Focus on Improving the Welsh economy, Dafydd Wigley tells Plaid Cymru
Martin Shipton
Plaid Cymru’s main focus at next year’s Senedd election must be on the need to improve the economy of Wales, according to the party’s Honorary President Lord Dafydd Wigley.
Lord Wigley led Plaid for two periods, the second of which covered the first National Assembly’s inaugural election in 1999 when it won 17 seats, a tally it hasn’t matched since.
Speaking to Nation.Cymru, he said: “Plaid Cymru has a very good chance of leading the Welsh Government after next year’s election and it is vital that the party sees improving our nation’s economy as the main priority. To that end, Plaid should ensure it has a strong team of Senedd Members able to deliver such improvements.
“If there is one issue where I feel Labour has failed over the 26 years of devolution, it’s on the economy. And of course having an economy that works well is vital in terms of everything else the Welsh Government has responsibility for.”
‘Job opportunities’
Lord Wigley said it remained the case that too many of Wales’ talented young people were leaving the country to attend universities in England and not returning.
“We need to create job opportunities in Wales that will allow them to return,” he said.”This has long been the case – when I was young myself, I went to work in London and the south east of England for nearly 10 years before coming back to Wales.
“I believe we could do much more to help young people who have original ideas – and there are many who do – to develop them in Wales and start up ventures that will create jobs.
“The Welsh Government should be keeping in touch with young people who have left Wales and informing them of opportunities. A tracking system should be developed. I feel very strongly that we should husband our resources and do everything we can to create prosperity.”
Start-up company
Lord Wigley said that when he was an MP he had chaired a start-up company called Alpha Dyffryn Cyfyngedig (ADC). It was founded in 1980 by Gwynedd Health Authority’s Clinical Chemist, Osborn Jones, who had a far-reaching vision of automating the process of blood analysis.
The work had begun in the outbuildings of Mr Jones’ home at Llandwrog, near Caernarfon, but the process was quickly professionalised after many local partners invested in the firm. In the early years grants were attracted, the Welsh Development Agency invested and a factory was established in the centre of Caernarfon.
Later a deal was struck with a Los Angeles-based company called Diagnostic Products Corporation and ADC’s base was relocated to Y Felinheli and the workforce quickly increased to 40.
Eventually it became part of the Siemens group, and now 500 people are employed.
Original ideas
Lord Wigley said: “I mention the success of the company not to highlight my involvement in it, but to show how it is possible to create a lot of jobs by having original ideas and getting help to develop them. This is something that needs to be nurtured more in Wales, and I believe a Plaid Cymru government should make it a priority.
“It’s very important that we have a broad range of Plaid Senedd Members elected, with different areas of expertise in fields like health and education. But improving the Welsh economy is the most important task of all, because everything else flows from it. It’s vital that we have people in the Plaid group with the commitment and expertise to take forward the economy.”
He added: “A lot was achieved when the Welsh Development Agency was in existence, and it was a shame when the Labour government abolished it. We need a similar body today, in my view. But it’s no good dwelling on mistakes that have been made in the past. What’s important is that we look to the future and put into practice policies that will create prosperity.”
Lord Wigley has stressed the importance of nurturing the Welsh economy throughout his political career. As long ago as 1970 he collaborated with the late Dr Phil Williams in writing An Economic Plan For Wales.
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This worries me. I commented on a previous article in Nation Cymru on just this subject.
If Plaid Cymru does indeed lead the next government it must have policies ready for implementation on day one. The people of Wales will be expecting improvement and making up policy after the election, simply will not work.
Who and where are these people who will lead us into the promised land, identify them,
and less talk of Welsh Gov ‘tracking’ young people like the Chinese and Indian Govs do…
Do they know any rich people eg Sunday Times Welsh Billionaires…
Perhaps they could share their business acumen and create a Welsh Wealth Fund…
Thing is a year after the locusts left office and handed the keys to the vault to Labour a hacking crime wave has hit the country via a seriously neglected IT investment…the latest is horrendous but remember Dominic Raab and Co…not saying it was planned…
Every political party can say; focus on improving the Welsh economy. After all improving the UK economy will benefit Cymru because of the large number of Government funded Jobs yn y wlad.
That’s the union deal isn’t it. Let the London government rig the economy to make the real money in London and hand out any leftovers to the grateful regions and nations.
What’s the Plaid plan for improving the economy whilst leaving control in London.
Great question.
But they do mention reconstituting the WDA which is the reason why Wales has a FTSE company.
That worked well in the 80’s didn’t it. Focus on making London the financial hub at the expense of the rest of the UK. The UK is one of the most centralised states in the Western world. Trickle down economics does not work.
Whilst I’m not saying we should have solely technocratic appointments, its striking how little senior level management experience is in Plaid, and also labour (and don’t get me started on Reform!), and this alone will always make it challenging for Wales to strike out in a significantly different and better direction than the rest of the UK. Board level experience is important to enact big change and deliver what Lord wigley is suggesting. We need people with track records in economic decision-making responsibilities and with a deeper understanding of how decisions impact various sectors and, also how to manage resources… Read more »
It would be good if it was possible to bring in some “technocrats” (not that i particularly like that term) who are not career politicians into the Welsh Government (up to a certain limit) instead of them all having to be members of the Senedd as at present. They could still be made to appear before to Senedd and its committees to answer questions from elected members so as to ensure democratic accountability. Within Westminster the House of Lords, for all its flaws, does provide a mechanism for the odd expert outsider to bring their expertise into government. I think… Read more »
I’m open to suggestions! But my main point was the pool of talent in the Senedd is poor, and the prospective candidates for next year doesn’t fill me with confidence that’ll change. And these are complex issues. We don’t need to replace politicians with technocrats, per se. In my view, we need more active recruitment of MSs- we can’t rely on local parties to keep putting forward councillors, which have mixed track records, to be polite. As an aside, last week I found out a list candidate from a major party, who will almost certainly be elected to the Senedd… Read more »
Sounds like you might be talking about Reform UK, if I’m not mistaken?
