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!
Interesting proposal. Sounds like a positive move. However, the nationalist contingent within Plaid would be strongly opposed. But I for one would welcome it, strength in numbers & resources. Speaking as a non-Welsh person, that is.
I think this is hugely unrealistic, PC can contest every seat, the greens a handful. The greens have no base whatsoever in Wales and should Leanne become leader they will become even more sidelined as the best of their policies would have a stronger voice in plaid.
This kind of desperate tailgating smacks of a lack of serious alternative outside the four main parties in Wales. The greens need to step up and offer something more radical that plaid if they are going to offer a serious challenge at the local elections.
Interesting two different perspectives, I hope I get more comments. Incidentally, I don’t think Plaid properly contest every seat in Cardiff let alone Wales. I have had the impression there was an unofficial Plaid-libdem agreement to not seriously run against each other in Cardiff and I doubt Plaid want to be making deals with the Libdems any more. Can anyone confirm if this deal really existed? Or just rumour?
As a Plaid Member i would welcome this. Of course i don’t speak for all members. One thing that would help the Greens is to have their own party in Wales and not be joined to the one in England, especially in a political landscape where we are devolved. In the unlikely event that Dafydd El wins the leadership race, i might consider joining the Greens, that is of course if it were separate from England’s and had a proper policy on devolution/independence. Like the Scottish Greens.
I find this post quite puzzling. First, Cynog Dafis was not as you describe but a joint Plaid Cymru / Green MP. As part of the joint agreement, he appointed a Green assistant in the UK parliament. He was therefore the first Green MP in the UK. Caroline was the first in England. The Greens destroyed the Ceredigion alliance and in a thoroughly sectarian manner. There were also joint Plaid / Green candidates in Monmouth and Torfaen.
More up-to-date, i. e. since 1999 (!), Plaid Cymru (and its sister parties) and the Greens in the European parliament have been members of the same official group with an agreed political programme. It’s called “The Greens / European Free Alliance” and is the 4th largest. Even more pertinent, the First Vice President of the Green/EFA Group is Plaid Cymru MEP, Jill Evans, who also happens to be the President of Plaid Cymru. She is also on record as one of the greenest members of parliament. What a shame, to say the least, that the “Wales Green Party” appears to have no knowledge of this important and successful linkage. Why ever not?
In the UK parliament, Caroline Lucas received 100% support from the Plaid Cymru MPs and still works closely with them.
Prior to the last EP elections, Plaid Cymru approached the “Welsh Greens” asking to discuss the possibility of a joint list – with no commitment – but the Greens rejected it, despite Caroline Lucas & Jean Lambert’s support.
The bottom line is that the Welsh Region of the Green Party of England & Wales (its legal status) is historically the problem. The fact that it is resolutely a regional and regionalist ‘party’ – “England & Wales” in the 21st Century for goodness sake – does not help. The Scottish Greens support independence and have greater political credibility for it.
Hi Syd thanks for your comments. On the subject of Cynog Dafis, my understanding was that on the ballot paper he would have been listed as a Plaid Cymru candidate. I have been told that the agreement was that he would stand a second term as a Green, but that things fell through before he got to that point. I’d be interested to hear if anyone can confirm what he was actually down as on the ballot paper when he stood.
Firstly, I think a situation similar to the Scottish Greens would be preferable e.g. separate party. The problem of course is finances, it would be extremely difficult to run a separate party with no elected representatives. In fact sometime during the 90′s the Scottish Greens nearly voted themselves out of existence and back with the E&W Greens.
From a purely political point of view what can each party gain from it? As others have alluded to the Welsh Greens can currently offer very little. 5.6% in the EU elections? Assuming that transferred to Plaid-Green they would be ~10,000 under a 2nd MEP. I imagine Plaid believe they can win two MEPs alone.
To me the Greens are too far off of a seat to be able to negotiate much from Plaid or in fact offer them much at all.