Ex-Tory MP tells Plaid how to win as his own party faces wipeout
A former Conservative MP has urged Plaid Cymru to abandon its quest for independence in order to win power in Wales, as he admitted his own party “cannot even come close” to victory at the upcoming Senedd election.
Writing on social media, former Delyn MP Rob Roberts said Plaid Cymru could secure a Senedd majority — or come close enough to govern — if it dropped any talk of independence and further devolution for at least two terms.
His intervention comes as polling points to a collapse in support for the Welsh Conservatives, with recent YouGov modelling suggesting the party could be reduced to as few as three seats. Other polling averages place Conservative support at around 11–13%, far behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK.
Roberts said Plaid’s route to power depended on broadening its appeal beyond its traditional heartlands.
“They should drop: a) any talk of independence, and b) any talk of further devolution for the next two Senedd sessions.”
He argued that constitutional change was a “poison chalice” for many voters, claiming that large parts of Wales would be more willing to back Plaid if it focused solely on improving public services.
“To everyone outside of Plaid, the idea of independence is anathema. It’s a poison chalice and it costs votes.”
Roberts suggested the party should instead campaign on a message of fixing Wales after “three decades of mismanagement”, postponing any constitutional ambitions.
“We won’t mention constitutional change for the next decade… it will take us that long to fix the problems in Wales.”
Despite outlining a potential path to power, he stressed he was not endorsing a Plaid-led government, saying his own party was no longer competitive in Wales and adding he would be “disgusted” if Reform UK were to win.
Recent polling suggests a fragmented race, with Plaid Cymru and Reform UK competing to emerge as the largest party.
Roberts served as the Conservative MP for Delyn between 2019 and 2024, later sitting as an independent following his suspension from the party. He has remained an active commentator on Welsh politics since leaving Westminster.
The comments highlight both the scale of the challenge facing the Conservatives and the strategic debate within Welsh politics about how parties can build broad electoral coalitions ahead of polling day.
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Perhaps je should join the Greens to gain power in England and drop all his capitalist ideals( anathema to most in Britain. NO. I thought not , what a stupid suggestion
Yeah because a man accused of sexually harassing his staff members is the go-to expert on electability.
After his own party’s objection to the lack of HS2 consequentials surely even they’d support devolution of rail.
It is a bit ironic that someone that during his tenure as an MP in what has now become Clwyd (again) was the biggest turn off for anyone to vote Conservative has done it again out of office. According to Dr Jack Larner’s analysis Clwyd appears to be the Tories best chance of a seat, well that is until now.
There are no “traditional heartlands” for Plaid Cymru. It just means that no other party in Gwynedd has since come close to displacing them in recent elections. A previous heartland for Labour or Liberal. The Tories are now desperately regurgitating the myths (like language) usually spouting from Labour and sewing division. It should be noted that Plaid Cymru has previously held majorities on councils in RCT, Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly as well as winning the Rhondda (twice) under the first past the post electoral system. Wales is a diverse and unique with Plaid Cymru winning the hearts and minds in… Read more »
I think he is correct to say the parties should focus upon improving public services. However, saying that they shouldn’t pursue further devolution of power ( when we all know this means Crown Estates, police, railway infrastructure, justice system etc ) is contemptuous to the Welsh nation.