Connect with us
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

Manifesto Destiny #3: Plaid Cymru

Published

on

PLAID CYMRU is perpetually standing at a political crossroads.

One step forward. One step back. Followed by a step to the left and a half-step to the right.

And that’s been the way of it since 1999.

When a party’s policies consistently score well with the public, yet the party doesn’t increase its number of seats, there’s an indication some deep-seated issue prevents a breakthrough.

In the parts of Wales where Plaid needs to win constituency seats, it has made little progress at the national election level in twenty-two years.

And yet its policies score well with many Labour voters. In the Valleys of East Wales, Labour’s core vote is not thrilled by that party’s record in Wales. It is soft at the edges and fed up with the same old formula. After twenty-two years of Labour government, Wales is stuck in a never-ending loop of narrow managerialism without political leadership.

PERCEPTIONS OF PLAID

The massive elephant in the room is that in Anglophone Wales – where Welsh is relatively little spoken or read – Plaid is seen less as the Party of Wales than the Party of the Welsh Language.

Running in tandem with that notion, which is supported by census data about the distribution of those with Welsh language skills, is the electorate’s perception that Plaid considers the Welsh language first and all other policies second.

To an extent, the second point is projection. People project on to Plaid what they know of Anglo-parties’ history and attribute to the Party of Wales what they know of other parties’ conduct. In Westminster, the Conservatives are a byword for back-scratching cronyism. In Wales, the Labour Party – see Neath Port Talbot Council – fulfils the same role.

Based on those experiences, the internal logic is that Plaid would prioritise the language – ‘forcing it on non-Welsh speakers’, using the English-only pejorative phrase – above good governance and good sense.

For a significant number of Wales’ voters, even among some who speak Welsh, the Welsh language is irrelevant to their political considerations.

It’s a stick with which voters beat Plaid and one which the other parties deploy.

SMALL ‘C’ CONSERVATISM

Wales is a small ‘c’ conservative country.

The rout Labour suffered in parts of Wales in December 2019 demonstrates, no matter how much activists howl, large sections of the electorate do not share Plaid and Labour’s vision of the nation. At least not when and where it counts.

And Plaid, determinedly, is a party of the left with less in common with many of its voters than it might find comfortable to acknowledge. Plaid Cymru’s contortions to satisfy a largely metropolitan interest in identity politics estrange its traditional voters with more grounded priorities. And whatever votes there in those contortions, they won’t add a single seat to Plaid’s tally.

That said, it’s grossly unfair to suggest that identity politics define Plaid Cymru. Plaid’s primary problem is marking out an identity for itself, including all Welsh nationalist sentiment instead of one part of it.

Those small ‘c’ conservatives among the Welsh electorate favouring greater Welsh autonomy should be inside Plaid’s tent. They should not feel excluded from it because they have views that irritate Party activists.

The issue of perception is perhaps Plaid’s most significant hurdle to overcome with the broader Welsh electorate. It certainly has been to date.

COMMUNICATION

For a party with so many gifted communicators both inside and outside the Senedd, and a leader who is a compelling public presence, between elections, Plaid’s communications seem a little diffuse and inclined to contrarianism for the sake of it.

Election campaigns start the day after the last election finished.

Plaid needs to spend more time driving home its core manifesto pledges on everyday issues, whether in government or not.

This time Plaid’s manifesto is admirably focused on what it wants to achieve if it forms a government.

It needs to stick to those lines as hard as possible, even if it is either not in government or in government in a joint enterprise with Labour.

Plaid also needs to accept that whatever its electoral fate on May 6, not everything it wants to do will be deliverable.

Plaid calls its manifesto ‘the most radical since 1945’. This article doesn’t make a judgement on that claim. However, 1945’s Labour manifesto came in at under 5,000 words and barely 11 pages of A4.

Plaid’s five core policy areas are interwoven in the detail of its manifesto.

