Some sad news today, as we have heard that Daniel Llewellyn, who was our candidate for the Newport East constituency for the Senedd Elections in 2021, has passed away aged 36. Our thoughts and best wishes are with Daniel’s family at this difficult time.
Well there we are then, the Newport West Senedd election is over and the voters (those who actually turned out to vote that is) have spoken. It was an interesting Senedd election campaign, somewhat overshadowed by covid, and the consequences of covid. There should be another massive thank you to my wife, my agent, my somewhat limited campaign team and the electors of Newport West for their support. Weather-wise it was was a strange campaign as well with possibilities of hail and / or torrential rain and bright sunshine (although admittedly without any heat) - sometimes all within the same hour.
Any election, should give every candidate the opportunity to listen to, to talk to and to meet with many Constituents, during the course of what should become a prolonged walking tour of (at least in my opinion) one of Cymru / Wales's more interesting constituencies. Covid largely put paid too that with leafleting only being aloud from the 12th April and restricted canvassing only being allowed after that date - which left the best part of three weeks.
Elections are not simply about the voters and the candidates, a whole host of people work very hard behind the scenes to make things work smoothly, including the Retuning Officers, their staff, the council staff who run the polling booths (for some hours on polling day done if then were literally in the dark and the cold) and the staff who count the votes and the other council staff and the Police who work tirelessly to make the count function flawlessly - all of which happened within the midst of covid pandemic restrictions.
At least for once, it was decided to count the votes on the Friday following Polling day, which was far more civilised than counting the votes in the early hours, something that we managed to do this in 1999 and life as we know it did not come to an end. Personally I hope that this temporary change becomes a permanent change - I could not help noticing that this time round the sky did not fall.
Post election, in Newport West (and elsewhere) former candidates and even for the successfully elected candidate life can now begin the odd process of returning to some form of normality. For the next few weeks after returning to normal sleep patterns and a normal intake of coffee may be something of a priority, that and resisting the strange desire to knock on the doors of perfect strangers and push leaflets through complete strangers letter boxes.
Now that the sound and the fury have faded, and the door knocking and on the street conversations blended into one former candidates can sensibly take stock and perhaps some reflection. As a candidate, no matter the result, you should neither make instant decisions about your future nor say anything in the heat of the moment that can come back and haunt you further down the line.
This is no glory in politics, merely hard often unappreciated effort, any dreams of political immortality / longevity should regularly doused with hard cold realism. I personally learned that lesson a few election campaigns ago having been featured on the front page of a local newspaper in relation to the well supported local campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market I had the quite surreal experience of going to buy some chips in a local chip shop with a friend only to sit-in the queue to observe myself literally being wrapped around chips (Sic transit gloria mundi - or "Thus passes the glory of the world”.
Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru
Dear voter,
In the age of conversing in 280 characters, it often feels as if the sanctity of words wears thinner by the day.
Vows to save the Union made then broken. Slogans on buses painted over with bluff and bluster. NHS deadlines missed and child poverty targets dropped.
It’s time to restore trust in our democracy.
I want you to believe in those who represent Wales as much as you believe in Wales itself. I want to prove to you that Plaid Cymru is driven by something different – not by Westminster diktat but by a sincere desire to deliver for our country.
I want us to form the next government of Wales not for the power, but for the privilege of leading our nation and for the potential that will be unleashed by our radical and transformational programme.
As you head to the polling station today, ask yourself two simple questions: Can Wales have a future that is greener, fairer, and more prosperous? And isn’t it time we had a government ready to make that a reality?
If the answer to those questions is ‘yes’, then vote for Wales – vote for Plaid Cymru.
‘Vote’
Vote for a £6bn Welsh Green Deal that will create up to 60,000 jobs.
Vote for a Reskill Grant for those over 25 who were made redundant during the pandemic and for a Youth Jobs Guarantee for all 16-24-year-olds.
Vote for 1,000 extra doctors and 5,000 extra nurses and allied health professionals to improve access to healthcare and cut waiting times.
Vote for 50,000 public homes to end the scandal of 67,000 families stuck on housing waiting lists.
