THE CENTRALIST ENEMY?

One of the problems, and we have a few in these islands, relates to the difficulties that occur when it comes to defining just exactly where the state / government stops and the private sector / third sector and everything else begins. 

While this problem, predates Blair (and the Blairites), part of their legacy that relates to the deliberate blurring of the boundaries between the public and private sector - something successive governments (some devolved and some not) have been quite happy to live with (see Dido Harding et al).

At Westminster, between 2010 and 2015, Cameron and Clegg were equally as guilty of doing much of the same as Blair, when it comes to blurring the edges of the state, although for admittedly ulterior motives. They were driven by the Neo liberal / Neo Con urge to reduce  / destroy and replace aspects / elements of the state, and transferring elements of what former agencies of the state once did, to Third Sector or Private agencies (and ironically removing that element of democratic accountability).

In Cymru / Wales, during the Thatcher / Major years, we also saw the rise of a pseudo third sector with the growth of quango’s, when majority Conservative governments in Westminster had to administer Cymru / Wales (at arms length so to speak). By the mid 1990’s quangos (who sat on them, and what the did, and who they were accountable for their actions and decisions) had become a hot political issue. 

Labour in Wales in 1997 (particularly during the run up to our first Welsh general election in 1999) made much of their promise to have a bonfire of the quangos. It somewhat strangely never quite happened, perhaps it was too difficult a task to undertake (let alone complete) or perhaps the quangos were simply to useful particularly when it came to stuffing them with Labour in Wales cronies. 

In Cymru / Wales, while most people did not necessary see the blurring between the private sector and the state happen, we all lived with the consequences. A prime example was when New Labour in Wales, under Blair, added a whole raft of new ones in the shape of the housing associations. 

The transfer of the control of housing stock from local authorities to newly formed housing associations, which became well salaried (at least at the top) and acquired borrowing authority. Not quite overnight social housing became career enhancing commercial enterprises - at arms length from  local government and accountability. 

Predating the rise of the quango state, we in Cymru / Wales also saw a blurring of the difference between the Labour Party in Wales and local government and the Third Sector. With Labour in Wales often unable to  tell the difference. Quango's were part of the problem, something that Labour in Wales, in power, just found too useful to dispose of when they were given an opportunity. 

Perhaps Dafydd Iwan, in his song, ‘The Big Shot’ summed up the problem: 

“I’ve been on the education committee since 1933,

I know every headmaster in the country, or rather, they know me.”

                                                                           

Labour in Wales are (despite occasional twinges) instinctive centralisers - it's partially to do with control issues, but, mostly the legacy of the moment in the early 1920's when Labour in Westminster got a taste of power (and the trapping, trinkets and baubles that came / come with it). 

Geoffrey Goodman, a diary keeping journalist, attributed the following quote to a deeply disillusioned Aneurin Bevan, who said, "I am heartily sickened by the Parliamentary Labour Party. It is rotten through and through, corrupt, full of patronage and seeking after patronage, unprincipled… it isn’t really a socialist party at all.” 

Little has changed in the Labour Party at any level since as far as I have observed, when it comes it comes down to priorities. Above all it’s the retention of  control / power at all levels, even if you do nothing with it, even if it's at the expense of the majority of Labour Party members - out in the cold Labour Party members have periodically suggested that this is particularly true in Newport, but, I suspect that my home town / city is not particularly unique in this respect.

Within these islands, Centralism and Unionism (not necessarily the Trades kind) happily walk hand in hand  When the Conservatives Party in Wales talked about a war on 'devolution waste' what they are actually talking about is a war on devolution itself, if not a war on Wales itself.

Most, but not all, Conservatives in Wales, will happily work hand in glove with the Conservative government in Westminster to weaken and undermine our devolution settlement. As will some, but not necessarily all of the Labour elite - obviously I use the term elite in this context somewhat loosely. 

As weak as our devolution settlement is, it's miles better than what we had previously, which was exactly nothing. We now have a form of democratic accountability, it’s not complete, but, it’s a start, whereas before we effectively had a Westminster diktat. 

The tradition of the centralisation of power in these islands goes back hundreds of years, with local power sharing arrangements in England and in Wales being subsumed in the Westminster leviathan, on the grounds of efficiency and expediency between the 15th and 18th centuries. 

And this was before the sublimation of Scotland and Ireland that led to the creation of the union between 1701 and 1801 and the centralisation of political power.  The fantasy of defending “English liberty” from “French tyranny” had more to do with protecting a corrupt rotten to the core Georgian political elite than the liberties of ordinary people. 

