Welsh Nation: Autumn 2015

Autumn 2015

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The Welsh Nation Wales needs Plaid Cymru now more than ever Leanne Wood AM, Leader of Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales

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t times of great political uncertainty comes the opportunity for people to change the course of their history. The fundamental tectonic shift in UK politics is irreversible: one nation has gone through a debate about secession, one party previously in government has been electorally obliterated, the UK’s future membership of the EU is in question, the basis of social protection is being dismantled and a major party will be at war with itself for years to come.

In times of fundamental realignment, the lesson for Wales’ national movement and the party that leads it is that change in our country will only occur if we decide to shape our trajectory rather than act as observers to it.

Our fate is in our own hands and the context of devolution provides us with a substantial advantage to move Wales forward.

During the summer, we celebrated ninety years of Plaid Cymru.

What our forebears would give to have the opportunity facing today’s Plaid Cymru. Journalists and commentators will try to present the forthcoming National Assembly elections as little more than a battle of combinations; which combinations of parties

could realistically lead the next government of Wales. I would ask members not to succumb to what amounts to taking a people and a nation for granted. Plaid Cymru is not contesting these elections to make up the numbers, to play it safe in the hope of a ‘decent’ showing.

I, like all of you, entered politics to transform politics and to start with our own nation. This is our big opportunity to do just that.

What it will take on our part is a ground campaign that we have not mounted since those heady days in 1999: A targeted,

energetic campaign characterised by optimism and determination.

Wales needs Plaid Cymru now more than ever. People need a fresh start and strong leadership.

This election is not a choice between two shades of the same establishment.

To force ourselves onto the political menu in front of people in May, I ask every one of you to get in touch with your campaign teams and offer your time to reach voters, to change minds, to win hearts and minds. Where we work, we can win. When we win, a nation awakes from its slumber.

The Corbyn/Jones era and the opportunity for Plaid Cymru Dafydd Wigley

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he leadership of the UK Labour Party is clearly a matter for that Party’s members, throughout the UK. However, recent events have, potentially, a major implication for Wales. To that extent, Plaid Cymru has a direct interest – and legitimate concerns.

Most people agree that if Jeremy Corbyn’s victory heralds the end of focus-group driven politics - and its replacement by politics of conviction - that must be warmly welcomed.

The cynical approach of New Labour has debased politics in these islands and led to a massive surge in public hostility to politicians of all parties and by implication to the political process. The profile struck by Leanne Wood, Nicola Sturgeon and Natalie Bennett during the general election, brought in a breath of fresh air and if Jeremy Corbyn follows this tack it will be welcome. Time will tell.

One immediate issue arises, however, if Corbyn’s victory heralds fundamental change to the Labour “Offer”: Where does this leave Labour in Wales? Quite clearly, Carwyn Jones and Jeremy Corbyn come from very different sides of the Labour Party. But as things stand, it is still one Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn is its one and only leader, as Paul Flynn MP has recently proclaimed.

Labour in Wales is a subsidiary organisation. When the Assembly election takes place, voters will have a right to know which Labour brand is standing to govern Wales for the next five years.

There are some policy matters on which Plaid Cymru agrees with the direction of travel represented by Jeremy Corbyn. On Trident, Iraq, austerity, refugees, the environment and bankers we share similar feelings. It was, however, Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Greens who took a lead on these issues in the last election – not Labour.

There are, however, issues on which Plaid Cymru disagrees with the Corbyn profile. Plaid utterly condemns the London-centric attitude taken by Labour down the years. So far there is very little indication that this will change under the new leader; and it was intriguing that the new Scottish Labour leader made it clear in her first comment after Corbyn’s election, that she wasn’t going to tolerate being treated in the way London-Labour had treated her predecessors.

Plaid Cymru, like the SNP, are also firmly committed to our future within the European Union. The Corbyn position is far from clear and has been cited as the reason some of his pro-EU colleagues were unwilling to serve in his shadow cabinet.

If, as Lance Price has suggested, there will be “grim ructions” within the Labour party, bordering on civil war, then Labour is quite clearly not in a position to answer Wales’ needs.

We must also harbour severe reservations about how much sympathy or understanding Mr Corbyn has with life in rural Wales; or indeed, for the devolution process itself – which got scant attention in The Plaid Cymru Credit Union (UCPCCU) is a practical demonstration of the party’s philosophy of people cooperating in building a confident and independent Wales.

Plaid Cymru

UCPCCU is owned by its members and for over 20 years it has worked for members, their families, party branches & small family businesses.

his campaign.

The pressing need in the next Assembly will be for the economic regeneration of Wales and this must depend on expanding existing businesses and attracting, where possible, investment from outside Wales to add value to our economy.

