tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post8529892173652092146..comments2024-03-27T18:54:46.951+00:00Comments on Syniadau :: The Blog: Repairing the damageSyniadauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13876017048168055247noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-71385033599165677602013-09-12T16:18:49.952+01:002013-09-12T16:18:49.952+01:00And here's the consequence of us supporting ne...And here's the consequence of us supporting new nuclear in Wales. http://wales.gov.uk/about/cabinet/cabinetstatements/2013/radioactivewaste/?lang=en<br />At some point in time, when no community 'volunteers' to absorb high activity nuclear waste, it will be forced upon one. Chances of that happening to a community in Scotland? Nil, because the government can point to its track record of opposition to nuclear. Garethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-91586423446628628602013-09-03T20:01:22.653+01:002013-09-03T20:01:22.653+01:00I read it at the time, Gareth. Thanks.
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And to...I read it at the time, Gareth. Thanks.<br /><br />-<br /><br />And to Ian, I would simply repeat that I do not know Rhun and have nothing personal against him.<br /><br />The point is that no-one else, outside of his immediate circle of friends, knew anything about him or his political views either ... and for that reason it was stupid to allow him to stand as a candidate. <br /><br />I warned people in the party of the risk they were running and I have been shown to be right. Rhun deceived the party about his political views in order to be allowed to stand and get selected, and after that told blatant lies about party policy in order to try and justify himself. <br /><br />And that's just on one issue ... who knows what else will come out of the woodwork?MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-6909147802935835252013-09-03T16:00:35.827+01:002013-09-03T16:00:35.827+01:00I posted a comment on OggyBloggyOgwr on 2 August t...I posted a comment on OggyBloggyOgwr on 2 August that supports your viewpoint MH http://oggybloggyogwr.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/cry-haggett-and-let-slip-blogs-of-war.html#disqus_thread Garethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-16206276427735843082013-08-15T00:21:14.234+01:002013-08-15T00:21:14.234+01:00MH. To claim that your attacks on Rhun have not be...MH. To claim that your attacks on Rhun have not been personal but are just based on policy differences, is frankly a joke. It has clearly been personal from as soon as he was considered.<br /><br />As for your attack on the NEC, you once again are completely out of line. The NEC has the clear right to allow an individual who has been a member for less than 12 months to stand. This was included specifically for individuals who could not stand due to their politically restricted jobs. This rule is not treated lightly, but is there to enable individuals to stand for Plaid from such roles as journalists. Do you really expect people to resign, live on nothing for 12 months then put their names forward? Get real. <br /><br />You have every right to raise the nuclear issue, but your very personal attacks on Rhun have gone well beyond this. Whatever your personal grudge, it clearly runs deep.Ian Titheringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11648408300848231553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-58786612677356362532013-08-05T16:16:48.537+01:002013-08-05T16:16:48.537+01:00Getting back to policy, Aled, the point at issue i...Getting back to policy, Aled, the point at issue is that we have achieved a spectacular victory in Môn, but <b>at the expense</b> of being able to do well in the rest of Wales. By paying too much attention to Rhun's media profile and not enough attention to his political opinions and character, we have damaged our credibility as a national party. The only thing that can be said in defence of the party is that it was not entirely our fault. What Rhun said <b>before</b> 19 July was different from what he is <b>now</b> saying. <br /><br />The way forward is hard; for whether it was our fault or not, we as a party are the ones who have to pay the price. Rhun has not lost anything. He is now sitting pretty as a pro-Wylfa AM in an anti-Wylfa party. He has got what he wants, and those who have consistently tried to undermine Plaid's policy of being opposed to Wylfa (people like Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Bob Parry and Elfyn Llwyd) have got what they want. The cuckoos have got one of their offspring into our nest. <br /><br />I must stress, however, that I am not talking about those in Plaid who are pro-nuclear but accept that we as a party have made a democratic decision on what our policy should be. Nor am I talking about those who want to raise the issue again in the hope of getting us to adopt a different policy on Wylfa B at a future conference. The cuckoos are the ones who refuse to accept our decision as a party, and deliberately misrepresent what we have decided in the hope that repeating the same lie over and over again will bludgeon others (both inside and outside the party) into thinking our policy is different. This is what undermines the party.