The core belief of centralisation, rather than necessarily strengthening the Union, centralised political power in Westminster, I suggest that centralisation remains a core value that infects both the parties of the right and the nominal left ( actually moving to centre right ). 

It is perhaps worth remembering that as late as 2005 the Conservatives would have quite happily abolished the then National Assembly. The Senedd is not safe in their hands and neither is the future of our nation - the Conservatives are not alone, I suspect when it comes to holding this position.

Part of me, remains genuinely convinced that if it were possible to remove the Scottish parliament and our Senedd, that there are unionists and centralists in the Labour and Conservative Parties (even in Cymru / Wales) who would not hesitate for a moment. 

While historically Labour centralists would have happily lay down their rhetorical lives for Ireland, or Palestine or other worthy and deserving blue water causes whilst quietly pining for a centralised British state / republic.

With Labour moving back towards the right under its current leadership, and the Conservatives moving even to the right, I find that the two parties have far more in common and far more shared values. 

The Conservative and Labour unionist centralists maintain an unhealthy patronising metropolitan scorn for any political aspirations aspired too by any of the other nations that inhabit this often rain swept island archipelago (worthy of comparison with the rhetoric used by some Russian nationalists with their patronising dismissal of Ukraine and other smaller historic nations in and outside of Russia) and of any and all devolved matters outside of the M25.

Despite recent Labour spin, from our perspective, they are the same old, admittedly rebadged, post Blairite / Corbynite centralist enemy - with the same old rebranded statist / centralising solutions - which outside of the short term have spectacularly failed to deliver for us, especially since 1973, since when the Union has effectively ceased to deliver or be a force for good.

Yet, we in Wales, have been here before. The centralists (blue and red) have both promised much and delivered little that was lasting, save for a faint echos or faint ghosts of long departed industrial and regional development that can be found scattered across our land. 

I would further argue that state centralisation, as practised within these islands, whether driven by Labour in Westminster, or the Conservatives vision of a greater England is directly opposed to what Raymond Williams described as our cultural impulse towards democratic community, one spasm of which democratically debated, created and endorsed - that of devolution. 

And that despite devolution, or perhaps because of it, this centralising tendency has never really gone away despite the roll out of differing levels of devolution to redress the democratic deficit in the late 1990’s.  The civil service, at least in England and Wales, appears to continue to behave as if devolution has not happened. Until there is a Wales based Cymru / Wales focused civil service this state of affairs is likely to continue. 

Some twenty four years later of all the devolved nations and provinces Scotland still has the best devolutionary deal, followed in second place by the periodically government less Northern Ireland. Cymru / Wales sadly trails in a poor third - with  a relatively weak devolutionary settlement - something that suits the majority of Labour in Wales representatives in Cardiff Bay and beyond - who lie awake at night dreaming of Labour in Westminster winning and riding to the rescue. 

Labour may will the next Westminster election, but, little sadly will change For Wales ( and much of England ) it may well be a case of “Dream on!” It’s important to remember that the last time they were in power at Westminster between 1997 and 2010 just exactly what did not happen.  

Labour had a large sizeable majority and pretty much the power to do whatever they wanted to do. Labour in Westminster didn’t come riding to the rescue then, and there is little prospect of anything positive drifting down the M4 / A55 - so we should not expect Labour to do anything after the next Westminster election. 

New Labour's failure to strengthen the devolutionary settlement in Cymru / Wales - partially the result of the work of Peter Hain in the House of Commons has left Cymru / Wales vulnerable to the machinations and with built in weaknesses when it came to planning, energy, the railways ( despite some significant recent improvements ), energy ( on and off-shore ) and perhaps most important of all water. 

Post Brexit both the Conservatives and the party formerly known as New Labour will not doubt eagerly grasp the opportunity to build their vision of a new centralist aggressively rebadged Brit Nationalist union. 

The Brit Nat / Imperial nostalgia drum will be thoroughly beaten to drum up sentimentality / nostalgic pap to drown out any criticism - constructive or otherwise. We should remember that the direct Westminster-rule which existed for most of my lifetime, failed to deliver for much of Wales (beyond the short-term). 

Even before I was born the great hopes of the future proved to be unsustainable beyond the medium term - British Nylon Spinners (in Mamhilad, north of Pontypool (gone), BSC / RTB Llanwern (a remnant), East Moors, on the eastern fringe of Cardiff (gone), Hoover in Merthyr (gone), Ford in Bridgend (going), etc. 

