Hefin Help Us.

Labour AM Hefin David seems to have appointed himself Chief Nat Basher  for "Welsh" Labour and as a Welsh speaker it seems that he may as a Welsh speaker have more authority or credence.

Recently he has been critical of the Cofiwch Dryweryn debate in which he seems to lump those backing it in the same category as Ikip or Farage's latest xenophobic creation.

He writes in Nation Cymru.

During the Easter holiday, I used Twitter to contribute to the burgeoning ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ debate. It was a swiftly composed tweet that was intended to convey my concern about the motivation behind the graffiti appearing on public land around Wales. It read:
“Can’t help thinking that graffitiing ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ on public land devalues the original monument and is about as cool as drawing Che Guevara on your wheelie bin.”
It was an ostensibly frivolous message to echo what I saw, and still see, as a frivolous campaign. I received a couple of hundred responses, many of which misunderstood the point I was intending to make.
Among other things, I was accused of being a Brit Nat, a traitor and a hater of the Welsh language. I am none of these things. I also received some strongly worded personal abuse which is the linga franca of twitter.

Though he seems to have no problem when it comes to abuses others.

Vaughan Williams 

@Vaughan_Wms

·

10h

Ironic that Hefin has complained about his treatment on twitter by others. He's twice personally insulted me and is yet to apologise. The matter is now in the hands of the relevant authorities. I abhor any abuse on twitter. Perhaps individuals should practice what they preach

Which is hypocritical of him to say the least

Oh Coc Oen by the way is the Welsh for Wanker.
Hefin goes on 

My argument about the current ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ campaign is that it does not encourage considered reflection. Instead, as Vaughan Roderick pointed out to me, the anger is fuelled by damage to a wall.
Graffitiing public land and selling mugs and t-shirts with ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’ as a stylised slogan romanticises, commercialises and ultimately devalues the meaningful fury of the 60s campaign.
This is typical of the populism infecting our politics today. It is an approach that appeals to simple emotion in order to persuade people to support binary choices to resolve contemporary intractable problems.
This is an issue I have with the wider campaign for Welsh independence. I recall a tweet by Rhun ap Iorwerth, just after Geraint Thomas won the Tour de France. He said “…and to those miffed at hearing God Save the Queen  rather than Hen Wlad fy Nhadau on the Champs d’Elysee, it’s quite simple… it’s because we’re not an independent nation. We could be. Get on board!”
It is conceivable that the case for Welsh independence, like the leaving of the EU, could be won on the argument that, if we wrap ourselves more snugly in a flag, an uncertain world will appear less threatening.A populist appeal of the heart could persuade a large section of the public in these turbulent times. A victory on that basis alone, however, would be an empty one.

Rational rather than emotional arguments are more likely to build sustainable support for independence and that may come from some unexpected quarters. Yet the evidence to support an economic case for independence at this time is thin on the ground.

I suppose Hefin has a point and God help me I have had enough of populism, but can't Hefin argument be labelled at the whole the whole British State and the Union.

We just have had a week were  the main news is dominated by the birth of another "Royal" baby and are bombarded  with the Great British something or other and  Unionist propaganda in which Hefin party is happy to wrap themselves in the Union Flag (orButcher's Apron as some call it).

Not only that , but the Labour Party has always used populist slogans when it suited them  and who can forget this?

He goes on to say 

Like most people, I’m still to be convinced that a Wales standing alone will result in our people quickly becoming better off, more secure and healthier. I am ambivalent as to whether this is because such a case can never be made or because it cannot be made right now, within existing economic structures.

But when has Wales thrived under the British state . Even taken the 100 years of a true democratically  state  and numerous Labour governments Wales has always be poor West Britons and denied  the right to govern ourselves and often it made no difference  if we voted Labour, when we got a Tory government or if Labour won we  lagging behind the green pastures of South East England

Even when we had the greatest coalfield in the world  which may have literally fuelled the British Empire the only benefit we saw was employment and  suffered the consequences. Summed up that (Populists/) quip the the PD of the  Powell Duffryn coalfields stood for Povery Death.

Of course faced with the rise of "Populist" Welsh Nationalism Hefin is forced to offer something else

My preference is to tackle a very real and present problem, namely the grossly imbalanced state that constitutes the United Kingdom. It would take another article to explore the design of a renewed devolution settlement but suffice to say, the Senedd needs to have all the mechanisms of a modern parliament.
We need a fully federalised UK, true to the real meaning of the principle of subsidiarity – that problems are tackled at the most immediate level that is consistent with their resolution.

The problem here as Hefin knows is  that  Federalism either means regional governments in England, with similar Powers to the current devolved nations , in which case Wales and Scotland then become nothing more than UK regions.

Or Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland . become equal partners with England in which the latter cannot out vote the combined vote of the rest, let alone the possibility of Wales veto any UK legislature.

Like Hefin I do not want to see a copy of the Right Wing populism Brexit arguments that we have experienced  in a campaign for Welsh Independence.

But I also don't want the "Welsh" Labour Parties decade of promises and their adherence to the British State with all its historical baggage.

There is no reason why we can't have a campaign for Independence based on reason and facts, but there is also no reason that we do not promote our national identity , which the people of Wales share no matter what their origin.