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Plaid Cymru and the Green Party announce new Cardiff electoral alliance

24 Sep 2021 3 minute read
Adam Price picture by Plaid Cymru. Anthony Slaughter. Picture by the Green Party.

Plaid Cymru and the Green Party have today announced a new electoral alliance for next year’s council elections in Cardiff.

Campaigners have announced that the alliance will work together as a single united party across the city’s wards heading towards election day in May 2022.

They said they would launch a joint manifesto which would include protecting and enhancing public green spaces, fairer housing, tackling the climate crisis, and giving more democratic power to communities.

Plaid Cymru and the Greens said the initiative has emerged from common concerns amongst party members and campaigners in the capital city, calling for a more progressive and inclusive approach to local decision-making.

Work is now underway to set up joint slates of candidates across the city in order to provide a “positive electoral alternative to the incumbent city administration”.

Anthony Slaughter, Wales Green Party leader, said: “Working together with others to bring this exciting alliance together ahead of next year’s Cardiff Council elections has been inspiring. At a time of Climate and Environmental Emergency and growing inequality, ‘Business as Usual’ politics is failing our communities at every level of government.

“Warm words and vague ambitions from elected representatives are no longer enough as Cardiff suffers from an increasing loss of invaluable public green spaces, inappropriate over development and planning decisions all so often skewed against the needs of the communities impacted.

“Wales Green Party believes that power and decision making should always be devolved to the most appropriate local level, and we believe that this alliance on areas of common ground will give Cardiff voters an opportunity to vote for real change and genuine community representation.

“The challenges facing our capital city are urgent and require new ways of thinking. This working together, cooperative ‘grown up’ politics is the change that is needed.”

‘Nurture’

Rhys ab Owen MS, who has taken part in discussions to form the alliance, said that Plaid Cymru in Cardiff was proud to be part of this announcement.

“This new electoral alternative can be the change that Cardiff needs, offering communities a fresh political voice by standing under a single joint name on the ballot paper,” he said.

“This is about recognising common ground between our parties and campaigners, and working together to do politics in a new and more co-operative way, recognising the need for a new political force that will protect and nurture everything that is good about Cardiff, and which will meet the challenge of the climate crisis and the reckless and faceless over-development we’re seeing in parts of the city.

“We are actively reaching out to those from outside of politics who might share our values and can make a difference.”

The announcement comes after Plaid Cymu announced that they were in co-operation talks with Labour at the Senedd. The Greens have no representation there.

Scottish Greens back coalition deal with the SNP at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh last month. Like the Scottish Greens, the Green Party in Wales also backs independence.

Plaid Cymru and the Green Party previously allied in Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire between 1991 and 1995, leading to the election of MP Cynog Dafis with the biggest swing in the UK.

However, not every alliance has been a success – in the Monmouth by-election of 1991 a Green-Plaid Cymru alliance won only 0.6% of the vote share, losing to the Monster Raving Loony Party.


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Cathy Jones
Cathy Jones
3 years ago

This is a welcome development. I look forward to seeing how this progresses. When we zoom out and look at the talks going on between Labour and Plaid as well, this could be a groundbreaking time for politics in Cymru.

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
3 years ago

A positive step. We need like-minded parties to come together with one aim. Welsh independence. Only a free Wales is capable of introducing both Green & Plaid policies without interference from authoritarian Anglocentric Whitehall.

And if the Greens are serious about Welsh independence like Plaid are, must follow their Scottish counterparts in coalition with the SNP by becoming a separate truly Welsh party, not just merely an English appendage like Labour, Conservative & Lib Dems parties are in Wales to their London puppetmasters.

Last edited 3 years ago by Y Cymro
Quornby
Quornby
3 years ago

I would welcome this initiative if the Greens in Wales were an autonomous party. Right now they are a London Greens branch office. I would also welcome Labour-Plaid co-operation if Labour in Wales were a genuinely autonomous party… Right now they are just London Labour’s errand boys who will be overridden and or forgotten should Labour ever win in England again.

Grayham Jones
3 years ago

Now it’s up to the Labour Party to be welsh and stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh it’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 get the people in your town’s out voting for new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Jack
Jack
3 years ago

Considering Plaid’s almost unconditional support of the Welsh farming industry, which is responsible for a substantial amount of Wales’ environmental damage, it is very disappointing to see the Green party cosying up to them.

Keith Parry
Keith Parry
3 years ago

Who are Plaid joining up with next? Andrew R T Davies waiting for his phone to ring?

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