Post BREXIT and post Boris / Truss appears that things are only going to get worse (rather than better) as Whitehall ‘Britocrats’ scramble to protect the City of London at all costs, while our manufacturers, exporters, SME’s and farmers are left to sink, swim or go under.

The post BREXIT domestic settlement offers from the centralist perspective of Westminster a real opportunity to actively work to roll back, weaken or undermine the devolutionary settlements within the UK. Certainly recent developments in relation to repatriated 'powers' being returned from Brussels to Westminster have shown how few of any of the repatriated powers will find their way to Wales. 

Plaid's attempts lead by the late (and greatly missed) Steffan Lewis in relation to the Continuity Bill - provided Cymru / Wales with a vital first step to ensure Westminster did not ride rough shod over our hard-won right to run our own affairs, endorsed initially by Labour in Wales, was then tamely surrendered by Labour in Wales, at Westminster’s first asking. 

Not for nothing should we underestimate the ideological commitment to the Union, the cuts deep into the heart of the Labour Party in Wales, and even when giving in to those unionist urges does Cymru / Wales little good. 

As I have said previously, and will keep saying, no nation can be half devolved, no more than a nation can be half free. We need the devolutionary full measure and the tools to do the job and to deliver economic change for our country, and we need them yesterday. We need the politics of hope and a real belief that things can change and get better. 

We urgently need real change, it's time for a real new deal, it's time to be radical, because only radical solutions are going to deliver for our people and our nation. At the most basic level we need devolution to actually deliver for our nation - economically, socially and politically. 

The problem is, from where we in Cymru / Wales are sat, devolution, as is, simply cannot adequately deliver, we have reached that point in our nations journey, where only independence can deliver for Cymru / Wales.

TAKING WALES FOR GRANTED

Peidiwch â gadael i Keir Starmer gymryd Cymru yn ganiataol. Pleidleisiwch dros Blaid Cymru. 

Don’t let Keir Starmer take Wales for granted. Vote Plaid Cymru.

IF IN A HOLE, STOP DIGGING…

We are in the midst of an on-going energy crisis, which has been made worse by the initial spike in gas bad oil prices when the war between Russia and Ukraine started, was not to be unexpected. The temporary solutions offered by the Conservative Westminster government have failed to address the underlying long term problems that have brought us to this situation we find ourselves in - the old adage if in a hole, stop digging applies.

Back in the 1960's people were told that by the year 2000 energy would be so cheap that it would be impossible to bill people for it (as my late father told me, probably more than once). Now obviously that never happened, as a direct result of the ideologically driven privatisation of the energy boards which resulted in the creation of a privatised monopoly and sowed some of the seeds of the current energy crisis with the failure to develop sustainable renewable energy resources.

Once the ideology driven fiction of “market forces” set to work and time passed ( and merger, and acquisition followed merger and acquisition along with the asset stripping frenzy ) we were left with the big six energy suppliers (a cartel by any other name). The only real beneficiaries to all of this in the medium too long term has been the City of London and the Stockmarket - which to be honest was probably always the intention.

What was a bad idea to start with was made worse with weak token gesture regulation and that despite some periodic and actually very effective work by Westminster parliamentary select committees, has not worked. The cartel members have been able to get away with a lot of things and have been able to regularly ramp up excessive profits at our expense (literally) - especially when it comes to the price of energy to consumers.

If the fictitious energy sector was to have a literal tombstone it should read “Died of a theory”. It is time to

recognise that this costly ideologically theory driven experiment has failed and failed badly. Much like the privatisation of the railways and the water companies in England. That said simply rolling the clock back to having it all run by the indifferent dead hand of a re-centralised post Brexit Brit state is not a realistic option.

Neither the Labour Party or the Conservative government are going to do anything really meaningful to sort out the mess that the energy sector is in. Even if a Labour Government was to create a publicly owned energy company, which would be a step in the right direction, I simply don’t trust any Westminster government to leave state run utilities alone - particular if they make a profit.

From what I have read about pre privatisation state utilities, the more profitable state run enterprises were periodically pillaged for funds - which were transferred to other less successfully state run enterprises. That's partially how we ended up in this mess to start with.

We need to do something different - firstly we need to make sure that we don't get fleeced over our energy bills by the members of the 'Big 6 Energy Cartel' - who have all made fat profits over the years at our expense.

Secondly, we need to see in motion the energy utility companies from dividend profit to non dividend profit enterprises, which are not run by Westminster (or having seen Labour in Wales in action or perhaps in-action over the last twenty years plus ) or by the Senedd either.

