Politics

Leanne Wood’s long campaign

Published

9 years ago

May 4, 2016

LEANNE WOOD was not at all satisfied with a fourth place finish in the 2015 General Election.

Her immediate response to the loss – and the mere hold of her three MPs – was to declare that the campaign for the National Assembly elections of May 2016 would commence without pause.

This most recent campaign has been the culmination of decades of political action: miner’s strike, devolution, various assembly elections, and the 2011 referendum.

Already in campaign mode, and convinced that there would have been a breakthrough in the General Elections with a few more weeks to campaign, Wood began a series of major engagements: visiting local constituencies, attending cultural events, making visits to schools and giving major addresses on politics and policy at Aberystwyth University. Linking up her network on the ground, Wood engaged local organisations in the campaign, giving speeches at party events and demonstrations, outlining her message for the May elections.

With the “What Next for Wales?” campaign in full gear, she decisively answered a quip by one of her aides Simon Thomas, who suggested that she was better suited to campaigning than to intellectual “stuff” (Wales Online, 12 May 2015). Wood countered by not only giving many speeches on policy and political affairs, but also by using the campaign itself to disseminate her ideas and build her network across Wales.

The long campaign has been energised by immense personal loyalty that Plaid members’ have for Wood’s leadership. No one questioned her strategy of an immediate campaign, but picked up their shovels and joined her work for a change of government in Wales.

Leanne Wood is certainly seeking national liberation for Wales. Yet, independence is her longest campaign. She is often asked by commentators how she squares her quest for a socialist republic with the pragmatic necessity of getting on with the “system as it is”.

She will answer that the “system as it is” is the result of historical action and events, and that the people of contemporary Wales have the same capacity for action and change. In a post-devolution framework, moreover, the National Assembly is a state in embryo, one which can be brought to fruition with the enhancement of its autonomy and powers, over eg. social security, healthcare, taxation, policing and criminal justice, natural resources, drug policy, land policy, airspace – and other powers appropriate for a European-oriented democratic republic and nation in its own right.

For Wood, Wales is a nation to come, one that will be built by the generations of those who live here, by a multi-lingual and multi-ethnic population, for the sake of a better life and a stronger, more local, democracy – one that serves the wishes and aspirations of Wales.

Leanne Wood was never going to be the usual politician.

Her expulsion from the National Assembly on her first day as AM was hardly auspicious – or was that her point after all? She was contesting, re-valuing, a distinctly British value – honour to the Queen – to the British sovereign – of one unelected versus Wood’s own democratic mandate.

Wood began her political career with a denunciation of British sovereignty over Wales. She campaigns now for the governance of Wales, for First Minister and the acceleration of the national process.

Yet, the building process, though it would be greatly accelerated by a Plaid victory, does not of itself require a nationalist government, but an intensified movement for home rule, enhanced powers, and compliance of the UK government with the 2011 referendum.

Wood has nearly perfected the campaign as a form of organising political change. A campaign is a real time affair that provides the vast array of individual events with a cohesive momentum. If one is committed to forming a new nation, one must cultivate the most broad-based and effective national outreach network, a campaign that is the process of nationbuilding itself.

In this way, even if she comes up short in May to form an outright government, Wood will have an even stronger voice for transformative politics as the leader of the progressive opposition (especially as the Tories will still hold Westminster), one that remains strongly linked to mass organisations on the ground, such as Adam Price’s Yes Cymru, and with the UK-wide progressive opposition in activist networks and in the UK parliament.

Currently contending with Labour for the leadership of the National Assembly, Wood’s long campaign has paid off, and even offers the chance for accelerated national transformation.

As momentum is moreover connected to political direction, the winds are clearly in the Wood’s favour as the necessity for a mature national framework has become increasingly urgent for the protection and development of Wales.

Community

Pembrokeshire town 4G phone mast plans withdrawn

Published

19 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS for a replacement 20-metre-high 4G phone mast tower in north Pembrokeshire, which the local town council says would have “an unacceptable adverse impact” on the national park’s beauty have been withdrawn.

In an application before Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Cellnex, through agent Telent, sought permission to replace an existing 10m high mast with a new 20m 4G tower with three Vodafone antennae and nine mast head amplifiers, and associated works, on land at Dwr-y-Felin Farm, Fford Bedd Morris, Newport.

The application for a 4G mobile base station for the mobile network operator(s) (MNOs) Vodafone Ltd in conjunction with Cornerstone. The application site is owned / operated by Cellnex UK, a radio site infrastructure provider.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said: “The proposed antenna height of 20m is essential to provide new 4G coverage and replacement 2G and 3G service provision to the surrounding area. 4G radio signals are more sensitive to physical obstructions than older technologies.

