenging it to do better and
holding it to account when it fails. It is generally recognised that the Conservatives failed to provide any meaningful form of opposition during the last Assembly term in their role as the official opposition party. Indeed Plaid Cymru gained more for the people of Wales in one vote than the previous Conservative opposition did over an entire Assembly term. I am of course referring to the ‘Compact to Move Wales Forward’. This one-vote deal means that many of our key policies will be implemented, including but not limited to: • The establishment of a National Infrastructure Commission for Wales; • More free childcare; • A review of the Independent Patient Funding Request system which will help sufferers of cancer and other illnesses have more equal access to rare drugs and treatments. We recently published our Programme for Opposition, which presents a comprehensive programme that we will seek to implement over the coming Assembly term. Outlining key priorities, associated goals, and capital projects from across policy areas, its realisation would markedly change Wales for the better. For the first time, the Labour-led government will be held to account and forced to act for the whole of Wales by a party with a detailed alternative to its own flimsly offering. Of course the content of our Programme for Opposition is not set in stone. This is a live document that will be updated to respond to constantly changing circumstances and to capitalise on new opportunities as they arise. This is not opposition for opposition’s sake. It is opposition that aims to deliver tangible improvements to people’s lives: opposition that secures Wales’s interests for the immediate term, and puts the foundations in place for a more prosperous future. In other words, Plaid Cymru will serve the people of Wales responsibly, offering real opposition for a purpose. The Programme for Opposition can be found on our website: http://www.plaid2016.wales/ programmeforopposition Adam Price is Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Finance
The Welsh Nation
Autumn 2016
Plaid Ifanc News
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n the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of September we held a training weekend for Plaid Ifanc NEC members and branch officers in Gwersyll yr Urdd, Llangrannog. By now, we have eleven branches from the Llŷn Peninsula to Newport and the future looks bright with new groups being formed during the autumn. We had presentations on running a successful branch, equal representation within the party, communication and also taking inspiration from our sister parties and how they work. We also had a long discussion on our plans for the coming months as well as the way forward to plan our internal structures. It was decided that political education was going to be a core aspect of building our movement in the coming months, so we discussed holding 2 training days during the winter, one in the north and another in the south, similar to our weekend in Llangrannog. Hearing our fellow members’ ideas for the future of our movement and their vision for our nation was indeed inspirational, and we would like to be able to make sure that all members are able to take advantage of this opportunity in the future through our training days. Some of our members have also been building bridges by representing our party across Europe, which is important considering the current climate. Llyr Williams went to Galicia in July to celebrate the National Day, Owain Hughes and Christian Webb to Hungary in August to an international conference on the refugee crisis, and Emyr Gruffydd our Chair went to help Bildu in the Basque Country in their election in September. We have also been very busy in Freshers’ Fairs in Wales’ largest universities, where many new students have joined Plaid Ifanc. During the next few months, we’ll be increasing our activities to reach even more young people throughout Wales. If you’d like to support our work, especially financially, please send us an email to info@plaidifanc.org.
Remembering two of Cwmaman’s Finest by David Leslie Davies
Gwyneth Williams
Howard Davies
A cornerstone of old Cwmaman, near Aberdare, fell from its place in the wall of Time when we heard in late July about the death of Gwyneth Mai Williams, Dan-y-rhiw, a short while before her 78th birthday.
The death of former Councillor Howard Davies of Cwrt Alun Lewis, Cwmaman has caused great shock and sadness amongst his friends and community. He died on 12th September in Merthyr Hospital. He was 66 years old. Howard loved Cwmaman and its people. He was a well-known figure in the area throught his life.
She was someone who committed to her community and politics, standing in Plaid Cymru’s name in the 1970s and 1980s on numerous occasions. The party at that time used to put forward strong teams of candidates and organised energetically in the wards of Aberaman and South Ameraman and, Gwyneth, more often than not, was the main candidate, with her well-known public face. So much so that she came to be known by many until the end as ‘Gwyneth Plaid’. Gwyneth fought tirelessly against the Labour Party’s dominance. They had won everything in the ward since the 1920s. After she had stood many times over two decades, in 1987 she nearly succeeded in beating a Labour Councillor in South Aberaman winning 742 votes against her opponent’s 766. In 1991 after Gwyneth and others had laid the groundwork, the Labour Party’s floodgates opened and Plaid Cymru won three seats in South Aberaman for the district council in one fell swoop. Gwyneth was overjoyed and also slightly envious that it was to others rather than herself that “Jericho fell” (a completely understandable reaction of course). She continued to be active even though she didn’t stand again. She would always be present outside the polling station in Cwmaman in an election, as well as in the Count, and she only stopped as she lost her mobility as she grew older. We celebrate her name; her cheerful character; her sense of humour and her willingness to contribute towards her community and help everyone around her. It’s true to say that she is remembered well around these parts.
He was brought up on Byron Street, Milton Street and – at least as much – Seion: he was one of Idwal Rees’s prodigies and a saint for that worthy cause. It was to Aberdare Welsh Medium School that Howard went in 1955, following its establishment in 1949, and it was there he matured into the pure blooded and natural Welshman that he was until the end. After he went to Aberdare Grammar School for Boys, he went to train in the Cardiff Teacher Training College. A career as a teacher did not appeal to him and he left to join the Tax Office in Llanishen. He stayed there until his retirement around six years ago. If his feet were in Cardiff in terms of his work, his heart always remained in Cwmaman. He served as a councillor in the areas of South Aberaman between 1991-95 and again between 2008-2012. One of his favourite belongings was a letter written to him in the hand of Dafydd Wigley – Plaid’s leader at the time – congratulating him on being elected to the council for the first time in 1991. He appreciated this letter greatly and treasured it throughout his whole life. At the begninning of the 90s he was appointed a governer and then chair of Glynhafod Primary School’s governors: a job he held until his death. Howard’s health worsened during the last few years and travelling back and forth to the hospital became a big part of his life. His friends were only too happy to support him. Howard’s funeral was held at Llwyncoed Crematorium on Friday, September 23rd. The multitude present professed their admiration for him as they paid their last respects.
Plaid Cymru office:
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In addition to the contributors, Plaid Cymru would
Website: www.plaid.cymru
like to thank the following people for their help with
Editor: Math Wiliam
this edition: Heledd Brooks-Jones, Emyr Gruffydd, Ben Lake, Angharad Lewis, Luke Nicholas and Elin
Design: Rhys Llwyd
Roberts.
The Welsh Nation
Autumn 2016