Now in Cymru / Wales having recognised that what we have does not work, we need to change the rules of the game and to create a national energy company for Wales to generate sustainable and reasonably priced energy, which can also be part of the solution to create a low carbon society.

There is no reason to suggest that similar solutions would not work in parts of England. Ynni Cymru, should be run as a not-for-dividend company at arms-length from the Welsh Government. This would prevent the agencies of the state from skimming profits off the top and ensure that they get reinvested.

This is a realistic vision for energy ( development and supply ) and would create a realistic environment to reduce our energy sectors carbon emissions, harnesses our nations ample natural resources sustainably, and provide opportunities in the low-carbon and circular economies. The link between energy and climate change has to be clear.

Now a number of actions could fall under the remit of Ynni Cymru, including: reducing the cost per unit of energy to homes and businesses in Wales, reducing the consumption of energy in homes and businesses and helping consumers to make informed decisions based on smart metering technology.

Ynni Cymru should be tasked with funding the mass installation, outsourced to local companies, of solar panels on the roofs of households, business premises and lampposts, beginning with public buildings and social housing. The company could coordinate and facilitate the use of publicly owned land for renewable energy purposes.

The company could finance the acquisition and development of new large-scale generating and storage capacity, ensuring Wales becomes self-sufficient in renewable energy and becomes a renewable energy exporter. It could boost our energy market by ensuring the development of a national producer cooperative among community energy organisations.

The biggest problem we face is that our energy production and distribution model has been effectively restructured to primarily benefit the big 6 energy cartel members, their interests and their (City) profits. From the perspective of energy consumers and smaller scale energy producers, or anyone who wants things to change the problem is that all the Westminster focused political parties have happily bought into this cartel dominated model of energy production and ownership (or perhaps more truthfully were quietly bought).

The reality is that the UK’s cartel dominated model for energy production and distribution is not the norm everywhere in Europe or around the world. Now contrary to what you might think, and tend hear from Westminster and much of the UK media; realistic alternatives exist and actually prosper, a particularly good example of a balanced and healthy energy mix can be found in Germany.

Small may very well be beautiful, even with a geographically sizeable state, especially in relation to energy, in the year 2000 renewables accounted for 6.3 percent of electricity demand only, its share has been growing significantly over the last years, exceeding 10 percent in the year 2005 and 25 per ent in the year 2013.

In 2022 renewable energy sources produced more electricity than all fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil) together and now provide 46.2 percent of German electricity demand ( 254 billion kilowatt hours) [ 15-MAR-2023 ]. With wind power being the most important energy source in the German electricity mix.

Wind power made the largest contribution to the energy mix of renewable energy sources, accounting for 21.7 percent of total electricity generated in 2022. Whilst combined wind power is the leading source of renewable energy in Germany, it has only been in recent years that offshore wind power started contributing to the energy mix.

In 2013, electricity produced through offshore wind power amounted to 0.9 terawatt hours. Within just a decade, this had increased to 25.1 terawatt hours. As the leading renewable energy source in Germany, it is little surprising that as of 2021, there were over 130,000 employees in the wind energy sector.

Compared to other renewable energy sources, hydropower is a relatively minor contributor to the energy mix in Germany. Since 2000, hydropower's electricity generation had declined from 24.9 terawatts to a low of 17.5 billion kilowatts in 2022. 

The massively significant difference between the energy sector in Germany and the energy sector in these islands is the significant role played by Community based and owned energy co-operatives.

In Germany, community based co-operatives (both urban and rural), farmers and homeowners are part of the 1.3 million renewable energy producers and part of the energy mix. In Germany, citizens’, cooperatives, and communities own more than half of German renewable capacity. Small-scale electricity generation is having a knock on effect encouraging change throughout the energy system.

Citizens’ owned energy in Germany involves:

* Private individuals or farmers (jointly or individually) invest in energy facilities

* The investment is made with the citizens own capital, which gives a certain level of control over the project

* Citizens own at least 50 percent of voting shares

* Citizens have a connection to the region where the facility is operated

In Berlin, a cooperative (Burger Energie Berlin – literally Berlin Citizens Energy) continues to strive to take control of the capital's electricity grid with some 35,000km of underground cables. The cooperative is a free, cross-party coalition of citizens who are committed to a sustainable, sustainable and democratic energy policy in Berlin. Members have one vote regardless of the amount their deposit and anyone who wants the power network to be in civil hand, is welcome.