“This is because the higher the frequency band the greater the reduction in signal strength, increasing the likelihood of dropped calls and reduced data rates for internet browsing,” adding: “Generally, the higher the signal frequency the more it will be impacted by clutter. It is for this reason that there is the height of 20m is required.”

It went on to say it “should be noted that a radio base station within this location has already been considered acceptable and has become an established feature within the area and the proposed upgrade albeit different in design to support the latest equipment will not be of substantial or detrimental harm to the national park, conservation area or heritage assets”.

Newport Town Council had objected to the application, saying: “The proposed development (if approved in its current form) will have an unacceptable adverse impact on the qualities and special landscape and seascape character of the National Park and also on the special qualities of natural beauty and tranquillity.”

The application has now been withdrawn.

Charity

Flats for veterans to be built at VC Gallery, Pembroke Dock

Published

19 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to build flats for armed forces veterans on a former Pembrokeshire school yard/playing field next to veterans’ charity the VC Gallery has been approved by county planners.

In an application before Pembrokeshire County Council, veterans’ charity The VC Gallery sought permission for eight flats in two blocks of two-storey buildings, including wheelchair accessible flats, for Armed Forces veterans on land to the east of the former St Marys Catholic School site, Britannia Road, Pembroke Dock.

The former school, which closed in 2019, is currently used as the VC Gallery, itself an expansion of veterans’ charity the VC Gallery’s home in Haverfordwest, set up by Barry John MBE.

Documentation, through agent Pembroke Design Limited included a supporting statement by Barry John MBE, which it says “explains the issues that veterans face after leaving the services, the need for dedicated housing provision, the support that VC Gallery’s staff and volunteers provide and the gaps in current provision which the proposed development will help address”.

It added: “Although the development will provide and encourage independent living for its tenants, essential physical and mental support will be provided by the staff and volunteers in the VC Gallery as required, in accordance with individual veterans’ needs. Many will need a high level of support and the close proximity of the flats to the facilities and people on hand in the adjacent VC Gallery is therefore critical to the proposal’s purpose.”

Mr John’s statement said: “We want to create a unique offer to Armed Forces veterans in Pembrokeshire by offering up not just quality accommodation in a gated and safe environment but to also have a bespoke peer mentoring service.”

He added: “Working alongside our stakeholders The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the OVA (Office of Veterans Affairs) we have secured a grant to draw up plans and to look at how the secured land at the VC Gallery Pembroke Dock can be turned into a bespoke housing solution for Armed Forces Veterans.

“We have Service level agreements with the local authority for specifically supporting tenancy in veterans which will also extend to giving vital counselling services. Our work with the health board and provision for peer mentorship also gives us great grounding for effective help on a practical level for the veterans’ village but we will need a more designated package around the housing we provide to include both mental health and also maintenance (something we don’t have at present).”

His statement finished: “We think the need is great, we have the land, we have the skills for care and the ambition to help. It would be a project above all social housing enterprises, and we want to make a go of it.”

Politics

Call to stop councillors being employed by MPs and MSs

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to stop senior Pembrokeshire county councillors being employed by MPs or Senedd members is to come under greater scrutiny at a special council committee.

In a Notice of Motion submitted to the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy said: “While it is acceptable for Cabinet members to hold other employments, no serving county councillor should hold a Cabinet position within Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) while simultaneously being employed by a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Senedd (MS).

“Cabinet members hold executive responsibilities, and such dual roles risk potential conflicts of interest, particularly if Cabinet decisions conflict with the policies of their employer, often a political party. This concern is heightened in a council where most members are Independents.”

Cllr Murphy’s notice of motion was heard at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council where it was agreed the matter be referred to a future constitutional review committee.

In the registration of interests for the eight members of Leader Cllr Jon Harvey’s Cabinet, only Cllr Joshua Beynon, deputy leader of the Labour Group and Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies, lists a politician as an employer, in his case newly-elected Mid and South Pembrokeshire MP Henry Tufnell.

Responding to the notice of motion, Cllr Beynon has previously said: “This motion, which appears to target my unique position as a Cabinet Member for Finance and part-time parliamentary employee, raises serious questions about its fairness, legality, and intent.

“At its core, this is a politically motivated motion that seeks to undermine the principles of fairness and freedom. It attempts to dictate lawful employment choices of councillors, disregarding the importance of balancing public service with individual rights. Such an approach risks creating a chilling effect, discouraging capable individuals from serving in public office in the future.”