<br /><br />So while I would welcome initiatives to talk about and hammer out this policy and any other policy, I fear that it will be pointless if the same cuckoos show the same recalcitrance as they have shown before. As John Dixon <a href="http://borthlas.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-problem-isnt-one-person.html" rel="nofollow">said</a>, those who consider themselves as elite because they have been elected (due to the hard work of the membership, of course) can safely ignore the membership once they have been elected. That is why it is so important to point out that what Rhun was saying even after he had been selected (which is almost certainly what he would have said in order to be allowed to stand and be selected) was different from what he is now saying. On Good Morning Wales on Friday, Rhun told Bethan Rhys-Roberts that <b>he</b> wasn't now going to change his mind, and he said on last week's Sunday Supplement that he would vote against Plaid if the issue came up at the Assembly. So it appears there is no compromise to be found there. He's 100% cuckoo.<br /><br />Therefore the only way forward for us as a party is to restate, as many times as it is necessary to do so, that Plaid's policy is to be totally opposed to the construction of any new nuclear power stations, including Wylfa B, and to expose those who say that our policy is different as the liars they are, whoever they are. We hold the high ground and we must hold firm. If they want to change our policy, they must do it by an open, democratic process rather than by subterfuge.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-27079715164180245912013-08-05T16:13:49.087+01:002013-08-05T16:13:49.087+01:00I'd agree with the dispassionate observers, Al...I'd agree with the dispassionate observers, Aled. This was a sensational victory. As I've said on numerous occasions now, the organization, hard work and commitment of party supporters in Môn was the major factor in this win, just has it had been in the local elections in May. The "well-oiled machine" that resulted in Plaid being the biggest party on the Council, beating Labour by 2:1 in share of vote and 4:1 in seats, was able to wheel into action again to secure this win. However Labour also put themselves at a disadvantage by choosing a non-local candidate. Those two factors alone would have resulted in a big victory.<br /><br />The point I've made is that the party would have put just as much effort into securing the win, and we would still have won comfortably, if we had chosen a different Plaid candidate. But Rhun being "the local boy on the telly who came back home" undoubtedly played a part too, to turn what would otherwise be a big victory into a spectacular victory.<br /><br />-<br /><br />You're also right about UKIP being a factor. It's worth remembering that the Tories came second last time with 29% of the vote. On the right-of-centre side of the political spectrum, I think UKIP hoovered-up because Nathan Gill is articulate and local as opposed to the inarticulate and local Neil Fairlamb. He had more drive and carried more punch. But UKIP won votes from past Labour supporters too. Less than from the right, I suspect, but some. If UKIP hadn't stood, I'd guess that two-thirds or three-quarters of the vote they got would have reverted to the Tories and one-third or one-quarter to Labour. <br /><br />I'd agree that this will play a part in 2016, and that we in Plaid shouldn't be afraid of UKIP gaining ground because UKIP's growth will never take votes from us, but only from our unionist opponents. I have to say I am uncomfortable with you equating this with where people were born, though. Some of UKIP's staunchest supporters are Welsh-born people, but they have typically been those who have always opposed devolution. I highlighted the dilemma UKIP faced <a href="http://syniadau--buildinganindependentwales.blogspot.com/2013/05/one-reason-for-ukips-decline-in-wales.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, and it remains to be seen whether the votes UKIP lose in Wales by now being pro-devolution will be compensated by any increase in anti-EU sentiment.<br /><br />I would sound a note of caution and say that Labour will be wise to this, particularly in the more urban areas of Wales. Yet if Labour does move to the right to address it, it will mean that Labour supporters who lean more to the left will be more likely to switch to Plaid. I don't think we should rely too much on UKIP eating into Labour's vote (although every little helps). We need to concentrate <b>much more</b> on getting Labour voters to switch to Plaid.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-11496252687136965092013-08-05T10:27:51.229+01:002013-08-05T10:27:51.229+01:00MH-Any dispassionate observer would have to conced...