Nope, I’m not talking about reform
Reform UK are the only party I can think of who have no track record in local government in Wales and are likely to win seats at next year’s election (unless you think the Greens have a chance of winning seats?).
The experts are supposed to be in the civil service. The politicians we choose are only there to communicate the people’s priorities. It’s up to the civil service to figure out how to deliver them.
Of course, that doesn’t work when the civil service has their own interests. Like when Johnson told Whitehall mandarins to level up the UK and they intentionally did nothing that risked permanently changing the status quo.
There are some good people with real world experience outside the political bubble who have no desire to get involved in the hustle and bustle of politics but who could make a positive contribution as ministers. It’s a shame that there’s no mechanism under Wales’ current constitution where that could be done whilst ensuring that they would still be democratically accountable.
Plaid have squandered 26 years (and counting) by not following these principles from the very beginning. Had they prioritised fixing the economy over supporting Labour (who were never going to do anything positive in this regard) and getting sidetracked by various lunatic social issues in the name of ‘progressivism’, then by now: They’d probably have been government for much of the last 25 years. Wales would be a far better, healthier and more equal place They wouldn’t even have to talk about campaigning for an independence referendum because Unionism would have been discredited and people would be clamouring for independence.… Read more »
Sadly, I agree. My original contribution was written more in hope than expectation. Stephen is correct. Plaid Cymru’s Senedd leaders and members have at best been indifferent in their approach to devolution and in using the opportunity to change things. The leadership has been and remains weak, policies are non existent and since 1999, there has been a merry go round of members. In a response above, Peter J points out the need for those who understand economics, business, management and executive experience, of which the Senedd members have none. The ball is very much in the party’s court now,… Read more »
Although, I agree in principle with Dafydd Wigley’s call when he says a Plaid Cymru Welsh Government must concentrate on making the Welsh economy strong. Any responsible government should focus on bread & butter issues first. The rest will come later. Putting the cart before the horse idiom. The voting public first and foremost want to see those promises & pledges made realised otherwise apathy and cynicism prevail. See, you can’t build on a foundation made of sand. With that said, to realise Wales potential must also have the levers & powers to make said change denied by past &… Read more »
How is improving the economy NOT a “bread and butter”issue?
Concentrating on making the economy strong is a core duty of any modern government. That we have had something like 45-50 years of government where the focus has been on sharing the cake rather than baking it is a poor reflection on all colours of politics. Too many, including so-called socialists, when in power have spent time tilting the table so that the proceeds of economic activity have flowed in a particular direction. This has led to the intense inequalities that now prevail and they will continue unless steps are taken to enable enterprise to flourish to create more wage… Read more »
Huge respect for DW (probably the best FM we never had); but there is one glaring hole in this debate. How much real influence does government have in a global economy – particularly one with very limited fiscal power? I agree that restoring a WDA type organisation is essential; but Plaid need more convincing plans. Ranting in isolation about neoliberalism and rich London doesn’t cut it.
That is the million dollar question. I also agree, DW was an excellent politician. The trouble with the WDA is so much is viewed through rose tinted glasses. At the time, we had structural funds to support inward investment. We were also part of the single market, and it was only really successful before the ascension the various eastern European countries. Now those member states have a much bigger advantage for companies seeking a place to expand- better transport links, higher skills, access to EC investment mechanisms, lower wages and energy costs. If you compare Slovakian or Slovenian economic performance… Read more »
I agree with your analysis on inward investment. That ship has sailed. However, there was less high profile stuff that the WDA was good at e.g. promoting entrepreneurship and small businesses to an extent (who employ roughly two thirds of the population in Wales). The Welsh Government successor arrangements have been dismal in this regard
Governments, Wales, UK, EU and others doesn’t really like small and medium sized businesses because they don’t usually organise lavish events and big lunches so favoured by career politicians. That is the province of the large corporates who don’t really need aid from governments but have developed a “skill” over recent decades for playing the game of extracting grants and other handouts from host governments.
Dafydd Wrigley is 100% spot on. If Plaid are going to win over the electorate then they need to apply rational choice. When Bill Clinton successfully ran for President in the 90’s he ran on a successful platform: ‘Its the economy stupid’. There is no bigger bread and butter issue than that, we need a strong economy to pay for an effective health service and improve our infrastructure educational standards. This is even more so for Plaid when they need to demonstrate that Wales can become economically self-sufficient. People want job security, the ability to put food on their plate… Read more »
Gerry Holtham : Hodge Lecture 2018 – “Why is Wales poor” “And what tends to happen is that when (Welsh) firms cannot secure funding, or on good terms, they say, ‘This is okay – I cannot grow, but I am happy with my turnover of £5m to £6m. I am making £500,000 a year and i have a nice house in Cyncoed and can eat out and enjoy myself at the weekend… and I am not going to take on a lot of debt and risk my business’. “They say that people that want to give them equity want to… Read more »
Sadly, Wales is leaking intellectual property ‘lock, stock and barrel’ c/o, inter alia, Welsh Universities for failure to file patents on discoveries. Take the case of “Nobel Prize winner [Sir Martyn Evans] who spent years doing research and making breakthroughs at Cardiff University, not a single patent was issued on his work.”
^ What I mean is that opportunities for job creation are lost. I have taken this matter with, inter alia, Plaid and got brushed off.