Ordinary Berliners invested their cash in the venture with the intention of producing a reliable 100 per cent renewable energy supply. The aim is to promote the integration of renewable energy into the grid and to invest a portion of the profits from this directly into the transition to renewable energy. After some serious campaigning, on the 5th March 2019 the Berlin electricity grid was awarded to Energie Berlin.

 

This is grass roots energy generation that has potentially the power to change the nature of the energy supply system ( in Germany and elsewhere ). The aim is to build an energy grid that is better able to handle the rise of green power and also allows for local use of locally produced energy. This may well be a case of small being both beautiful and perhaps deeply disturbing from the perspective of both Westminster and Cardiff Bay, something that can be both community beneficial and community owned. 

There is no practical reason beyond ‘thats not the way it’s done here’ why people living here in Cymru / Wales could not benefit from membership of citizen owned energy co-operatives. In Germany, there is a deliberate promoted policy of energy transition (or ‘Energiewende’) – this is a very different approach to what is practised in these islands (at least south of the Scottish border). For a start the ‘Energiewende’ is driven by a desire to reduce and eliminate any dependency on nuclear energy.

The introduction of the Feed-in-tariff (EEG) in 2008 was an important part of this process, along with (post Fukushima) the almost unanimous across the board political commitment to a wide range of targets (in 2011) which included a commitment to reduce energy demand (with a 50% reduction in primary energy use by 2050) and the achievement of an 80% renewable electricity share of total consumption (by 2050). This has resulted in a significant uptake of renewables in Germany.

The real striking difference is that the operation of the grid in Germany means that generated renewable electricity is used first and that distribution network operators (DNOs) are also seeking to reduce demand. This is so radically different from the way the energy is generated, distributed, exported and used here in our country that it no doubt, at least from their limited perspective, quite understandably frightens Westminster focused politicians, the civil shrive and the city.

A significant difference, aside from the scale and pattern of investment (in Germany), is that small businesses, co-operatives, individual households and local authorities benefit from investment distributed by a network of local banks (again something we pretty much entirely lack here in Wales).

The whole thing has been supported by the KfW (state investment bank) to the tune of 23.3 billion euro in the area of environment and climate protection. These developments are a million miles away from the so-called ‘Free market’ for energy that exists in the UK, which is dominated by the ‘Big 6’ energy cartel members.

The fact that some, but, not all former politicians have found rather rewarding post political career employment within the energy sector may be co-incidental but suggests that there is little desire for improvement within Westminster and perhaps a complete lack of understanding of the concept from any Labour in Wales government(s) be they previous, current or future.

The way the current set up works, it is difficult to imagine ‘a Government’ at most levels (at least outside of Scotland in the UK grasping the concept, the practicalities and real possibilities of genuine community owned beneficial energy generation projects.

Pending some real change in the way energy policy works we are all pretty much trapped with a real lack of meaningful choice or realistic alternatives when it comes to customers securing domestic energy from the big 6 cartel members.

Over the years we have seen a visionless legacy of an increasingly corrupt New Labour, Conservative-Lib DeM and then Conservative governments in Westminster, all, of whom have remained hand in glove with despotic oil and gas-producing regimes in the Middle East ( aside from the vassal like relationship between the UK and Saudi Arabia ) so naturally there has been little real interest in developing renewables on a scale to ensure energy independence.

After “Dodgy Dave” Cameron, we saw a weak and wobbly Teresa May, and then “lazy Bozo” Johnson, who was very briefly replaced by Liz Truss, who was then in turn replaced by Rishi Sunak ( a man clearly very happy in the company of big oil ) - all of whom were / are desperate to avoid fundamentally changing the energy sector.

All of these Westminster government’s have effectively if not actively work to pull the rug out from under the renewables sector - something that has cost highly skilled jobs (here in Cymru / Wales) and contributed to these islands over-dependence on overseas hydro carbons.

Half measures just simply won’t cut it - we need to be radical, starting with a windfall tall, followed by the transition from dividend profit to non dividend profit energy companies, with the breakup of energy monopolies and the developing of a fundamentally different energy sector.

We need a focus on community beneficial energy production, and a drive for much better insulation in new ( and retrofitted on older ) homes and significant energy savings and a focus on efficient use and local generation of energy supplies which can feed into the grid.

It’s also time to drag into public view the questionably cozy relationship that exists between the big six energy cartel members and some politicians and some political parties. 

Whether it’s well paid post politics jobs on the board, donations (just exactly do they get for their money?), the sponsoring of events at party conference(s), full page full colour adverts in conference programmes, or free tickets for sporting events ( very nice but just what is expected in return for the tickets?, etc ).