A more concise document (126 pages!) that preached less to the choir and more to voters would improve it no end.

THE CORE POLICIES

As Adam Price told The Herald when he became leader, the core of Plaid’s programme boils down to five key policy areas.

1. The best start in life for every child

· Free school meals to all primary school children using quality Welsh produce.

· Investing in 4,500 extra teachers and support staff, reducing class sizes, and valuing the teaching profession.

· Childcare free for all from 24 months.

2. A plan for the whole country to prosper

· A £6bn Green Economic Stimulus to help create 60,000 jobs.

· A guaranteed job or high-quality training for 16–24-year-olds.

· Zero-interest loans to support small businesses to bounce back post-Covid.

3. A fair deal for families

· Cut the bills of average Council Taxpayers, helping the weekly budget go further.

· £35 per child weekly top-up payment to families living below the poverty line.

· 50,000 social and affordable homes and fair rents for the future.

4. The best national health and care service

· Train and recruit 1,000 new Doctors and 5,000 new Nurses and allied staff.

· Free personal care at the point of need for the elderly, ending the divide between health and social care.

· Guaranteed minimum wage of £10 an hour for care workers.

5. Tackling the climate emergency

· Set a Wales 2035 Mission to decarbonise and to reach net-zero emissions.

· Establish Ynni Cymru as an energy development company with a target of generating 100 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2035.

· Introduce a Nature Act with statutory targets to restore biodiversity by 2050.

In principle, none of the above should be particularly contentious. The climate emergency and green energy pledges will not play well among older voters. However, the environment is an issue that resonates with younger voters (aged 16-24).

Of Wales’ three main parties, Plaid has the most to gain from younger voters and mobilising them to turn out. It’s a mystery why Plaid hasn’t both encouraged younger voters to register and targeted them more assertively. Doing so would deliver a USP and a future voter base.

PAYING FOR IT

Ynni Cymru, a Welsh national energy company, is an idea Plaid floated at the start of the last Welsh Parliamentary term. It has re-emerged in a much-changed form from that originally floated. Instead of controlling green energy production, Ynni Cymru would be a staging post, a project development company similar to Transport for Wales. 

The long-term aim is the establishment of a state-backed energy company. 

Unnos –Land and Housing Wales – would be a clearinghouse for investment in funding affordable and social housing in the same vein.

Extending the state will come at a cost.

More public spending needs more money. That money can only come from raising taxes and more public borrowing. Plaid’s reliance on historically low interest rates to fund its plans glosses the certainty of future interest rises and their impact on those plans’ deliverability.

Plaid is at least upfront that – if it forms a government in its own right – some people will pay more tax in one way or another. And, at least, it confronts the issue of Council Tax head-on instead of pussyfooting around it like Labour. After 22 years, Labour intends to have a jolly good chat about it for the next five years.

For which reason, if no other, Plaid deserves a round of applause.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

Independence. Plaid is in favour. It promises to hold a referendum on independence if it forms a majority government.

Of all Plaid’s policy pledges, that’s the least surprising.

Surprisingly, Plaid has not – so far – managed to convert the upswing in public support for Wales’ independence into a larger poll share for itself. Unless that changes in the last couple of weeks of this election campaign, Plaid needs to ask itself why that is the case.

News

Independent Alun Wills wins Prendergast by-election by 39 votes

Published

on

HAVERFORDWEST’S Prendergast ward has a new county councillor after Independent candidate Alun Wills emerged victorious in a closely contested six-way by-election.

Wills secured the seat with 199 votes (31.6%), defeating five other candidates: Kaleb Jenkins (Welsh Liberal Democrats, 160 votes), Mike Mathias (Welsh Conservative Party, 136 votes), Scott Thorley (Reform UK, 71 votes), Alison Tudor (Welsh Labour, 57 votes), and James Henry Purchase (Wales Green Party, 8 votes).

