Calum Davies: Will the real Plaid Cymru please stand up – and not the glossed media makeover they get in Wales
This affects the entire country.
Calum Davies is a Conservative councillor in Cardiff and a candidate for the Senedd in May.
In my last column, I wrote about how Welsh Labour had sown the seeds of their own demise by feeding the separatist beast, part-explaining how Plaid Cymru are cannibalising many of their voters.
But who are Plaid Cymru really? Just how devastating will they be for the future of the country?
Given it has many supporters in a rump Welsh media, being both left-leaning and nationalistic, the public’s perceptions of the party are on the more positive side by virtue of rarely being subject to the scrutiny faced by the Conservatives, Labour, and Reform.
The so-called Party of Wales celebrated it centenary last year; its foundations rooted in the preservation of the Welsh language. Its “home rule” ambitions were more diluted than the full-on independence rhetoric of the modern day but quickly moved onto that turf.
Their heartland has always been in the Welsh-speaking west, known as “Y Fro Gymraeg”, ever since winning their first parliamentary seat in the 1966 Carmarthen by-election. They have had a decent number of councillors in the South Wales valleys but only rarely and briefly reaching positions of power on councils, whilst largely relying on help from others to do so.
When the Welsh Assembly was established in 1999, they had their best-ever result in a convincing second place but, since their 2007-11 coalition with Labour have come third, second, and third again, vying with the Conservatives to be Wales’ second most popular party.
Since that coalition, Plaid aimed to outflank Labour from the political left, first, under Leanne Wood and then, Adam Price, even if this was against the instincts of their rural, small-c conservative voter base. Ex-BBC journalist – who naturally has many friends in the media – Rhun ap Iorwerth was appointed leader uncontested in time to benefit from the Starmer disaster.
As a party that has always been hostile to Conservative England but aware of the unradical nature of their voting base – Welsh independence aside – Plaid has been careful to not pigeonhole itself for most of its history but has now committed itself to a hard-left agenda.
Its leader recently said, “there’s no such thing as illegal immigration”. Its former leader said women shouldn’t go to prison. They have very much sided with trans extremists even after last year’s Supreme Court ruling.
Recent manifestos included commitments to rent controls (which are proven to actually increase rents), reaching net zero by 2035 (bringing forward the already straining 2050 target), rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union (even though Wales voted to leave the EU), and increasing benefits (which is already slowly bankrupting our unproductive economy).
They criticise …
This affects the entire country.
Calum Davies is a Conservative councillor in Cardiff and a candidate for the Senedd in May.
In my last column, I wrote about how Welsh Labour had sown the seeds of their own demise by feeding the separatist beast, part-explaining how Plaid Cymru are cannibalising many of their voters.
But who are Plaid Cymru really? Just how devastating will they be for the future of the country?
Given it has many supporters in a rump Welsh media, being both left-leaning and nationalistic, the public’s perceptions of the party are on the more positive side by virtue of rarely being subject to the scrutiny faced by the Conservatives, Labour, and Reform.
The so-called Party of Wales celebrated it centenary last year; its foundations rooted in the preservation of the Welsh language. Its “home rule” ambitions were more diluted than the full-on independence rhetoric of the modern day but quickly moved onto that turf.
Their heartland has always been in the Welsh-speaking west, known as “Y Fro Gymraeg”, ever since winning their first parliamentary seat in the 1966 Carmarthen by-election. They have had a decent number of councillors in the South Wales valleys but only rarely and briefly reaching positions of power on councils, whilst largely relying on help from others to do so.
When the Welsh Assembly was established in 1999, they had their best-ever result in a convincing second place but, since their 2007-11 coalition with Labour have come third, second, and third again, vying with the Conservatives to be Wales’ second most popular party.
Since that coalition, Plaid aimed to outflank Labour from the political left, first, under Leanne Wood and then, Adam Price, even if this was against the instincts of their rural, small-c conservative voter base. Ex-BBC journalist – who naturally has many friends in the media – Rhun ap Iorwerth was appointed leader uncontested in time to benefit from the Starmer disaster.
As a party that has always been hostile to Conservative England but aware of the unradical nature of their voting base – Welsh independence aside – Plaid has been careful to not pigeonhole itself for most of its history but has now committed itself to a hard-left agenda.
Its leader recently said, “there’s no such thing as illegal immigration”. Its former leader said women shouldn’t go to prison. They have very much sided with trans extremists even after last year’s Supreme Court ruling.
Recent manifestos included commitments to rent controls (which are proven to actually increase rents), reaching net zero by 2035 (bringing forward the already straining 2050 target), rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union (even though Wales voted to leave the EU), and increasing benefits (which is already slowly bankrupting our unproductive economy).
They criticise …
Calum Davies: Will the real Plaid Cymru please stand up – and not the glossed media makeover they get in Wales
This affects the entire country.
Calum Davies is a Conservative councillor in Cardiff and a candidate for the Senedd in May.
In my last column, I wrote about how Welsh Labour had sown the seeds of their own demise by feeding the separatist beast, part-explaining how Plaid Cymru are cannibalising many of their voters.
But who are Plaid Cymru really? Just how devastating will they be for the future of the country?
Given it has many supporters in a rump Welsh media, being both left-leaning and nationalistic, the public’s perceptions of the party are on the more positive side by virtue of rarely being subject to the scrutiny faced by the Conservatives, Labour, and Reform.
The so-called Party of Wales celebrated it centenary last year; its foundations rooted in the preservation of the Welsh language. Its “home rule” ambitions were more diluted than the full-on independence rhetoric of the modern day but quickly moved onto that turf.
Their heartland has always been in the Welsh-speaking west, known as “Y Fro Gymraeg”, ever since winning their first parliamentary seat in the 1966 Carmarthen by-election. They have had a decent number of councillors in the South Wales valleys but only rarely and briefly reaching positions of power on councils, whilst largely relying on help from others to do so.
When the Welsh Assembly was established in 1999, they had their best-ever result in a convincing second place but, since their 2007-11 coalition with Labour have come third, second, and third again, vying with the Conservatives to be Wales’ second most popular party.
Since that coalition, Plaid aimed to outflank Labour from the political left, first, under Leanne Wood and then, Adam Price, even if this was against the instincts of their rural, small-c conservative voter base. Ex-BBC journalist – who naturally has many friends in the media – Rhun ap Iorwerth was appointed leader uncontested in time to benefit from the Starmer disaster.
As a party that has always been hostile to Conservative England but aware of the unradical nature of their voting base – Welsh independence aside – Plaid has been careful to not pigeonhole itself for most of its history but has now committed itself to a hard-left agenda.
Its leader recently said, “there’s no such thing as illegal immigration”. Its former leader said women shouldn’t go to prison. They have very much sided with trans extremists even after last year’s Supreme Court ruling.
Recent manifestos included commitments to rent controls (which are proven to actually increase rents), reaching net zero by 2035 (bringing forward the already straining 2050 target), rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union (even though Wales voted to leave the EU), and increasing benefits (which is already slowly bankrupting our unproductive economy).
They criticise …
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