Politics

Manifesto Destiny #3: Plaid Cymru

Published

5 years ago

April 20, 2021

Andy Chandler

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.

Business

Cosheston Garden Centre expansion approved by planners

Published

24 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

PLANS to upgrade a garden centre on the main road to Pembroke Dock have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, submitted through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, Mr and Mrs Wainwright sought permission for upgrade of a garden centre with a relocated garden centre sales area, additional parking and the creation of ornamental pond and wildlife enhancement area (partly in retrospect) at Cosheston Garden Centre, Slade Cross, Cosheston.

The application was a resubmission of a previously refused scheme, with the retrospective aspects of the works starting in late 2023.

The site has a long planning history, and started life as a market garden and turkey farm in the 1980s, and then a number of applications for new development.

A supporting statement says the previously-refused application included setting aside a significant part of the proposed new building for general retail sales as a linked farm shop and local food store/deli in addition to a coffee bar.

It was refused on the grounds of “the proposal was deemed to be contrary to retail policies and the likely impact of that use on the vitality and viability of nearby centres,” the statement said, adding: “Secondly, in noting that vehicular access was off the A 477 (T) the Welsh Government raised an objection on the grounds that insufficient transport information had been submitted in respect of traffic generation and highway safety.”

It said the new scheme seeks to address those issues; the development largely the same with the proposed new garden centre building now only proposed to accommodate a relocated garden centre display sales area rather than a new retail sales area with other goods, but retaining a small ancillary coffee bar area.

“Additional information, in the form of an independent and comprehensive Transport Statement, has now been submitted to address the objection raised by the Welsh Government in respect of highway safety,” the statement said.

It conceded: “It is acknowledged that both the creation of the ornamental pond and ‘overspill’ parking area do not have the benefit of planning permission and therefore these aspects of the application are ‘in retrospect’ and seeks their retention.”

It finished: “Essentially, this proposal seeks to upgrade existing facilities and offer to the general public. It includes the ‘relocation’ of a previously existing retail display area which had been ‘lost’ to the ornamental pond/amenity area and to provide this use within the proposed new building and moves away from the previously proposed ‘farm shop’ idea which we thought had merit.

“This revised proposal therefore involves an ‘upgrading’ rather than an ‘expansion’ of the existing garden centre use.”

An officer report recommending approval said that, while the scheme would still be in the countryside rather than within a settlement boundary, the range of goods sold would be “typical of the type of goods sold in a garden centre and which could be sold elsewhere within the garden centre itself,” adding: “Unlike the recent planning application refused permission it is not intended to sell delicatessen goods, dried food, fruit and vegetables, pet products and gifts.”

It added that a transport statement provided had been reviewed by the Welsh Government, which did not object on highway grounds subject to conditions on any decision notice relating to visibility splays and parking facilities.

The application was conditionally approved.

Business

Tenby Poundland site could become retro gaming lounge

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

TENBY’S former Poundland and Royal Playhouse cinema could become a retro computer gaming lounge, plans submitted to the national park hope.

Following a takeover by investment firm Gordon Brothers, Poundland shut 57 stores earlier this year, including Tenby.

Prior to being a Poundland, the site was the Royal Playhouse, which had its final curtain in early 2011 after running for nearly a century.

The cinema had been doing poor business after the opening of a multiplex in Carmarthen; in late 2010 the opening night of the-then latest Harry Potter blockbuster only attracted an audience of 12 people.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Matthew Mileson of Newport-based MB Games Ltd, seeks permission for a ‘CONTINUE? Retro Gaming Lounge’ sign on the front of the former Gatehouse (Playhouse) Cinema, White Lion Street, most recently used as a Poundland store.

The signage plans form part of a wider scheme for a retro gaming facility at the former cinema site, which has a Grade-II-listed front facade, a supporting statement through agent Asbri Planning Ltd says.

“The subject site is located within the settlement of Tenby along White Lion St. The site was formerly the Gatehouse Cinema and currently operates as a Poundland discount store, which closed on October 18.”

It adds: “This application forms part of a wider scheme for the change of use to the former Gatehouse Cinema. Advertisement consent is sought for a non-illuminated aluminium composite folded panel that will be bolted onto the front façade of the proposed building, in replacement of the existing signage (Poundland).”

It stresses: “It is considered that the proposed advertisement will not have a detrimental impact on the quality of the environment, along with being within a proportionate scale of the building. It is considered that the proposed signage will reflect site function.

“Furthermore, due to the sympathetic scale and design of the sign itself, it is considered that the proposal will not result in any adverse visual amenity impacts.

“The proposal is reduced in sized compared to the existing Poundland advertisement. The sign will not be illuminated. Given the above it is considered that such proportionate signate in association with the proposed retro gaming lounge is acceptable and does not adversely affect visual amenity.”

An application for a retro gaming lounge by MB Games Ltd was recently given the go-ahead in Swansea.

Business

Llandeloy cottage crochet plans given the green light

Published

2 days ago

December 12, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to change the use of a Pembrokeshire farm holiday cottage to a crochet workshop has been given the go-ahead by Pembrokeshire planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Mr and Mrs Evans of Lochmeyler Farm, Llandeloy, through agent Harries Planning Design Management, sought permission for a change of use of a self-catered cottage to a crochet workshop.

A supporting statement says the application, one of a number of historic farm diversification schemes on site “seeks to continue to evolve with current market demands,” the cottage proposed for the change of use once a former outbuilding that was originally converted in 1992 into “a well-established holiday let”.

It added: “Made by Margo is a well-regarded local business founded by Margo Evans, a passionate lifelong crafter who began knitting at a young age. Her company specialises in creating handcrafted, contemporary crochet products using high-quality natural materials.

“Accordingly, Margo is a highly sought-after teacher known for her popular crochet classes. This proposal is motivated by a recognised need for a permanent space for the business, as to date the applicant has needed to use community halls or similar spaces to accommodate clients.

“Thus, the proposed change of use will secure a permanent space for these workshops and will future proof the business against the lack of availability of public spaces.

“Other alternatives have been considered with the cottage being the most viable option, particularly as demand has waned for holiday cottage post Covid-19. The holiday cottage, whilst once popular, is no longer in high demand, with visitors requiring more modern amenities and larger spaces which without significant investment, this holiday cottage is unable to provide.

“Consequently, the cottage’s change of use will diversify the farm’s revenue, while simultaneously providing a permanent base for a small rural business. While the primary customer base is local, the space may also help attract seasonal tourism and broaden the business’s appeal.”

It says the operation would be on a small scale, with a maximum of six people per class and a three day per-week schedule.

An officer report, recommending approval, said: “The provision of a workshop would have both social and environmental benefits for the applicant and local community through the provision of business and income generated from the operation.

“With regard to environmental impacts, positive environmental impacts would be achieved through the re-use of the building. Whilst the proposed location is in the open countryside, which is not a sustainable location, the proposed operation of the business is low scale. It is considered that the number of trips would be of low frequency when compared to the potential number of trips that are generated from tourism.”

The application was conditionally approved.