Wednesday 19 November 2014

National Left and the Greens explained.

A recent Blog in which I  tied to point out the price for reform of FIFA could lead to a end of the Welsh Football side and raising the question whether it was a price worth paying has some how developed in the comments section over some recent  blogs  I made welcoming the greendragon to the Welsh Blogosphere.

One commenter claimed the this Blog


had suddenly become insipid and devolutionist, a change that's been noticed since the 'green dragon blog' appeared.

Though they rather kindly later  wrote that they may overstepped the mark although they still find I had been hard reading it of late

So where do I stand on the Welsh Greens?


Firstly I would like them to be like their Scottish cousins a Independent Party and take a similar line on Independence


The Scottish Greens saw most members enthusiastically campaigning for a YES vote though in  December,  last year former convenor Robin Harper said that he would "absolutely vote No" in the independence referendum and offered his backing to the Better Together campaign, putting himself at odds with official party policy and its present leadership. Going on to say that he would like to help the Better Together and that there was a "significant minority" of Greens who were opposed to independence. Uniquely amongst the parties in the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Green Party is open about and comfortable with the differences of opinion in the party on the constitutional issue, with co-convenor Patrick Harvie pointing out that "even the very firm supporters of independence within the Greens tend to be more strongly motivated by other aspects of our political agenda

However the surge in  Green  Party Membership  in Scotland after the referendum vote  does appear to indicate that members can see a link between a Green agenda and Independence.


I have made it clear that although I am aPlaid Supporter I am not a member and one reason  for this is I want this Blog to be Independent and free to criticise that party when I disagreed. 


I would also sometimes, when I was really unhappy with Plaid to be able to vote for another progressive party.


If I was still living in London my politics would lead me to vote Green as I would in the rest of England .


If i was living Cornwall it would be Mebyon Kernow


In Scotland In UK elections the SNP but in Scottish Parliamentary I  would vote in the constituency fr the SNP but would strongly consider voting Green for the Top uo seats.

In Scotland the SNP look likely to win more constituency seats in the Scottish Parliament in 2016 .  Paradoxically it could mean they lose List seats and lose overall . But these may be made up by increase in Green members . Who else would the SNP  like to gain in such a way

Here if Plaid ever got to the same position to the  SNP in our Assembly then I would seriously consider voting Green on the list.

I remind everyone Plaid and the SNP work together in the European Parliament in the EFA/Green Alliance.

It would be my desire that after 2015 a similar alliance could be working in the Westminster Parliament.


It may be wishful thinking but in the absence of a progressive nationalist movement in England the Greens there can play that role but in their own way,



The Scottish Greens have shown the way forward for their Welsh cousins and don't see it as threat to Plaid but as a spur 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any supporter of plaid cymru or the Wales green party should find it very very difficult to disagree with anything youve said there Glyn.

While we at green dragon would particularly concur with your comment "The Scottish Greens have shown the way forward for their Welsh cousins and don't see it as threat to Plaid but as a spur".

The only caveat we would aply to anything we migt have said about plaid and its relationship to the welsh greens is that it should be a plaid led by plaid cymru, as we fear a plaid led by anyone else might be a quite different kind of animal.

Anonymous said...

How many of these greens are actually from Wales?

Anonymous said...

Since you welcomed the newcomer Green Dragon blog, it's begun to look like a Green Party factionalist operating covertly
# unlike you Glyn, refuses to disclose any responsible named person
# excludes some critical comments and questions from own blog, including a challenge to define its censorship policy (see comment 50 on http://jacothenorth.net/blog/plaid-cymru-and-the-green-party-of-englandandwales/
# post up 'anonymous' criticisms of Andy Chyba, which appear to be written by the editor
# invents a facebook personage (Brig Strawbridge) to post an attack on Andy Chyba, which was removed after the trickery exposed (Fb page also amended and renamed Henry Strawbridge)
# announces support for Bartolotti in the internal Wales Green Party election
# though claiming to be from several people, including a Plaid member, indulges in speedy (and personal) responses on jacothenorth blog, all apparently written by the same individual.
Rather far from the left-independent political blog that you thought you welcomed, don't you reckon?
Max Wallis

Anonymous said...

We will not dignify Max Wallis's accusations with a response to his lengthy list of frankly laughable claims, but we would if you will allow us to Glyn just like to make a couple of points :

We outlined our sound political reasons for supporting Pippa Bartolotti in the WGP on our blog, Max Wallis may not agree with our choice but we will not be intimidated by him or anybody else because they disagree with our choice as to who we think would the best person to lead the Green party in Wales. Further as an independent blog which is not beholden to any one party - though our strong sympathies for the WGP and for Leanne Wood are obvious - we are free to comment as we think fit on internal elections in any party. Thus we would have publicly backed Leanne Wood for the Plaid leadership had greendragon existed at that time, and we will defend her leadership from attacks from the right of her party, indeed we have already recently done so.

While we have made it abundantly clear that we will not publish comments which are racist or which we feel may be libellous, the only comments we havent published from max wallis have been for that reason - though he of course selectively ommitts to mention that he has had commens published on the greendragon blog.

His claims regarding facebook accounts are risible, but if Max Wallis has evidence to back up his absurd claims then let him publish it here.

Finally the authors of the greendragon blog have noticed that since publishing an article expressing serious concerns about the proposed Wylfa B nuclear reactor we have been subject to a sustained campaign of online abuse - obviously just a coincidence!

Readers of National Left can read this apparently 'offending' article for themselves here http://agreenwales.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/wales-own-edge-of-darkness.html

glynbeddau said...

Max Wallis I am sorry that I was not able to publish your latest commnt.I don't wish to censure you of greendragon or anyone but I think this blog is the place to conduct your differences and as I am not upon libel laws I am reluctant to let this carry on here.
This no way affections from participating in the future within boundaries.