It is in this area that the election of Jeremy Corbyn muddies the waters.

Labour are in danger of losing all credibility as a party of government in such matters. It will be up to Plaid Cymru to lead the drive for economic regeneration, including inward investment.

This is the area in which Labour’s record, leading Wales’ government since 1999, has been woeful. The Leader of Plaid Cymru described the period as ‘Labour’s sixteen wasted years’. It is noteworthy that John Griffiths AM has called for Labour to have a radically different manifesto for the Assembly elections than that on which it has been elected in recent years. Was there ever such a clear-cut admission of failure?

Quite frankly, Wales needs better leadership than Labour has given and Plaid Cymru must take this responsibility as its top priority in Government between 2016 and 2021. Today’s new political climate provides a tremendous opportunity for Plaid Cymru and for our communities across the nation. We cannot trust a divided Labour, with its record of failure in so many key areas, to deliver for Wales – either in Cardiff Bay or Westminster; and we are ready to do the job ourselves.

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Credit Union

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Plaid Cymru Credit Union (UCPCCU) . Tŷ’r Cymry, 11 Heol Gordon, Caerdydd, CF24 3AJ. T: 029 2049 1888 www.ucpccu.org E: post@ucpccu.org

Autumn 2015

The Most Important Conference in our History?

Math Wiliam, Plaid Cymru Senior Communications Officer

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orau chwarae cyd chwarae (together, stronger).

These are the words that are woven on the shirts of the Welsh football team, who have experienced incredible success since they started playing in accordance with the motto. Teams that are divided and fight amongst themselves cannot succeed. Look at the example of the French football team during the 2010 World Cup. They were finalists in the previous tournament and had world class players, but they argued incessantly amongst themselves and with the Manager, and lo and behold they failed to qualify from the group stage and went home with their tails between their legs.

As is so often the case, that which holds true in sport is also true in the world of politics. It’s an old political adage that divided parties cannot lead effectively or secure the people’s confidence. With a weak and divided Labour government that has the impossible task of having to defend its appalling record since 2011, there exists an unique opportunity for an united Plaid Cymru to make huge gains in next year’s Assembly election with our talented Shadow Cabinet and Wales’ most recognised political Leader at the helm, Leanne Wood.

This means that this year’s Annual Conference in Aberystwyth on October 23rd-24th, is one of the most important in our history. It’s absolutely essential that we succeed in maintaining the current momentum and show everyone that we’re serious about winning seats and becoming the biggest party in 2016. So don’t miss out – come along and you’ll be warmly welcomed and there’s enough going on to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.

As well as speeches by the Leader and our fantastic team of candidates, the Scottish First Minister

Nicola Sturgeon will also be making a special guest appearance. Ms Sturgeon was the SNP’s deputy leader back in 2007 when they became the biggest party in Holyrood against expectations – as we intend to do next year.

Members will also have an opportunity to vote on a number of important issues during Conference.

Motions up for debate include issues in the fields of: • Energy • Workers’ Rights • Local Government Reorganisation • Transport • Wales Bill • Wales’ membership of the EU. Hustings for the posts of Police and Crime Commissioners will also be held and we’ll be electing a new Chair and Policy Director. As a member you have a democratic right to vote, but in order to exercise it you must be present!

The Conference Dinner will be held at the Marine Hotel on the Friday evening. The price for members is £35.

Aberystwyth Football Club has seen many scandals over the years, usually during silly Saturday nights. It’s an apt location then for our annual Revue! A must for lovers of comedy, it’s a witty and enjoyable way to finish the weekend. Tickets can be purchased for £15 on the door or £10 in advance.

To buy tickets for the Dinner or the Revue, or for more information about Conference, give Tŷ Gwynfor a ring on 02920 472272.

Daniel G. Williams is Professor of English and Director of the Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales at Swansea University. Over the summer he and Dr Simon Brooks toured Wales, debating their new provocative books on the history and philosophy of Welsh Nationalism - Wales Unchained and Pam na fu Cymru ( Why Wasn’t Wales.) The event held in Ynyshir was chaired by Leanne Wood AM.

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aniel Williams is a generous scholar – both generous in how he acknowledges the work of others, and in the reach and inclusiveness of his own work. In Wales Unchained he considers questions of plural Welsh identity in broad perspective, focusing on a number of mostly male writers and political and cultural figures. There are fascinating explorations, from New York intellectuals to the depictions of boxing and constructions of race, and some enlightening juxtapositions (such as Paul Robeson and Aneurin Bevan).

The particular originality of Williams’s work lies, as it has done before, in looking at Welsh and American cultural intersections and interactions, and bringing American minority critical perspectives to bear on Welsh questions of identity.

