Sunday 1 February 2015

Greens or Plaid how should Progressives in Wales vote?

There has been a somewhat (though understandable ) reaction from some Plaid and Green supporters in the wake of the apparent surge in the Green vote in Wales.

 Some Nationalist Bloggers  though not entirely Plaid supporters have long been suspicious of the Greens here seeing them as merley a branch of the English Greens and having some members hostile tom the Welsh language and Independence.

On the Green side there is suspicion over Plaid's neutrality  particularly over Nuclear power .

Still the Parties have joined together in an Anti-Austerity pact . Though  why we may well ask hasn't  Mebyon Kernow been invited to join  in .




When I questioned this on Facebook I was told by some because MK can't win which is affront to democracy and what the parties in this pact claim to be fighting for.

Which brings me to the Election in Wales .

I am not a fan of Tactile Voting . The Liberals Democrats with their Little Bar Charts and claims that only they can win here. i have always found insulting.

I vote foe the Party that I think best represents my point of view.

At the moment its Plaid and I could switch to the Greens in a year where Plaid may have dropped some particular policy I support.

I live in the Pontypridd Constituency where Plaid have little chance in wining  but I wil vote for them because that what democracy is supposed to be about.

Proportional Representation  under STV would make this easier though it might mean I give my second vote to a Green candidate.

But that would be my choice.

This does not mean that I do not urge Green voters to vote Plaid  because in some ways we will be voting for the Anti-Austerity Bloc but it is up to them  and as there Anti- Austerity Bloc party in England it would be a pity to split it in Wales.


I suppose its somewhat hypocritical of me to call for this but the  Bloc is unique in UK politics and does change the landscape.

However this is a suggestion and we should always use our right to vote for the Party we want even if there is alternative.
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In the meantime I urge both Plaid and Green supporters to concentrate on attacking the Westminster consensus rather than attacking each other.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The problem with the Greens in Wales is there’s probably more welsh members in UKIP’s welsh branch than the England & Wales Green Party, add in the over whelming hostility to anything Welsh and it become even more problematic to support them.

The Green Dragon blog is also trying to rewrite history on the split between Plaid and Greens in Ceredigion when the splits in the Green Party caused the end of the agreement. For folk claiming to be purer than the driven snow, it stinks of hypocrisy.

As for Pippa their leader, here’s a clip of her mocking the welsh accent and inferring that’s were all racists, charming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI-T55k7KIw

Anonymous said...

"In the meantime I urge both Plaid and Green supporters to concentrate on attacking the Westminster consensus rather than attacking each other."....sensible advice Glynn.

Also not sure what point anon is trying to make with regard's to the wales greens membership, but it is a fact that their membership has increased from around 400 this time last year to over 2000 at present.

We certainly havent rewritten history, merely pointed out that cynog withdrew from the arrangement in ceredigion.

Wales Green Party leader Pippa Bartolotti gives an extensive welsh green's view on issues in Wales here
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/pippa-bartolotti/labour-green-party_b_6268632.html

People can also seen an an interview with her on today's sunday politics show - she is featured around 36 minutes in http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b050b1zn/sunday-politics-wales-01022015

Purer than snow?.....er we've never made any such ludicrous claim.The only thing we've ever claimed to do is to write on matters in Wales - and further afield - from a green left perspective. Which we have consistenly done.