Vote for free school meals and free childcare from 24 months to lift tens of thousands of children out of poverty.
Vote for Plaid Cymru as the only party which believes that Wales’s future should be put in Wales’s hands through a referendum on independence.
Vote for a party dedicated to Wales and determined to deliver for Wales.
A dear friend no longer with us once told me that life is too short not to say what you mean and to mean what you say.
Today, I give you my word. Vote for Plaid Cymru and we will work every day to make Wales a better place for everyone who lives here. We will stand up taller and raise our voices louder to Westminster whilst building the case for our nation to make its own way in the world.
Vote for Plaid Cymru and let us prove to you that a promise made is a promise kept – true to our word and true to Wales.
Dros Gymru,
Adam Price
Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has marked the eve of the Senedd Election by making the case that “a vote for Plaid is a vote for hope” as Wales prepares to go to the polls.
The Plaid Cymru Leader added that his party’s “transformational programme for government” reflected the scale of change and ambition required to rebuild Wales’s economy and public services after the Covid pandemic.
Speaking on the eve of the Senedd Election, Adam Price said:
“At this election more than any other, a vote for Plaid Cymru is a vote for hope.
“We refuse to believe that there is anything inferior about Wales that means we can’t thrive like other independent nations around the world.
“In contrast to Labour and the Tories’ “can’t do” attitude and their determination to put Westminster before Wales every time, we believe in our nation’s ability to solve its own problems.
“The Covid pandemic has demanded more of us in so many ways. More kindness, more patience, more strength, and more innovation.
“Now is the time to show more ambition than ever before to ensure that we meet the challenge of rebuilding our economy and public services.
“That is why Plaid Cymru is putting forward such a transformational programme for government to reflect the scale of change and ambition required to succeed.
“From creating up to 60,000 jobs and delivering 50,000 public homes, from offering free school meals to all primary pupils and free childcare from 24 months, and from training and recruiting 6,000 frontline NHS staff and cutting council tax for the average household, Plaid Cymru’s vision gives hope.
“Hope for a better future, a fairer future, and a future where our nation and everyone who calls it home can fulfil their potential.
“There is nothing we cannot achieve together, and that journey can start tomorrow with a vote for Plaid Cymru, a vote for hope.”
ENDS
Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has today accused the Labour Welsh Government of leaving Wales with a “woeful economic legacy” as a consequence of failing to support indigenous Welsh businesses and create well-paid jobs after 22 years in power.
Adam Price said that Wales had been “locked in” to a low-wage economy due to the “double hit” of Labour’s lack of economic competence coupled with their lack of ambition when it comes to standing up to Westminster and demanding more powers.
He added that a Plaid government would adopt a “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra, and reiterated how his party’s plans to create up to 60,000 jobs in key sectors such as public services, infrastructure and energy would “transform our country”.
Adam Price said:
“Plaid Cymru has a plan that will transform our country. We have a plan that will transform the economy, creating quality jobs in every community – ending youth unemployment, ending child hunger, ending homelessness and poverty pay.
“For many years, relatively low unemployment figures have hidden one of Wales’s worst economic problems – poverty pay. Welsh workers are still earning roughly £50 less per week than their counterparts in England and Scotland.
“This is the woeful economic legacy of 22 years of Labour at the helm who have categorically failed to deliver high-skilled, well-paid jobs in all parts of Wales.
“The pandemic has compounded this problem by leading to thousands of people losing their livelihoods and driving many other businesses right to the brink.
“A Plaid Cymru government would not only create more jobs with our plans to employ up to 60,000 people in sustainable roles such as in public services, infrastructure, and energy but crucially jobs that would put more money in people’s pockets.
“From Aston Martin to Ineos, Labour have repeatedly courted global corporations whilst neglecting homegrown Welsh companies with the potential to thrive and create meaningful employment for people in their local communities.
“A Plaid government would adopt a “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra, making up for the lost years in which Wales has been locked in to a low-wage economy due to Labour’s incompetent handling and their lack of ambition in standing up to Westminster and demanding more economic levers.