<br />MH-Any dispassionate observer would have to concede this was a sensational victory for Plaid Cymru with implications way beyond the usual by-election considerations. To win the seat with 58% of the vote, adding a full 26% to the total won by PC at the recent council elections, was a fantastic achievement by any standards. As someone who took part in the campaign in the south of Ynys Mon, I felt it invoked the "spirit of 87" (when IWJ first won the seat for PC on a wave of hope and optimism), and the positive response of electors to the old-fashioned street campaigning which was at the heart of the operation was simply heart warming. <br /><br />I also think it was hugely significant that UKIP won 3,000 votes here and almost beat Labour into second place. The usual nationalist line is to dismiss any notion that UKIP have a foothold in Wales, but that just flies in the face of Wales's demographic reality with some 25% of the population born in England, and indeed I would argue that PC paradoxically need UKIP to grow if we are to win/share power in 2016. I can only see UKIP continuing to cannibalise the unionist vote all over Wales, especially after the Euro elections next summer, and that will open the door for PC to win a host of new constituencies in 2016.<br /><br />But the result also has implications as to the Ynys Mon/rest of Wales conundrum that PC have had to wrestle with over recent years, and this is where I generally concur with your views that Ynys Mon cannot be allowed a stand alone policy on nuclear power, and that a national policy has to prevail, albeit with some realpolitik in the mix. The key point here is that this by-election was won so convincingly with the help of Plaid Cymru in the rest of Wales( mainly members from Arfon, but also many members from other parts of Wales) who presented the Plaid Cymru argument to people all over the island- the level of support provided has in effect torpedoed the notion that Ynys Mon can somehow go it alone on this issue in future. Whatever strong local connections Rhun was able to tap into during his campaign, the "national" dimension was also crucial to his success, and that will now have to be acknowledged.<br /><br />Maybe one way ahead is for Rhun to build upon the momentum that has been built up over the past few months by convening a special meeting of Ynys Mon members to hammer out a coherent message that can be shared concerning Wylfa B- <br />with perhaps a "national" dimension introduced with an invitation for members from Arfon as well. I really think there is a huge desire for this type of participatory politics within Plaid Cymru, beyond the old "leave it to the judegement of our elected member" approach.<br /><br />I for one would hope that such an approach would result in a much stronger nationalist and member driven narrative on Wylfa B: e.g to demand the devolving of all powers over energy to Wales, to insist upon a reasoned debate about potential dangers and nuclear clear up costs for Wales for generations to come, and even insist that it should be the people of Wales who should have the final say on any development. There is no reason at all why such a message should not resonate with the voters of Ynys Mon and beyond.<br /><br />This could then prepare the way for the process of choosing an Ynys Mon candidate for the Westminster Elections in 2015 in the Autumn, which is now genuinely winnable with Labour in meltdown on the island.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-60185646640144010402013-08-05T10:03:18.777+01:002013-08-05T10:03:18.777+01:00Did you get round to asking anybody in a leadershi...Did you get round to asking anybody in a leadership position or ordinary members if they agree with your accacks on the Plaid Cymru campaign in Ynys Mon Michael?Cai Larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15349645242691098245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-31938165112764412052013-08-05T01:51:56.083+01:002013-08-05T01:51:56.083+01:00He's lied about other things on national telev...He's lied about other things on national television and radio, Ifan, so he might well be trying to put words into her mouth.<br /><br />Or, looked at another way, these may be weasel words. Everyone <b>now</b> knows what his stance is. The real question is <b>when</b> they knew. <br /><br />There's no escaping the fact that even after he had been selected, Rhun wasn't telling people whether he supported Wylfa B or not. He was being deliberately ambiguous about it.<br /><br />I don't need to remind you of what you yourself said <a href="http://ifanmj.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/rhagor-am-wylfa.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> when you saw his tweet of 19 July. Translated for the sake of others reading this it was:<br /><br /><i>"It looks like Rhun ap Iorwerth does support the construction of Wylfa B after all ... This answer is much less ambiguous than the one he gave to the Daily Post at the beginning of the campaign ...