New socialist pro-independence group Undod to launch in January

A new socialist pro-independence Group will meet for the first time in Aberystwyth in January.

The new Group, Undod (meaning ‘unity’) say they will fill a “vital gap in the burgeoning indy movement” by representing the “dominant socialist heritage” of the country.

Announcing their intention to form a new group, Undod said that Wales required a radical change in its politics.

They will meet at 11am, on Saturday the 26th of January, at the Old College, Aberystwyth.

The new group set out their working principles as follows:

“We are a democratic, non-hierarchical, republican movement established to secure independence for Wales and a better future for all its people.

1(i) The British state is a fundamentally undemocratic, warmongering and imperial order which exploits the working class, the marginalised and the dispossessed for the benefit of the elites.

(ii) We vigorously reject national chauvinism, racism and intolerance in Wales in all its guises. We stand opposed to all forms of fascism and neo-fascism.

iii) An independent Wales should be a beacon of international solidarity. We support oppressed peoples, leftist movements and progressive independence movements, oppose warmongering and imperialist wars, and strive for peace.

2) (i) We stand for the protection of our natural environment as it is essential for all our futures as Welsh citizens and inhabitants of this planet to ensure a worthwhile life for ourselves, our children and generations to come.

(ii) The means of economic production and Wales’s natural resources should be owned by the people of Wales. Justice, care and sustainability are the cornerstones of the economy and the basis for a flourishing nation, not profit and capital.

(iii) We support an ethical economy for Wales; we oppose the military and prison industrial complex.

3 (i) Welsh is our national language and it belongs to everyone in Wales. We demand Welsh-medium education for all and use of the language in all areas of everyday life. We will work to see it flourish as a community language in all parts of the country.

(ii) We demand justice for women, people of colour, LGBT people, migrants and disabled people. Together, we will fight for a society where everyone is liberated from oppression.

(ii) We demand shelter and high quality healthcare for all, and free universal education for people of all ages. We intend to use our democratic rights to free assembly, freedom of expression and protest. We will exercise these rights vigorously, through non-violent direct action to secure our aims and further our values.”

Campaign

The group also said they would emphasize the need for independence to embody values and policies that will make a substantive change to the quality of life of the majority of people.

“It intends to campaign on the key issues causing suffering and injustice in Wales now, trying to realize change in the present,” they said.

“However, it will do so with the understanding that being free from the regressive British state will be the only way for Welsh communities to flourish on a permanent basis.

“It is hoped that the group will garner support from all parts and all peoples in Wales, and that as well as contributing to practical politics, it will attract contributions from policy makers, academics and others who wish to help envisage and realize a truly progressive independent Wales.”

‘Tory rule’

They added that as well as supporting international solidarity, the focus would be on fostering solidarity between communities in Wales.

“A fundamental premise is that despite the different symptoms, the people of Wales face great challenges because of unfettered capitalism, which renders our post-industrial communities precarious and at the beck and call of foreign capital, whilst our rural communities suffer a quickening of the brain drain, a housing crisis and the dissipation of the Welsh language, precipitated by weak regional policy from the Welsh Government and the purchasing power of inward capital.

“Under these circumstances, and with the rising threat of the far-right in Wales and beyond, those who believe in equality, justice and a sustainable future can no longer stand by and allow our people to be at the mercy of a corrupt British state whilst allowing the politics of chauvinism and elitism to take root here.

“Devolution has shown itself to be incapable of protecting us against the excesses of London Tory rule.

“We, the people of Wales, who have always stood up for equality, justice and peace in the world, must now unite and realize those principles for ourselves. So please join us – in Aberystwyth – in solidarity – mewn Undod.”