Plaid Cymru and Greens need to co-operate
Following last years national elections, Wales goes back to the polling booths again this May, this time to elect councillors. I’m expecting like many others for Labour to put in a strong showing – they usually do when the Conservatives control Westminster. I’ve noticed that many of the Labour Party campaigners have been hitting the streets of Cardiff for many months now. They seem determined to try and take back control of the capital city from the current Libdem/Plaid Cymru coalition.
Across Wales candidates are being announced by all the parties and Plaid Cymru will be keen to show that they can bounce back from the disappointment in last years election where they fell to third place behind Labour and the Conservatives. The Green Party currently have no Unitary Authority councillors in Wales and are working hard to rectify this.
There is no love loss between Plaid and the Greens among local campaigners in my experience. Elections are tiring battles that often feel very personal and tribal – so when I’ve been asked what is the difference between Plaid and the Welsh Greens I have felt quite taken aback and confused that others can’t see the differences. But the fact that this question keeps being asked in parts of South Wales means it needs to be addressed properly.
George Monbiot has recently described Plaid leadership contender Leanne Wood as the “Caroline Lucas of Wales.” And there is of course history as local Wales Green Party activists once supported Cynog Dafis, the former Plaid Cymru MP. This agreement did not end particularly well, but both the Green Party and Plaid Cymru have matured since then.
I now think that because the two parties are seen in some areas by the public to be so close politically, the only way forward is a level of co-operation. Otherwise the two parties are stealing votes from each other unnecessarily. This doesn’t go for every part of the country, and I certainly don’t think this needs to be a form of formal coalition or even public support for each other. Neither party can stand candidates in every single ward, they just don’t have the resources, so all that’s needed at this stage is for a sensible dialogue between the leaders of the two parties in Wales over where each party should decide not to stand to allow the other party a better chance.
There are other benefits to opening dialogue. Plaid Cymru could do with support from England, especially if Scotland leaves the United Kingdom, and the Greens could become a natural friend over the border. Also, in the European elections it could be possible to do a joint Plaid/Green slate, and agree not to target the same seats in future general and Wales elections. If Leanne Wood is selected as Leader, Plaid could soon resemble a strong socialist party for Wales, and she could mimic Denmark’s “Queen of a Red-Green-Alliance.”
Anything is possible, but negotiations would need to begin right now if anything can be sorted out in time for this May’s election!
Do Plaid lack vision for Welsh language?
Last week, an internal review within Plaid Cymru suggested the party should adopt an English language name. Following on from the disappointment in the Welsh election last year, the idea is that the proposed name of the Welsh National Party would be more appealing to voters who can’t speak Welsh. The party would therefore be refocused on Welsh independence and try to win the same kind of support at the Scottish National Party.
However, I think this shows just how far off-course Plaid have gone, and how the party’s leadership is failing to acknowledge that Wales has a very different political context to Scotland. My fear is that the party has become so addicted to growth it may actually put the Welsh language movement at risk by trying to appeal to everyone in Wales rather than maintain the party’s core ideology and aims.
I have met a number of Welsh speakers over the last couple of years who still vote for Plaid but who express a lot of dissatisfaction with what the party has become. Promotion of the Welsh language was, along with political independence, one of the core principals of the party when it was founded.
I have also been surprised recently at how many of its election candidates can not speak Welsh. More importantly, I’ve been disappointed that the party does not often speak of a vision for the future of the language. The more the party moves towards supporting socialism the less focus there seems to be on the language, which I find very strange given that promoting culture and language should be a core part of a modern left party. Why does the party need to choose one or another and not do both?
Welsh-language usage has increased from around 18% in 1991 to over 21%, and many Welsh-language schools are now in high demand even among parents who can’t speak Welsh but who want their children to be able to. When you combine this with the increase in the number of services available in the language, particularly from public sector organisations who are often legally required to provide services bilingually, there has been undeniable success in reversing the previous decline of the language. However, to be a truly bilingual nation, Wales would need to aim for a figure over 50% and for Welsh to be the language of choice, not just when people are legally required to use it.
This may seem a crazy target but I believe it could be achieved with a long term more radical vision. Maybe this could include abolishing our current two-tier system of Welsh and English language schools and instead making all schools properly bilingual. And a vision for Welsh to be used not just on a few signs but every day in the workplace – from the board room to the staff room.
The question isn’t really if this is possible, but whether it’s wanted. I think it’s about time Wales had a decent debate on whether it wants to be a truly bilingual country or not – people have passionate arguments both for and against. If Plaid wants to continue to be the party to promote the Welsh language it must stop trying to win popularity at all costs, and start building a true vision for a bilingual country. My concern is that without a clear plan for development of the language, we will fail to maximise on the current popularity and Welsh usage will start to decline once again. And reversing that decline a second time could be much more difficult.
The review apparently has many other recommendations, some which concern the question of the Welsh language, but this isn’t yet public.
My new blog…
This is the first time I have ever blogged. I will think of some subjects to write on soon… probably based around politics and maybe with a Welsh lilt.