Dafydd Elis Thomas, has denied rumours that he is going to defect to Labour saying
........ now, looking back, One Wales seems like the exception that proves the rule, that we have a party that prefers opposition, that has not adjusted to the realities of devolution and the responsibilities of government.”
Asked if he could see any possible situation if, by the end of the current Assembly term, he would no longer be sitting as a Plaid AM, he said: “I have been elected as a Plaid Cymru member – selected, more importantly, by the Plaid Cymru party in Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
“I am entirely happy with them as I believe they are with me, that’s why they asked me to stand for the party leadership, and the positions I’ve taken in public since then have been positions that I discuss with them every month at our meetings.
Apart from the successful referendum campaign did the One Wales agreement achieve that much .
Hadn't it simply continued in the same way as the Assembly had done managing the pocket Money the Westminster government had given them.?
Would Plaid joining a coalition with Labour make any radical change and shake the latter out of its lethargy or would we see it flexing its muscles and start taking a radical approach to its new powers and the Welsh economy.
I doubt it there would be a few concessions and although for few months where Plaid ministers would appear to take the lead as happened to both Plaid and LibDems in their Assembly coalitions with Labour. Plaid will very soon be reduced to junior partner status and lethargy once more the order of the day. Though this time blaming the evil Tory/Libdems in Westminster.
Of course it may be better than achieving nothing in opposition.
DET also states... .....
Now my anxiety is to see Plaid rethink its positioning. Trying to be an additional opposition party when we’ve got the Conservatives making some kind of fist of it is not where we should be.”
Apart from the dubious argument that the Tories are "making a decent fist of it" La Pasionaria leader of the Libdems has usually out shorn Andrew T Davies in the senedd . Though she has been quiet lately (Probably seeking her own coalition)
However, the role of opposition is not always to be be the opposite but an alternative.
Plaid role should be to provide an alternative when both Labour and the Tories carry on believing that that the argument is whether to put the deckchairs on the port or starboard side of the Titanic.
2 comments:
"Apart from the successful referendum campaign did the One Wales agreement achieve that much"?
I made my point some time ago on Borthlas. I felt at the time that it was not opportune for Plaid to go into a junior coalition role with Labour. The referendum victory on powers was more symbolic than substantial. The LCO system was frustrating and unworkable, and would have been ditched by Labour eventually, and quite likely during the current term.
Plaid, under IWJ, shot itself in the foot by entering government, and is now paying the price for it. I don't see the party making gains in the short or medium term. It fell into the devolution 'trap' which Labour had prepared for it. I call it political naiveté.
I agree that Plaid has to be seen as a credible alternative to Labour rather than an adjunct to it. Putting it simply, voters potentially sympathetic to Plaid now think, 'Why vote for the monkey when we can vote for the organ grinder?'.
There are a number of Plaid AMs who would favour a coalition with Labour even under the current circumstances. Personally, I think they must have a death wish for their party. It would be utter stupidity to make the same mistake twice!
Labour made a 'fist' of it during their term at Westminster, leaving the UK in the worst mess that I've seen in my lifetime. They've also made a mess of running Wales since 1999, and of places like Swansea, which they did for decades. Yet people voted Labour in the Assembly and local elections, instead of turning to Plaid.
The opposite happened in Scotland. Salmond learned the lesson that cosying up to Labour is political suicide for a nationalist party. The SNP became the credible alternative that the Scots could vote for in droves. Plaid's leadership was to blame for its current misfortunes. It could have been worse, more seats could have been lost, but the greatest setback is the loss of momentum since 1999.
I back Leanne. Under her leadership Plaid has to make the case that Wales can only ever prosper when decisions about its future are made here in Wales, by people who care for our country. It should be a relatively easy thing to do considering the abysmal record of all three unionist parties as far as Wales is concerned.
I'm sure that Dafydd El will be welcomed in the Labour Party, the only dynamic popular political party in Wales today. Why would he want to be linked to a fringe sect.
Post a Comment