The by-election, held on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, was triggered by the resignation of former Conservative councillor Andrew Edwards. Edwards stepped down in December 2024 following a controversial tenure marred by allegations of racism. In 2023, he faced public backlash after reportedly stating that “all white men should have black slaves.” Although he withdrew from the Conservative group and served as an independent councillor following the scandal, he ultimately resigned from his role, citing family reasons.

The Herald at the time questioned if the recording of him saying those words was created by using Artificial Intelligence.

A shift in representation

Resigned in December: Ex-Cllr Edwards

Edwards originally won the Prendergast seat for the Conservatives in 2022, securing a decisive victory over Labour. However, his departure and the controversy surrounding his comments resulted in a highly competitive race that ultimately saw the Conservatives lose their grip on the ward.

Wills’ victory as an independent marks a significant political shift, reflecting voter dissatisfaction and a changing political landscape in Haverfordwest.

Priorities for the new councillor

Speaking after his win, Wills vowed to “insist on council tax value for money” and pledged to do his “utmost to revive the fortunes of Haverfordwest town centre.”

He will take office at a time when Haverfordwest’s regeneration remains a key concern for residents. Major projects such as the Western Quayside redevelopment and the proposed Public Transport Interchange are already in motion, with the aim of boosting the local economy and improving connectivity.

Additionally, Wills is expected to focus on tackling rising council tax costs, an issue that has sparked growing frustration among residents.

With an independent now representing the ward, the political landscape in Pembrokeshire continues to evolve. The question remains whether this result signals a broader trend of voters shifting away from traditional party politics.

Continue Reading

News

Wales set to ban supermarket junk food promotions

Published

on

New rules could reshape the way snacks are sold

SHOPPERS in Wales may soon find fewer tempting offers on unhealthy snacks as the Welsh government plans to ban the promotion of junk food in supermarkets.

Under the proposed regulations, retailers with 50 or more employees will be prohibited from placing sugary, salty, and fatty foods near tills, store entrances, or at the end of aisles. Similar restrictions will apply online, preventing junk food promotions from appearing on homepage banners, category pages, or checkout screens.

The crackdown, which could come into effect in March 2026 if approved by the Senedd next month, would also spell the end for buy-one-get-one-free deals and free refills on sugary drinks.

Health Secretary Jeremy Miles defended the measures, highlighting concerns about childhood obesity. “With nearly a quarter of children in Wales overweight or obese by the time they start school, we must take action to help people make healthier choices,” he said.

Retailers who fail to comply with the new rules could face fines of up to £2,500.

Industry concerns

The proposed legislation is similar to rules introduced in England in 2022 and follows a consultation launched last year. However, the Welsh Retail Consortium has raised concerns, particularly over limits on promotional pricing, arguing that price competition benefits customers.

“Restricting meal deal offers and category promotions could impact affordability for consumers,” a spokesperson warned.

Some smaller businesses, such as independent sweet shops and specialist chocolatiers, will be exempt from the restrictions.

The Welsh government says the new rules are designed to curb impulse buying of unhealthy foods and encourage better dietary habits across the nation. However, with opposition from some in the retail sector, the debate over balancing public health and consumer choice is set to continue.

Continue Reading

Education

Alarming new Estyn report reveals Welsh education in crisis

Published

on

WALES’ education system is in turmoil, with an alarming new report from Estyn exposing deep-rooted issues plaguing schools across the country. The watchdog’s findings highlight “stubbornly low” attendance rates, a critical shortage of teachers, and a growing crisis in pupil behaviour, all of which have worsened under Labour’s leadership of the Welsh Government.

The report warns that the continued failure to address these systemic problems is leading to declining educational standards and increasing pressures on teachers, many of whom are leaving the profession due to stress and inadequate support. With concerns mounting, opposition parties have called for urgent action to reverse the decline and restore confidence in Welsh education.

