Despite the election result, there are exciting times ahead for Wales
Neil McEvoy AM
Now is not the time for those concerned with the national cause in Wales to lose faith.
Yes, Wales voted Labour again. And yes, predictably, Wales got nothing as a result – again.
But look at where we are. The outdated British state is crumbling around us. The Conservatives are clinging onto power through the help of just 10 MPs from a fundamentalist religious party in the north of Ireland.
A forgettable vicar’s daughter is now only able to govern through open bribery: a billion pound fee meaning the DUP MPs are the most expensive overseas signings in history.
Even Gareth Bale’s £85 million move to Real Madrid can’t match that.
Every vote now is on a knife-edge. The opportunities to take on this Tory government that has lost all credibility are endless.
Plaid increased its number of seats to four in the Westminster election. In this Parliament, four votes can make all the difference.
The Conservatives know this. They’re already reaching out to other parties. But if they think they’ll be getting any support from Plaid Cymru they are sadly mistaken.
We just cannot accept that austerity in the north of Ireland has been wiped out in an instant while our schools and hospitals have to go without.
Regardless, this is the time for building Welsh democracy. The British state has been shown for what it is.
The people of the British Isles will always have a strong bond. But the state that governs part of these Islands is now exposed as serving nothing more than the political needs of parties in London and those who are willing to prop them up.
It simply does not deliver for the people. Many in Wales are rightly angry about this and that means that now is the time to really start building Welsh democracy.
Pushing ahead
Plaid Cymru has always been a project to modernise Wales. Unlike the Conservatives and UKIP, who hark back to some mythical golden era of empire and appalling foreign policy that enslaved millions, Plaid is about a modern Wales.
Rather than the stuffy green benches of a tired Westminster, Plaid is building a new Welsh democracy in our own nation.
These are exciting times to be involved in politics. And these are especially exciting times for politics in Wales.
Yes, we want to keep the best bits of our history and culture. It really is thrilling to see one of the oldest languages in Europe adapt to the urban and multicultural streets of Welsh cities.
But getting stuck in our industrial past serves no one. Does anyone really want to work in a coal mine in 21st Century Wales? We can take pride in that past but now is the time to push ahead with developing a new Welsh economy.
The days of offering cash to foreign companies to have businesses here is also over. They had no loyalty to us and many left to pay cheaper wages elsewhere.
It’s the indigenous Welsh start-ups being created by confident Welsh entrepreneurs that I want to see supported. These are the companies that will grow and take Wales forward.
Opportunities
Anything can happen now over the next five years. One thing is clear, and that is that the UK state is never going to work for Wales. We can’t keep being the quiet, forgotten nation that is so easy to overlook.
We’ve got to be bold now and have the confidence to say that we can run our own affairs. If we’re not prepared to do that then we’re leaving it to the Conservatives and the religious fundamentalists in the north of Ireland to dictate our country’s future.
The only question we should have in Wales is how far can we go?
We run our own health service and we run our own education system. They don’t perform as well as they should but we’ve so far avoided the corporate privatisation of services that has taken place in England.
Can we now run our own economy to make it work for Welsh people? Can we join the world stage and take a Welsh seat at the UN General Assembly, to make the positive contribution to world affairs that the British Government has consistently failed to do?
There are many people ready to talk Wales down and point out our failings. But how much better our country would be if we focused on the many opportunities we have to build a modern Welsh democracy.
Times may seem difficult but we do have options in Wales. We owe it to ourselves to take them.
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Your paper thin argument aka waffle would be more credible if it hadn’t come from a self-serving, bullying, serial litigator who was pushed out of Labour and will probably be booted out of Plaid. You have a brass neck to repeatedly foist yourself on Nation.Cymru after your involvement with Daily Wales. Do you have no morals? Try looking in the mirror and seeing what is really there – trust me it ain’t pretty.
Well this post is certainly a much needed breath of fresh air. Great to hear from someone who is optimistic about Wales future.
You’re right, it is refreshing. But we need that message to be shouted more loudly and more often by people like Neil who are in a position to be heard.