WALES 0 THE CHANNEL ISLANDS 1

It is interesting to note that our Senedd remains quite unique within this island archipelago as it is the only devolved legislature within these islands not to have any control over its police forces.

Now it’s worth noting, that control over Policing was effectively devolved to Scotland in 1945, along with Northern Ireland, England, London, Manchester and even the City of London.

Even the Crown dependencies: the Channel Islands, the Isle of Mann and even the overseas territories (some of which are a focus for tax avoidance / tax evasion) have democratic control over their own Police services.

Some six years ago back in 2017 Plaid Cymru called a vote on devolving policing during the passing of the Wales Bill through the Houses of Parliament. We should remember that given an opportunity to devolve Policing to Wales, the Conservatives voted it down and the Labour in Wales MP’s quietly abstained.

This provides yet another example of the way the Conservative Party and Labour Party are quite happy to co-operate at Westminster to disadvantage Cymru / Wales. So much for standing up for our national interests.

Aside from direct control of policing, it also comes down to numbers. The then PM Boris Johnson made much of his plan to boost Police numbers during the last Westminster General election back in November and December 2019.

Even with the significant impact of Covid19, in relation to police numbers, it has gone rather quiet over there, which may prove that Boris’s great policing plan was not quite as easy to as achieve as the soundbite was.

At the time, Home Office officials suggested that Boris’s promise to recruit 20,000 new police officers in England and Wales within three years just simply would not work.

They estimated that some 50,000 officers would be needed, because so many officers were set to leave the service - more than a few perhaps demoralised by the impact of nearly 10 years of Conservative (and for some of the time willing Liberal Democrat) government.

Of course from Boris’s perspective, 20,000 was such a nice round number.

It was slightly ironic that the pledge to recruit more Police officers, was a direct result of the cuts to police numbers that were mostly brought about by the Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition.

Boris's much trumpeted election promise of 20,000 extra police officers - was nice, save for the fact that we were already 19,704 police officers down in Wales and England and Wales since 2010.

Here in Cymru / Wales, since 2010 we were at least 500 fewer police officers are on our streets.

So even if Boris had managed to achieve his extra 20,000 Police officers he would basically take us back to were we were in 2010 - with a next gain of 296 police officers in Wales and England as a whole.

Save of course that they would not all have come to Cymru / Wales, so even if we got 5% of them (say 25) that would still left us down by 480.

If policing was fully devolved and funded on a population basis as is the case with other policy areas our Welsh police forces would receive upwards of £20 million more funding per year.

Police budgets however were slashed, something that resulted in far fewer officers on our streets.

The end result was that Welsh forces have been hit harder than those in the rest of the UK, due to an unfair funding formula. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of police officers in Wales decreased by 9%.

The full devolution of policing would have meant the Welsh police forces would have been exempt from the Tories’ £32 million cut to their budgets and would have benefitted from an additional £25 million through being funded through the Barnett formula.

This would have meant a total difference in Welsh police budgets of £57 million between Plaid Cymru and Conservative policy.

Plaid Cymru would have recruited an extra 1,600 police officers – two for each community – to keep us safer.

This would mean that our officers will be better rooted in our communities, instead of being stretched to cover large geographical areas with fewer resources.

This would give the police the ability to focus on the priorities we need to keep us safe.

As argued by the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales, we need to create integrated people-centred services – from prisons to counselling to housing – to undo the lasting damage done by Cameron / Clegg, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak - to replace the present callous approach that prioritises targets over people’s needs.

Extra police officers would help facilitate community engagement in which the police and the community can relay issues of mutual concern with targeted, community based problem-solving approaches to improve crime reduction and rehabilitation.

Plaid Cymru, alone amongst all the other political parties operating within Cymru / Wales, is committed to the devolution of policing and justice to Cymru / Wales to empower us to implement and pursue policies that actually serve the interests of our citizens and communities.

It is simply remains unacceptable for Cymru / Wales to be the only devolved nation in these islands without powers over its policing and justice policies.

The problem we now face, is that with an openly centralist Conservative government in Westminster, which is hell bent on undermining, weakening and destroying devolution, is one of where do we go now.

Let’s be honest, with ourselves, Cyrmu / Wales will get no additional new devolved powers, and any they have been offered have been rejected by Labour in Wales, and few of any powers repatriated from Brussels will find their way to Cardiff, Belfast or Edinburgh. 

So what’s next and where do we go from here?