He is at his sharpest when he is most political – particularly in his robust repudiation of commonly accepted misrepresentations of Raymond Williams and Saunders Lewis, in his introductory analysis of discussions of Welsh postcoloniality, and in his densely argued final chapter.

Any of the chapters, which are developments from previously published pieces including journal essays, book chapters and public lectures, may stand alone, but together they comprise an intellectually stimulating whole. As Williams explains in his introduction: ‘the essays collected here reflect a decade of engagement with the ways in which the strains of cultural particularism on the one hand, and assimilationism on the other, have manifested themselves within Welsh literature, politics and culture in the last hundred years.’ This structure of The Welsh Nation

Pic: Keith Morris

Wales Unchained Author and academic and Plaid Cymru member, Dr Jasmine Donahaye has reviewed Wales Unchained for The Welsh Nation. Her latest book is Losing Israel, published

by Seren.

originally ‘occasional’ pieces is perhaps what has led to the rather unexpected absence of women from the first six chapters, although this is counteracted by the gendered examination of language and plural identity in the final chapter.

Not surprisingly this final chapter, which is both synthesis and prescription, is the most compelling; not coincidentally it (and the introduction) best demonstrates this wideranging scholar’s fine composite skill as literary critic and engaged political thinker.

Williams suggests that ‘perhaps we currently need the post-nationalist emphasis on hybridity, diversity and ambivalence, alongside the nationalist emphasis on social justice and political legitimacy’. It is one of the great strengths of this work that the critical approach is itself hybrid, plural and multicultural, and both particular, accommodating and inclusive.

Wales Unchained – a ‘cultural history of the idea of Welshness’ – constitutes a challenging, stimulating contribution to our political and cultural thinking in Wales. At the same time, in the best form of cultural exchange, it also offers back original indigenous critical perspectives on these debates elsewhere.

Wales Unchained: Literature, Politics and Identity in the American Century Daniel G. Williams University of Wales Press £24.99 Autumn 2015

Summer Events National Eisteddfod, Meifod Celebrating Plaid Cymru’s 90th Birthday on the Plaid Cymru Stand and cartoonist Mumph launches his new Plaid Cymru Calendar.

#LeanneVan Let’s talk about Wales - our roadshow hits the road in Cardiff - and it’s autograph time in Llanelli!

Royal Welsh Show Jonathan Edwards MP reads all about it in The Welsh Nation on the Plaid Stand (!) and Leanne Wood AM enjoys talking business with members of the FSB.

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Plaid in Power Cllr. Emlyn Dole is leader of Carmarthenshire County Council.

He has represented the Llannon area since 2008 and is Plaid Cymru’s newest Council Leader.

How did you get interested in politics?

I’ve always been political, even from my younger days, when I was involved with the Young Socialists as we were then called on the streets and in the pubs in Maesteg, where I spent much of my youth.

That interest has always been there, although the gravitation towards Plaid was always inevitable because although my association with the Young Socialists was interesting and challenging, there wasn’t a natural fit with my views as a Welsh Nationalist. Before long, that tension caused me to look elsewhere and it was towards Plaid of course.

Why did you want to become a councillor?

I used to be a freelance translator and would often work as a translator in Council committees and meetings. At the time, Neil Baker was leading the Plaid Group on Carmarthenshire Council and was my local Councillor. At the end of these meetings I would often complain to him about the level of debate or decisions taken, and he would always tell me, ‘It’s no use complaining about it! You have to get yourself down here in order to make a difference’. So I guess I took his advice and was elected in 2008.

What do you find most frustrating about your role?

There are many things which I, along with other Plaid Cymru Councillors find increasingly frustrating and I could probably compile quite a list! Probably close to the top would be the frustration of dealing with the Labour Government in Cardiff where there seems to be an unwillingness to engage with Local Government in a meaningful dialogue with people who know how it works down here. Added to that the concern that there seems to be an appetite to centralise power in an The Welsh Nation

institution as young as the Senedd in Cardiff. It seems to run contrary to the whole idea of devolution as a political concept.

Who is your political hero?

My political hero would be Martin Luther King. I spent over two years of my childhood living in the Southern USA in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and experienced segregation first hand. Martin Luther King was assassinated during the week that we as a family returned to Wales. His vision and courage and absolute commitment to his cause, coupled with the best oratory skills that I have ever heard made him an outstanding individual and he stands out as a leader and role model.

What does the future hold?

The future structure of Local Government in Wales has been the topic of a great deal of debate in recent times. I’ve expressed my opinion very strongly on this matter and I fully support the retention of Carmarthenshire County Council as an administrative entity. However, I recognise the importance of working ever more closely with neighbouring councils in order to deliver the best possible services to the people of the county.