Always enjoy Neil McEvoy’s “can do” attitude and assertive take on our future. It’s a shame that so many of his fellow Party leadership group give a passable imitation of being joined at the hip with Labour when there is so much ammunition out there for a sustained 4 year attack on Welsh Labour’s antics in office so far, with no doubt more to come over the next 4 years. There is no need to ever indicate any kind of relationship with Labour, just pan them for their huge list of failings.
That’s fine as far as it goes, but isn’t the usual negative emphasis so predictable, and essentially a lazy response? Fair enough, Welsh Labour’s record warrants serious criticism, but what Plaid fails to do is to prove to the people of Wales just how they’d improve things. Mostly all we get are promises that if they were in government things would get better, but quite rightly the sceptical Welsh voting public knows that it’s heard that so many times before, and whilst Labour is bad, Plaid might be even worse, given they have no real track record, apart from as… Read more »
it’s not just “fine as far as it goes”. Criticism of the party in government is bound to be negative because we focus on the areas that lack merit ( and bloody hell, there’s stacks of those ! ). I have long pleaded that Plaid needs to have the bones of real policy that should be publicised in those periods between elections and with the passing of time these would be updated with attendant cost evaluations and how their funding would be generated. Some of that has been done. However they have been reluctant to engage in a sustained barrage… Read more »
Refreshing and welcomed. Whether those Plaid joined at the hip to Llafur can or even want to break away, I for one don’t care! McEvoy has, as he always does, speak his mind and in doing so for all of us. Let us get behind those we can trust and stop worrying about the rest. The rest will disappear into oblivion and the sooner the better. The only way to do this is by supporting those Cymreig politicians, like McEvoy, that speak for Cymru and all Cymry. Perhaps with more support we can all shout it out load and proud… Read more »
What worries me is the total lack of vision of some, of the leadership of Plaid Cymru. They see Plaid as some sort of pressure group to push Labour in a “Welsh” direction. They are happy to be seen in pacts with Labour, they see a Corbyn as some sort of dream politician who is going to deliver a socialist society. What Corbyn will deliver is what he delivered on 8th June. NOTHING!. On the doorstep people mention pacts with Labour and see Plaid supporting Labour so will not vote Plaid they will support the real thing as they did.… Read more »
As an ex member of the Labour party I awakened over many years then became enlightened to what was happening as soon as Blair came on the scene. Sadly for may of us awakening has been a slow process due to familiarty with the enemy and of course that breeds contempt. What I saw growing up from a very young age as my Dad was a Labour councillor and NUR rep, was a party transforming into something akin to what Kier Hardie and the founders were actually fightening against over a hundred years ago. And boy hasn’t it! To beat… Read more »
The question of investment by Labour in the South East while ignoring the rest of Wales is often referred to by Plaid but so quietly no one hears. Take the latest plan which will almost inevitably see the Major Trauma Centre sited in Cardiff. Plaid should be shouting from the rooftops about this. They should be saying this is where we’re different, this is what we would do and it should be headlines in every paper. Even the Cardiff Mail couldn’t avoid headlining it if Leanne/Adam/Rhun plus others like Neil McEvoy all shout about it. But it’s all so careful.… Read more »
I should have included Independence there as well Keith.
I’ve not lost faith in my nationalist belief. I don’t see it as being mutually exclusive with the trials and tribulations of Plaid Cymru. I’m going to tell you why… I am a Socialist… but I do not think that is part of my identity as a Welsh individual. I was born Welsh… I chose to be Socialist. Two very different things. Plaid is first and foremost a Socialist party… therefor cannot truly be a voice for Wales. Singling out Labour as Plaid’s target is just silly… the fact is the Tories and Labour represent the same thing: Unionism. A… Read more »
Voice to the stupidity behind the scenes? Not sure what you mean? Mail me and expand ? ([email protected]) I just tend to try to shine light on what others prefer to be kept in the dark. I tend to speak my mind, through our own mediums and getting interviews ourselves. I can’t actually recall the last time I was put forward for interview by Plaid centrally without any input from me or the team! Not long after May 2016 I think.
“the UK state is never going to work for Wales. We can’t keep being the quiet, forgotten nation that is so easy to overlook.” Yes! Scotland and N Ireland are both prominent – and challenging the UK state. Yet McEvoy like the Plaid leadership is reluctant to see the opportunities and express solidarity with their causes.