Independence campaign will grow while the ‘union fails Wales’, says Labour Senedd member

The campaign for independence will continue to grow while the “union fails Wales”, according to a Labour Senedd member.

Former Welsh Government minister, Alun Davies MS, criticised what he called the “mindless unionism” of Dr Tomos Dafydd Davies, the Deputy Chairman of the Welsh Tories.

Dr Davies called for his party to offer an “unashamed defence” of the “precious union” because of the rise of support for independence, on the conservative website Gwydir.

A YouGov opinion poll has put support for an independent Wales at 33 per cent, and membership of grassroots pro-independence group YesCymru has rocketed to almost 17,000.

Alun Davies said: “The problem with this mindless unionism is that it also assumes that this is the only union that we can accept. It isn’t.

“This union fails Wales every day. And until there is an acceptance of that then the campaign for independence will only continue to grow.”

‘Dismantlement’ 

Dr Davies replied: “A leopard rarely changes its spots! It should come as no surprise to see a former Plaid member advocate for the dismantlement of the Union. Does this now represent official Labour policy ahead of May’s Senedd elections?”

Alun Davies said: “And at what point in that tweet do I advocate dismantling the union. And your failure to understand that basic point reinforces my argument.”

On Gwydir Dr Davies claimed that most Conservatives have come to “accept and live with devolution” but argued that they needed to “draw a line in the sand” and that the party’s manifesto should “proclaim a complete moratorium on any further devolution of powers end of the next Welsh Parliament term.”

A Welsh political barometer opinion poll suggests that 71 per cent of people who intend to vote Conservative in the constituency vote and 67 per cent who said they’d vote for the party on the regional list would support abolishing the Senedd if there was a referendum.