</i><br /><br />In fact if it wasn't for your blog I might not have found out at all. Yes, he is <b>now</b> trying to make out that his support for Wylfa B was always clear, but it wasn't.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-38567242827792658002013-08-04T15:35:46.813+01:002013-08-04T15:35:46.813+01:00'I would be absolutely astounded if "Lean...'I would be absolutely astounded if "Leanne Wood just took the gamble [of] letting Rhun declare his support for Wylfa B ... "'<br /><br />He declared on national television that they she knew what his stance was and that she was OK with it. Either he is lying about his own leader, or she allowed him to take his current stance on the issue. <br /><br />Ifan Morgan Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05653247945202734077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-84389189394321298352013-08-04T11:20:16.761+01:002013-08-04T11:20:16.761+01:00oh dearoh dearBeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123955136408896359noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-70626951463158661812013-08-04T10:49:31.315+01:002013-08-04T10:49:31.315+01:00As a non Plaid member I was still over the moon ab...As a non Plaid member I was still over the moon about the result and I'm sure that Rhap will be an excellent AM for Mon and Wales in future. I'm thinking about joining. Although I think that nuclear energy is a side issue.....the Assembly doesn't even have the power to decide upon it and such large scale energy projects....I am a little confused as to what Plaid's stance is on it. It needs to be cleared up or explained a little better.Derhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03032379645318088250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-57401266130130528832013-08-04T10:30:08.701+01:002013-08-04T10:30:08.701+01:00I'm not working myself into a frenzy Michael, ...I'm not working myself into a frenzy Michael, in fact I find it mildly amusing that your take on the election is so totally at variance with everybody elses' & that you believe 40 odd percent to be in donkey & rossette territory. You haven't had much to do with elections in the past have you?<br /><br />You've been suggesting that people in positions of leadership were on your side, but they were mostly in Ynys Mon campaigning for Rhun. You've been telling us that ordinary members are on your side, but many of them were flocking to Ynys Mon to campaign for Rhun (while you were undermining their efforts from a great distance). Have you actually talked to an ordinary member or someone in the leadership and asked them? I've talked to plenty from both groups & I haven't found a single person who has any sympathy with your month long strop.<br /><br />It's really you, your arrogance & your computer against the world I'm afraid. Cai Larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15349645242691098245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-40343932564674715392013-08-04T10:21:57.715+01:002013-08-04T10:21:57.715+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Cai Larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15349645242691098245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-73908313508798372182013-08-04T01:42:00.630+01:002013-08-04T01:42:00.630+01:00Cai, Cai, you are working yourself into a frenzy. ...Cai, Cai, you are working yourself into a frenzy. I didn't say "huge" at all. 12% is a comfortable margin in a seat contested by four candidates.<br /><br />But why this should mean "we can aspire to virtually nothing" is beyond me. Do you think that by increasing our share of the vote by 17% in one seat, it must mean that we increase our share of the vote in by that much in every other seat in Wales?<br /><br />Leaving to one side the matter of deception and dishonesty, for me, the crux of the issue is this. If we were standing on a coherent set of policies for the whole of Wales, then doing well in one seat would be a positive sign that we could do well in the others too. But that isn't the case if we abandon our policies to make a special case of one seat at the expense of the rest of Wales. It's something that might work in a by-election, but it can't work in a general election.<br /><br />And no, I haven't noticed that my take on this by-election is "diametrically opposed" to that of "everybody" else, for the rather obvious reason that it isn't true. I'm pleased that a number of people have agreed with a number of the things I've said, and I thank them for it. Yet I must say that I would still say what I've said even if no-one agreed with me. I am only disappointed if the way I've said things has detracted from what I've said to the extent that others haven't been able to agree with me.<br /><br />I can only call things as I see them. If what I write is held in any esteem by others, I believe it is because people know I will always do this rather than tailor what I write to only include good things about my party and bad things about every other party.