“This will only change when Wales has a First Minister willing to take personal responsibility for the economy and lead a government that is feared and respected by Westminster, not neglected and ignored.”
Jonathan T Clark’s six pledges to the people of Newport West:
We need affordable homes prioritised for local residents and we need to end street homelessness.
Our country lacks, a serious well thought out integrated housing structure plan, a modern planning system and a realistic vision or plan for strategically developing our housing for the future and we need to develop a sustainable protected green belt for Newport and Wales.
We need a public transport revolution for Newport, the metro must deliver - saving our environment, our time and money. We need a new railway station for Caerleon / Ponthir and an hourly rail service from Ebbw Vale and Rogerstone into Newport.
Newport must be at the forefront of the green energy revolution - with our deep-water port, our highly skilled adaptable workforce, we are a natural centre for off-shore wind, tidal lagoons, tidal turbines and an Usk river barrage
Newport has suffered because of the obsession with directly competing with Cardiff and Cribs Causeway. We need to focus on growing small local businesses that supply our needs as well as hosting the usual suspects to bring economic life back to our city centre.
The proposed Cardiff City region and the Western Gateway project will not serve Newport well. I will ensure that Newport has a strong voice in the Senedd, I will work hard to put the interests of Newport, rather than party interests, first.
“How dare you! I know all about you and your politics.”
— Plaid Cymru 🏴 (@Plaid_Cymru) April 18, 2021
📺 @Adam Price to Welsh Tory leader, on the Tory social care record #ITVelectiondebate
🗳️ #VoteForWales pic.twitter.com/OlquV41gVG
Covid-19 has exposed decades of deep and growing inequality inflicted on Wales by Westminster’s corrupt elite and Labour’s missed targets and undelivered promises.
This election is our chance to create a brighter future, together, under the fresh leadership of a Plaid Cymru Government. We will deliver the best start in life for every child, a fair deal for families, the best NHS and a plan for the whole country to prosper.
On the 6th of May a vote for Plaid Cymru is a vote for the best start in life for every child, for a plan to recover and prosper, for the best public services, for a greener, fairer Wales and for Wales – not Westminster – to decide its future.
Plaid pledges independence referendum and the “most radical programme since 1945”
Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS today set out what he described as “the most radically ambitious and transformational programme offered by any party in any Welsh election since 1945” as the party unveils its manifesto for the upcoming Senedd election.
Adam Price said that the “practical, deliverable and fully costed policies” will deliver a fairer, greener, and more prosperous future for Wales by focussing on five key areas.
Mr Price set out the following policies:
“Westminster will never work for Wales. We inhabit different universes. In ours we want to reward our healthcare workers. In theirs:
-END-
Plaid Cymru Senedd Member for Ynys Môn, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has today set out how his party’s plans to create a national energy company - Ynni Cymru - located on Anglesey would boost the local economy and help Wales reach its climate change targets.
Ynni Cymru, an energy project development company, would follow a model similar to Transport for Wales or the Development Bank for Wales.
Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said Wales has huge potential in zero carbon electricity generation, and that the new body would spearhead such developments, bringing benefits to local communities and Wales as a whole, whilst helping us meet our environmental obligations.
The Plaid Cymru Senedd candidate for Ynys Môn added that a Plaid government would commission a national inventory of green energy potential – an Energy Atlas – to identify possible new projects and developments.
Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said:
“Wales has a vast amount of natural wealth but we need to reap those benefits for local communities, for Wales and for our environment.
“That is why a Plaid Cymru government would establish a national energy company for Wales – Ynni Cymru – that would give us greater control over electricity generation.
“I am delighted that a Plaid government would locate Ynni Cymru on Ynys Môn where there is huge untapped potential in terms of natural resources and where local communities would benefit from the economic boost of a new development coming to the island.
“It would be responsible for mapping out an Energy Atlas – a national inventory of green energy potential that will allow us to identify opportunities to develop new Welsh firms and community energy projects.
“Tidal energy, off our southern and northern coasts, including the exciting projects off the Anglesey coast, would form a major part of this, as well as mapping green hydrogen potential and increasing offshore wind generation.
“A Plaid government would also be committed to ensuring all new renewable energy projects are at least partly owned by the local community.