Schools under pressure

Estyn’s findings reveal a bleak picture of the current state of schools in Wales. Pupil absenteeism remains persistently high, with attendance figures showing no significant improvement since the COVID-19 pandemic. This, coupled with recruitment difficulties, has left many schools struggling to maintain adequate staffing levels, further exacerbating the challenges facing educators.

Adding to the crisis, Estyn highlights deteriorating pupil behaviour, with reports of increased disruption in classrooms leading to talented teachers leaving the profession. The watchdog criticises the Welsh Government for failing to provide clear guidance and sufficient resources to tackle these pressing issues.

Political fallout

Reacting to the report, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education, Natasha Asghar MS, condemned Labour’s handling of the education system, stating: “The Welsh Conservatives have long warned about the crises facing our schools—soaring absenteeism, teacher recruitment struggles, and rising school violence.

“Estyn’s report makes it clear that pupil attendance is ‘stubbornly low,’ recruitment issues are undermining educational standards, and pupil behaviour is driving talented professionals out of teaching.

“Labour’s failure to address these challenges has left Welsh education in crisis. Weak guidance, underfunding, and a lack of support for teachers are failing our children. Welsh education is broken under Labour—only the Welsh Conservatives can fix it.”

The Welsh Government has yet to formally respond to the criticisms, but Labour ministers have previously defended their education policies, pointing to ongoing investments in school infrastructure and teacher training programmes. However, critics argue that these efforts have fallen short, leaving schools ill-equipped to tackle the fundamental issues identified in Estyn’s report.

Calls for urgent reform

Education unions and opposition parties are now demanding immediate intervention to prevent further decline. Among the key recommendations are increased funding for schools, stronger behavioural policies, and targeted support for struggling pupils. There are also calls for a review of teacher recruitment strategies to attract and retain high-quality educators.

With Welsh education at a crossroads, the pressure is mounting on the Labour-led government to take decisive action. As schools continue to grapple with these mounting challenges, the future of education in Wales remains uncertain, with many questioning whether real change will be delivered before it is too late.

Continue Reading

Education7 hours ago

Alarming new Estyn report reveals Welsh education in crisis

WALES’ education system is in turmoil, with an alarming new report from Estyn exposing deep-rooted issues plaguing schools across the...

News2 days ago

Concerns mount over rising violence in Welsh schools

VIOLENCE in Welsh schools has reached a deeply disturbing level, according to Darren Millar MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives,...

News2 days ago

Six-way battle for Haverfordwest’s Prendergast Ward council seat

A SIX-WAY battle to contest a Pembrokeshire seat made vacant following the resignation of local county councillor Andrew Edwards during...

News2 days ago

Broke local authority drops legal action against Withyhedge Landfill

Decision made due to financial constraints CASH-STRAPPED Pembrokeshire County Council has announced it will not proceed with legal action against...

News2 days ago

Secrecy over Milford Haven Library rent as council faces funding ultimatum

MILFORD HAVEN’S library remains under threat as Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) refuses to disclose the rent it pays to the...

News3 days ago

Person rescued as fire guts Clunderwen home

A PERSON was pulled from a burning house in Clunderwen on Friday (Feb 7) as a fierce fire ripped through...

Community3 days ago

Work continues on 20mph speed limit review as figures show fall in casualties

WORK is continuing on a review of the 20mph speed limit in some areas of Pembrokeshire where public feedback has...

Business5 days ago

Shoplifting crisis: National attention on Pembrokeshire’s favourite seaside town

THE PICTURESQUE seaside town of Tenby, known for its golden beaches and bustling tourism industry, is now making headlines for...

News5 days ago

Threatening email revealed: Why Neyland’s clerk missed controversial meeting

A THREATENING email sent by Neyland Town Councillor David Devauden has been revealed, shedding new light on the Clerk’s absence...

Crime6 days ago

Man in court over baby’s death in Tenby car park

A MAN accused of causing the death of a six-month-old baby in a car park incident in Tenby has appeared...

Popular This Week