Best piece of political advice ?

The best advice that I ever received was given to me by a youth worker at Llwynderw Youth Club in Maesteg.

She told me that it was important in politics to be true to yourself. I know it might sound like a bit of a cliché but it struck a chord with me at the time. Throughout my life in politics I’ve tried to act in accordance with who I am and what I believe.

Autumn 2015

The 2016 Election and YOU

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s a member of Plaid Cymru you have already made a statement about your belief in a modern, free and prosperous Wales. Many members feel that they want to play a full part in election campaigns and already volunteer. But many more members are needed to lend a hand! Here’s what you can do : Seven Ways to Help 1. Telephone 10 potential supporters from your home.

2. Come to conference to support your local candidate as well as to hear Leanne and Nicola Sturgeon outlining their platforms for the forthcoming elections in Wales and Scotland.

3. Social media – Make sure you are following Plaid on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Linkedin.

4. Share or retweet an official Plaid post once a day on social media.

5. Your local campaign team always needs volunteers and they will be over the moon to hear from you. Activities include; knocking doors,

Geraint Day Head of Campaigns

delivering leaflets, staffing a street stand, stuffing envelopes, or help with providing refreshments at party events.

6. For contact details of your local campaign team please call Tŷ Gwynfor on 029 20 472272 and choose the campaign option.

7. Set up on your own! If you cannot commit to helping your local campaign team but want to do your bit, email me at geraintday@plaidcymru. org and I will send you 20 national leaflets to distribute on your street.

Whatever you do, your time and effort will be greatly appreciated and I’m sure you will find it a fulfilling and enjoyable experience. See you on the Campaign Trail!

Remembering John McFadyen (1941-2005) Martin Pollard

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nown to many as John Mac, John McFadyen was a passionate, principled activist who transformed first the Cyncoed/Pentwyn branch then the Cardiff Central constituency of Plaid Cymru.

Born in 1941, he had a burning ambition to go to sea and got a training place at the earliest opportunity on HMS Arethusa in Kent. He went on to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary at 16 years old, and eventually came to Cardiff where he pursued maritime studies and established his own company.

He travelled the world as a master mariner, spending time in Iran, South America and Texas in connection with his work, including work on oil rigs.

John met his wife Gwen, originally from Penrhyndeudraeth, in Cardiff, and became interested in the Welsh language and culture.

He loved music and was an enthusiastic choral singer, but only became politically active late in life when he joined Plaid.

As with all of his interests, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the role of activist and latterly Secretary of the Cardiff Central constituency, turning committee members into canvassers and motivating many with his quick-witted, vigorous but always supportive approach.

John died following a short battle with cancer on 29 June 2015. He will be remembered as an inspiring campaigner as well as a dedicated family man.

This photo shows John MacFadyen busy canvassing a voter on behalf of Martin Pollard.

Plaid Youth Aled Morgan Hughes

Summer School Fun!

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laid Cymru’s Summer School held in Cardiff in July was a great weekend. It was wonderful to see such a large number of new, young faces attending the event and enjoying the entertaining sessions such as Adam Price discussing persuasion skills and an exclusive Q & A opportunity with Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Cabinet. Also, on the Saturday night, a special Plaid Youth session was held which gave everyone an opportunity to have their say on our vision and activities, as well as a chance to hear from members from our sister-parties in Catalonia, Valencia and the Basque Country discussing their situation. The session was followed by an opportunity to socialize over a pint (or two!) in Cardiff Bay.

At the Eisteddfod ...

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eifod Eisteddfod was a great Eisteddfod! Along with the Chairing, Crowning, singing and usual eisteddfodic ephemera, it was also a platform for a variety of events of a more political nature. On the Friday afternoon, Plaid Youth held our annual session, this year accompanied by popular singer Casi Wyn. It was great to see a young enthusiastic audience come to listen to our Women’s Officer, Branwen Dafydd interviewing the singing star who performed at Maes B this year. An intense debate on issues including music, politics and the London Welsh followed, with the audience given an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the discussion. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Eisteddfod in Abergavenny!

University branches W

ith the new university term having already begun, Plaid Youth university branches are again preparing for a full year of activities and events. Branches are located at Aberystwyth, Swansea, Bangor and Cardiff Universities, and with the coming months promising to be crucial ones in the history of Plaid Cymru, there will definitely be plenty to do; from canvassing to socializing - something for everyone! For more information about how to join our university branches go to the Plaid Youth website, or contact us on plaidifancyouth@gmail.com

www.plaidifanc.org The Welsh Nation

@plaidifancyouth Autumn 2015