“These are ambitious but workable plans that will help Wales tackle the climate emergency whilst creating high-skilled, well-paid jobs as part of a sustainable economic recovery.”
ENDS
Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru MS for the Rhondda has today outlined her party’s pledge to introduce an Autism Act should they form the next Welsh Government in May.
Leanne Wood recalled the “widespread anger and disappointment” when Labour voted against an Autism Bill in the Senedd back in 2019, vowing that a Plaid Cymru government make up for this “missed opportunity.”
On World Autism Awareness Day, the Plaid Cymru candidate for the Rhondda added that her party’s Autism Act would “adopt a rights-based approach for people with autism” to support families and the thousands of individuals who are either struggling to get a diagnosis or support afterwards.
Dr John Gillibrand is an author and long term campaigner, raising awareness about autism, and has welcomed the news that a Plaid Cymru government would introduce an Autism Act. Dr Gillibrand’s son was diagnosed with autism in childhood, and says that people “can’t take for granted that support will be equal across Wales” without embedding statutory responsibility.
Leanne Wood MS said:
“There was widespread anger and disappointment when the vast majority of Labour Members voted against an Autism Bill in the Senedd in 2019.
“A Plaid Cymru Government would make up for this missed opportunity by bringing forward an Autism Act that would adopt a rights-based approach for people with autism and those suspected of having autism but are yet to receive a diagnosis.
“When the Autism Bill was voted down by Labour, I clearly recall the distressing evidence we received from individuals with autism and their families. They spoke movingly of the challenges they faced in getting support after diagnosis and in many cases the struggle of getting a diagnosis in the first place.
“Their stories showed that there is a desperate need for such legislation. Those stories are still being told – the difference is that a Plaid Cymru government would be willing to listen.
“There are around 34,000 autistic people in Wales who need and deserve far greater consistency nationwide in terms of the provision of support and services available to them.
“A Plaid Cymru government would bring forward the Autism Act to help these thousands of people and to deliver where Labour have failed.”
Dr Gillibrand said:
“I welcome the news that a Plaid Cymru government would bring back the Autism Act, as I was bitterly disappointed when this was voted down in the Senedd in 2019.
“I understand the difference that the right support at the right time can make to people diagnosed with autism and their families. It’s vital that this is embedded into legislation, rather than leaving such important matters to local discretion.
“People can’t take for granted that support will be equal across Wales unless this is made a statutory requirement.”
ENDS
Plaid Cymru has called on the Welsh Government to take action to save to save the jobs of up to 200 steelworkers in Wales.
Delyth Jewell, Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd for South Wales East, said:
“Amid the discussions of the future and fortunes of Liberty Steel are the employees, caught in the middle, and who are desperately seeking reassurance that their governments are doing everything in their power to secure their jobs. For the near 200 workers in Wales, it’s imperative that the Welsh Government acts quickly and ensures that no stone is left unturned in the effort to save jobs in this key industrial sector. The only secure and sustainable future for Welsh steel plants in the long run is to return the ownership of the Welsh steel industry to Welsh hands – and ensuring that our workers and their communities have a seat at the table.”
ENDS
The view from the periphery, or the edge often largely depends on where you stand and how you look at the map, a change of economic focus in Wales is long overdue, perhaps ironically where ever we end up post Brexit may well finally compel us to think and act differently.
It is clear we cannot go on as we have, our country is literally littered with the tombstone like remnants of failed models of economic development. Most of them having failed to deliver long-term economic benefits and more than a few long-term jobs to our people and our communities.
What is badly needed is the courage to step away from the over centralised state agency dependent model of economic development as applied by successive Westminster and Welsh governments. Successive Westminster Governments have consistently failed to deliver beyond the short-term for Wales.
With the crutch of EU regional funding about to be kicked firmly away, despite the weak and wobbly promises from Westminster to the contrary, we in Wales find ourselves desperately needing some fresh economic thinking and action rather than more words.
The older economic models which reduce Cymru / Wales to simply a region (or more ominously simply the peripheral part of larger cross border regions) where we have provided relatively cheap labour with industries that were heavily dependent on grants for funding just won’t wash or work anymore.
