AROUND 70 members of the public filled the function room at the White Hart, Llandeilo, on Friday (Jul 15) to question Plaid Cymru’s leader, Leanne Wood AM, and Carmarthen East and Dinefwr’s MP and AM, Jonathan Edwards and Adam Price, about Wales’s future following the UK referendum vote to leave the European Union.
Brexiters were conspicuous by their absence in a pro-European meeting, which highlights the fault line between the Leave and Remain camps.
Leanne Wood argued that many Leave voters were shouting against poverty and inequality, and wanted to land a blow on the political establishment. Plaid Cymru, as a pro-Europe party, should explain that Westminster was a greater barrier to prosperity than Brussels. Plaid was working on a national plan to mitigate the impact of Brexit, she said, adding that an independent Wales should be an option.
Adam Price pointed out that new Prime Minister Theresa May’s first diplomatic visit was to Edinburgh for talks with Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, while Wales was ‘not even an afterthought’. Plaid Cymru had to present a set of policies which people would believe in as offering them a better future. “It is a tragedy that we have not until now been able to articulate a change project,” he said.
Scotland has its own media, which reinforces national awareness, but apart from S4C television, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, Wales lacks popular national media. “Most people in Wales receive their media from England,” said Leanne. “That’s why we have to create our own agenda.”
“If we don’t set the agenda, UKIP will,” she added.
Leanne and Jonathan explained their preference for a confederal over a federal future. The terms sound similar, but a confederation engages in voluntary pooling and sharing of responsibilities, while in a federation the largest member generally exerts the greatest power.
Plaid Cymru is the official opposition in the devolved (but not confederal or even federal) Welsh Government, the second largest party after Labour, but is a distance away from being able to put policies into practice. So Plaid, which favours votes for 16 and 17-year-olds, is looking to youth.
“Young people are at the forefront of every great wave of change,” said Adam Price.
Speaking after the meeting, Jonathan Edwards MP, Plaid Cymru’s Treasury Spokesperson in Westminster, said: “The Westminster political establishment is in chaos. The result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union has posed a direct challenge not only to the interests of the UK’s constituent nations, but also to the very composition of the UK.
“Brexit doesn’t mean the same thing to do two different people and there is uncertainty about what exactly is going to happen as a result of the referendum. Yet, despite this confusion, there has not yet been an official debate in the House of Commons to clarify what exactly Brexit entails.
“Plaid Cymru is determined to offer leadership to the people of Wales. We will hold the Brexit leaders to account, and Plaid Cymru will continue to fight to secure Wales’ national interests.”
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