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-47765262499851064482013-08-04T00:11:45.589+01:002013-08-04T00:11:45.589+01:00I see, so in your world a 12% majority is huge, wh...I see, so in your world a 12% majority is huge, which means that we can aspire to virtually nothing.<br /><br />Have you noticed that your take on this election is diametrically opposed to that of everybody else - even Labour sympathising commentators? If so, why do you think this is?Cai Larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15349645242691098245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-55445263527918442282013-08-03T22:50:54.579+01:002013-08-03T22:50:54.579+01:00Cai, Cai, read what I've written. I've sa...Cai, Cai, read what I've written. I've said that Ynys Môn is safe at Assembly level. We have won every election at Assembly level, and the percentages you mention are quite sufficient to provide comfortable victories in contests where is a choice between four main parties. MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-91765532194917247382013-08-03T22:38:11.956+01:002013-08-03T22:38:11.956+01:00Ifan, one of the things that you have floated a fe...Ifan, one of the things that you have floated a few times now is the idea that Plaid Cymru <b>allowed</b> Rhun to do what he has done. I would be absolutely astounded if "Leanne Wood just took the gamble [of] letting Rhun declare his support for Wylfa B ... " <br /><br />Rhun's position <b>had been</b> to say nothing about whether he supported or opposed Wylfa B, to say that it was a decision that the UK government would take, and to say that he would fight to secure the best local opportunities if it went ahead. That broadly fits with what people have reported from the hustings and with the statements he made in the Daily Post and in his blog. My guess is that this is probably the position he took in any discussions he had with the party when he became a member and was allowed onto the national list. Too many people accepted what he said at face value, and that's how Rhun wormed his way in. Those people will now be embarrassed that they were duped, but haven't yet found the voice to say so, because it is understandably hard to admit to making a mistake. To them, I would say that it is better to admit you were fooled by a plausible conman than let him get away with wrecking our principles. If you report a conman to the police, there's a good chance that he will be found guilty and we will be able to get our principles back. <br /><br />However it is likely that <b>a few</b> people in the party knew he had other views and engineered things so that he would get through the selection process on the basis of appearing neutral about Wlyfa B, but with the understanding that he would come out in favour of Wylfa B <b>afterwards</b>, when it was too late to stop him. It is likely that those in this group fully intended Rhun to undermine the party's position on nuclear power by doing this.<br /><br />In order to impose a baby cuckoo on an unsuspecting party, adult cuckoos need to lay the egg ... knowing that once lumbered with the new chick, the party will have little choice but to devote time, energy and effort to feeding him.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-57083359094728070152013-08-03T20:20:34.041+01:002013-08-03T20:20:34.041+01:00As a matter of interest when you claim Ynys Mon to...As a matter of interest when you claim Ynys Mon to be a safe Plaid seat are you on about the one that's held by Labour on a Westminster level, where all elections bar 1999 have been closely fought for donkeys' years, where Plaid has never won an election without IWJ's name on the ticket, where the Plaid percentage of the vote in the last three Assembly elections was 41.2%, 39.7% & 37.4% - or is there another one?Cai Larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15349645242691098245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-41450691459420103752013-08-03T19:52:43.550+01:002013-08-03T19:52:43.550+01:00Your arguments are all sound MH but that's not...Your arguments are all sound MH but that's not how politics actually works is it? Either you're naive or I'm cynical, I'm not sure.<br /><br />Politics has always been a game of compromise. Come election time you need to compromise between what your grassroots believe and what is likely to get you elected. We see Ed Miliband going through the exact same process at the moment, angering his supporters on the left of the party so as to position himself for 2015. David Cameron did the same thing at the last election. Every politician must get the balance right.<br /><br />Leanne Wood just took the gamble that letting Rhun declare his support for Wylfa B would win him more votes amongst the undecided that it would cost the party in loss of support from the grassroots. (Remember that Rhun publicly stated on Newyddion 9 that Leanne was OK with this.) At the end of the day it obviously didn't lose the party any support (beyond this blog) as Plaid activists converged on Môn as if it was Mecca. Whether it will be worth the hassle in the long run seeing as ge won by a landslide anyway is another matter.