We need to find other economic models that can deliver long-term jobs and lasting material benefits to our communities and to our country.
We have been historically over dependent on Westminster or the old Welsh Office or Cardiff Bay waving their magic wand to solve our economic problems, this is entirely understandable considering the nature of our economic and political history, but this simply compounds the error and just won’t solve our economic problems or create sustainable jobs.
The days of bringing in significant amounts of ‘inward investment’ are over, Westminster has better things to spend its money on in England - Cymru / Wales does not matter electorally (or economically) as far as the Conservatives are concerned.
Post the CORONA virus and Post BREXIT it’s time to be honest to ourselves and admit that ‘The Union’ as it has been, even with devolution has failed to deliver for Wales. As far as it is concerned the current Labour in Wales government is fresh out of ideas, unless compared to the current Conservative Westminster government.
We desperately need indigenous home grown businesses (small, medium and larger scale) which will put down roots and stick around when economic times are tough rather than pulling up sticks and bugging out when the grant money runs out and be more able to resist being hovered up by multi nationals.
We need to develop small to medium sized enterprises or local co-operative industries that could provide medium to long-term sustainable job opportunities and an economy where they can thrive.
Part of the economic mix should include developing and encouraging the co-operative model of economic development. The co-operative model works well in a number of countries including both Ireland and in the Basque country, there is no reason why it should not work well here.
The Basque cooperative model, as personified by Mondragon co-operative suggests what can be accomplished. If we are to grow local businesses and local jobs we are going to have to create a real Bank of Wales, perhaps using the German Sparkasse and Landesbanken model.
For too long far too many small and medium sized businesses in our country have been denied access to credit by banks and this has prevented the growth of our private sector.
Our over centralised dividend driven pretty much rootless London based banking model that has been followed in the UK is incapable, indifferent or simply unwilling to deliver or support economic development in our country.
In Germany, the Sparkasse and Landesbanken operate on a geographical basis, and have developed special expertise in the local industries so that they are better equipped to make investment decisions and should offer a real alternative.
Mondragon a collective of over 264 companies and organisations mostly based in the Basque Country has proven to be one of the more resilient economic success stories in recession-hit Spain. It has a revenue of 12,215 million euros, with 81,837 employees with 15 technology centres in 41 countries and sales in over 150 countries.
The Basque co-operative may well be the world's largest worker co-operative, it has certainly assisted the Basque economy to try and resist the worst ravages of the recession in Spain. The company was established in 1956, in the province of Gipuzkoa; with a business philosophy built around co-operation, participation, social responsibility and innovation.
It began small (this may very well be the key to its success) and form the bottom up with a group of workers in a disused factory, literally using hand tools and sheet metal to make oil-fired heating and cooking stoves.
The Cooperative continues to compete on international markets using democratic methods within its business organisation, helps to create jobs, and is committed to the human and professional development of its workers and pledges to development with its social environment.
Some parts of the co-operative are wholly owned, others are run as joint venture operations.
Co-operative members as equal co-owners of their own workplaces enjoy job security and individual capital holdings, with an equal sharing of profits on a proportionate basis and an equal ‘one-member one vote’ say in the way their enterprises are run.
Pay within the cooperatives is strictly egalitarian, with the highest rates payable other than in exceptional circumstances being refreshingly no more than six and a half times the lowest rate.
The Basque country has Spain’s highest GDP per capita, its richer than even Catalonia and Wales is the poorest nation in the British Isles, and in northwestern Europe.
We in Wales have much to learn from the example of Mondragon and its methods when it comes generating and retaining sustainable jobs, simply remaining poor (or increasingly poorer) west Britons is not an option.
There is no reason why the co-operative approach combined with a rich mix of small to medium sized enterprises cannot be used to bring in a community focused upward economic slow burn approach to economic development.
We desperately need something that will not just provide local jobs but real community beneficial sustainable developments which can transform our communities and fundamentally boost our country’s economic potential.
Perhaps we can take that first important step in May 2021 at the Senedd elections and put the firmly past behind us.
