Watch: Mark Lewis Jones stars in stirring Plaid Cymru campaign video
Stephen Price
Acclaimed Welsh actor, Mark Lewis Jones has lent his support to a stirring campaign video for Plaid Cymru, calling for the Welsh electorate to “step forward and show the world what Wales is and what we can do”.
In two campaign shorts, one in Welsh and one in English, Mark Lewis Jones can be seen talking to the camera while walking towards the iconic Silent Links monument at Grangemoor Park, overlooking Cardiff Bay and Penarth.
The award-winning actor has appeared in several iconic TV shows in recent years, including The Crown, Game of Thrones, This Life, Keeping Faith, Man Up and Baby Reindeer.
In the video for Plaid Cymru – released ahead of the Senedd Election on 7 May, he shares: “There have always been voices that will tell you how Wales should be. Small, quiet, grateful for what it’s given. A country that should be seen and not heard.
“Except we’re not. Because there’s another voice. A voice that, even though many have tried to silence it, never went away.
“A voice that carries through valleys and towns, through classrooms and kitchens and stadia, through generations who refused to forget who they were.
“A voice that says, we are still here, still speaking, still creating, still standing.
“It would have been easy to give up. But we didn’t. We couldn’t. We can’t. Because this is who we are. And soon we will have to decide who we want to be.
“We’ve already heard those loud voices telling us what we should do. They want us to throw away the tools we have made to build a better future. They want us to settle for hatred dressed up as answers. They want us to let fear decide the direction we take. But that’s not us.”
“We want to step forward and show the world what Wales is and what we can do. We want to protect our communities, our language, our culture. We want to make something bigger and better that belongs to us.
“This isn’t just about politics. It’s about you, me, all of us. So when the time comes, when the choice is in front of you and when it’s your voice that matters, let us remember who we’ve always been.
“Not small. Not silent. Not afraid.
“But a nation that endures. A nation that adapts. A nation that refuses to disappear.
“We are still here. And what happens next is up to us.”
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Plaid Cymru launched its ‘bold’ manifesto for the Senedd election on 9 May, with calls for devolution of the Crown Estate, a free childcare offer, a new literacy and numeracy plan and a ‘sustainable and integrated’ health and care service for Wales.
The launch comes as the latest Beaufort Research poll for Nation.Cymru puts Plaid Cymru on 30% of the vote, three points ahead of Reform UK on 27%, with Welsh Labour trailing on 17%.
Seat projections based on the poll suggest Plaid Cymru could win 37 seats in the Senedd, compared with 30 for Reform UK and 15 for Labour. The same projection indicates gains for the Green Party, with 6 seats, alongside 6 for the Conservative Party and 2 for the Liberal Democrats.
The figures, if reflected in the election, would represent a significant shift in Welsh politics and could see Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth become First Minister.
Alongside its immediate priorities, the party has set out their plan to unlock Wales’s economic potential and build a more prosperous, confident nation, including:
· Creating well-paid jobs with a new plan to support Welsh businesses, reviving town centres by reforming business rates, use public procurement to invest in the future, and make sure skills and training match real jobs.
· Supporting families with the cost of living with £30,000-worth of free childcare for children aged 9 months to 4 years, with parents being able to get into work and giving every child the best start in life.
· Raising literacy and numeracy standards in schools by introducing a new Literacy and Numeracy Plan, supporting teachers, and giving every primary school a library by 2030, giving young people the skills they need to succeed.
· Standing up for Wales to get a fair deal from Westminster to invest in infrastructure – including fair funding and further powers
· The devolution of the Crown Estate to keep profits in Wales and invest in the long term through a new Wales Wealth Fund supporting community energy and community ownership, affordable and energy-efficient housing, and essential national infrastructure
Speaking after the manifesto launch, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “The election on 7 May will be the most important since the dawn of devolution.
“It is an election which offers real hope for the future of Wales. That hope is represented by Plaid Cymru – tangible action from day one to tackle the immediate challenges facing our country, a longer-term vision for renewal, and a promise to always stand up for Wales.
“That opportunity for change stands in stark contrast to Labour’s record of managed decline, and their refusal to make a stand for the interests of our nation against Westminster’s indifference.
“And it is the key to stopping the threat of Reform, who offer no real solutions to the challenges we face, dealing instead in empty soundbites and fanning the flames of division.
“I am proud to present this Plaid Cymru manifesto, our plan for a modern, confident Wales – a Wales where all our people and communities can contribute to and share in our nation’s success.
“We will cut NHS waiting times, freeing up time, space and resources to build a sustainable and integrated health and care service for Wales – one that does more to keep people well, rather than just treating illness.
“We’ll support families and give every child the best possible start through a transformational new free childcare offer for all children aged 9 months to 4 years old.
”We will unlock our untapped economic potential – building on our strengths to create well-paid and secure jobs and spread prosperity to every part of Wales.
“And with a new, bold and determined drive on numeracy and literacy skills, we will raise the bar on standards in our schools, so every child in Wales is set on the path to success.
“Together, and for the first time, we can give our nation the leadership it needs and deserves.
“Leadership that takes its cue from the people of Wales and nobody else.
“Leadership that believes when we choose hope over division and seriousness over chaos, Wales can – Wales will – prosper.”
Read Plaid Cymru’s manifesto here.
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