<br /><br />Come the Assembly Election Wylfa B is going to be somewhere around the X, Z and Y mark in the list of subject the voters in Plaid's target seats will actually care about so there's no real damage done in the long term. Ifan Morgan Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05653247945202734077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-59271158754352898782013-08-03T19:47:30.296+01:002013-08-03T19:47:30.296+01:00" . . . and say we'd cut off investment i...<b>" . . . and say we'd cut off investment in infrastructure everywhere else in Wales to put all the money into Cardiff . . ."</b> But that wouldn't be a radical or new policy, that's what Labour's been doing since 1999. Jac o' the North,https://www.blogger.com/profile/02032744625666336148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-75557700011908121722013-08-03T19:33:09.101+01:002013-08-03T19:33:09.101+01:00I think they can keep the north east but if Plaid ...I think they can keep the north east but if Plaid adopted an anti-European attitude they could make a lot of headway up there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-55177096210786977762013-08-03T18:36:30.074+01:002013-08-03T18:36:30.074+01:00Picking up on your last paragraph, Dylan. What Rh...Picking up on your last paragraph, Dylan. What Rhun said to the local party when he was selected is not the same as what he started to say from 19 July onwards. He changed his tune <b>after</b> he had been selected. <br /><br />-<br /><br />To Stu (WnB) Yes, of course it's nice to see Labour get defeated, but Labour were never going to win this seat at Assembly level, so this is hardly some great breakthrough against Labour.<br /><br />Maybe if every Assembly seat was contested separately, Plaid could change policies 40 times and have a good shot at winning every one. I'm sure if we had a candidate that said Wales and England were permanently united, that devolution should be reversed, and that David TC Davies was the one true voice of Wales (and if the Plaid endorsed and supported that candidate) we would be able to win Monmouthshire. Then, after a fortnight, we could reverse all that, endorse a candidate with completely different policies, and have a good chance of winning Llanelli. Then we could advocate that north east Wales should be sold to England so that politicians in Chester can build their empire without that pesky little international border getting in their way. Carl Sargeant would soon be out of a job. A couple of weeks after that we could adopt a policy of closing all hospitals in Swansea and Newport to made Cardiff a centre of excellence for the whole of south Wales, and say we'd cut off investment in infrastructure everywhere else in Wales to put all the money into Cardiff instead. We'd probably win Cardiff Central if we did. <br /><br />The difference between a by-election and a general election is that we will have to fight all the seats at the same time on the same policy platform.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-19886880372803475252013-08-03T17:18:22.585+01:002013-08-03T17:18:22.585+01:00As a non member I quite like the new Plaid. For to...As a non member I quite like the new Plaid. For too long they've tried to be different and brought press releases to the knife fight whilst Labour bring their tanks, kill their voters and then blame the Tories.<br /><br />And given the stick MH has had over "old fashioned principles" I'm sure everyone agrees with me.<br /><br />UKIP are going to be a problem for the unionist parties so if Plaid can continue saying whatever it takes to win seats in the rest of Wales then the next election can be a real break through for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-53767428214375347162013-08-03T17:14:48.182+01:002013-08-03T17:14:48.182+01:00Quite the opposite, Royston (Jac). I am more conce...Quite the opposite, Royston (Jac). I <b>am</b> more concerned about nuclear power than I am about Plaid Cymru, and I want everyone to know it.<br /><br />But I am <b>also</b> more concerned about independence for Wales than I am about Plaid Cymru. I am more concerned for the state of Wales' economy than I am about Plaid Cymru. I am more concerned about jobs, about education, about the health service, about the environment, about sport, about the arts, about police and the justice system, about pensions, about welfare and benefits, about foreign policy, and about the language than I am about Plaid Cymru.<br /><br />In fact I am more concerned about <b>every single aspect</b> of what matters to Wales than I am about Plaid Cymru. I support Plaid Cymru because I believe we have better policies about these things than other political parties. But if we throw them away we are no better than any other party and not worth voting for.<br /><br />I am not someone who believes their party must be right whatever it does. I believe in demonstrating and arguing for policies that are right for Wales, and in encouraging us as a party to pursue them for the sake of Wales.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.com