Plaid Cymru ‘probes selection of sitting Senedd Member for next year’s election’
Martin Shipton
Plaid Cymru’s national executive is investigating allegations that one of the party’s MSs engaged in unfair conduct to help ensure his selection as a leading candidate in next year’s Senedd election, we have been told.
It is alleged that Peredur Owen Griffiths arranged for himself to be appointed secretary of the dormant Newport East constituency party in order to allow people from outside the area to become members and vote for him to become the top closed-list candidate in the new “super constituency” of Casnewydd Islwyn.
It is further claimed that among the new members recruited were individuals from Cardiff, as well as members of his family and staff.
Resources
A Plaid source told us: “It is understood that Mr Griffiths only narrowly beat the other candidates contesting the internal contest, and that his self-appointment as a constituency secretary combined with the extra resources he has as a sitting member could have been crucial in the final result.
“While most Plaid Cymru candidates for next year’s Senedd election have now been announced, the process of announcing the selection of Plaid candidates in the Casnewydd Islwyn ‘super constituency’ has been paused pending the investigation.”
A Plaid insider said: “If these reports are accurate, it would represent a serious breach of the integrity of our selection processes. The National Executive must take these allegations seriously and ensure the process is fair, transparent, and consistent with party rules. It has little choice really but to re-run the contest in Newport to ensure that this time it is fair.
“There is concern among members that Mr Griffiths may not have broad local support, and if votes from outside the constituency have influenced the outcome, this would undermine confidence in the result. He is not particularly well established in the area, and has, to be fair, made little or no impact on a national level.
“There is growing unease that some within the party leadership may be attempting to protect incumbent candidates regardless of circumstances.
“While there are legitimate reasons why some members may be registered outside their place of residence, such as those who used to live there, creating or reviving a branch for the apparent purpose of facilitating votes from outside raises serious questions about governance and fairness. The rules exist to prevent this kind of manipulation and the party must uphold them.”
Questions
The insider put forward a series of questions that they thought Plaid Cymru’s head office should answer:
Is it true that the announcement of candidates for the Islwyn Casnewydd constituency has been delayed?
If it is delayed, is it because a panel is investigating allegations about the conduct of Peredur Griffiths MS?
Is Peredur Griffiths the secretary of a Plaid Cymru constituency in Newport? If so, when was he appointed?
Can Plaid Cymru members who are not resident in a new Senedd constituency vote to select Plaid Cymru candidates there? If so, how can they?
According to Plaid’s rules, who can approve members who reside outside a constituency being registered as a member there? Does the secretary of the constituency have a role? If so, what is it?
New people
Another Plaid insider said: “There are two ways of looking at what has happened. The complainants take the view that it was wrong for Peredur to revive the Newport East branch. The other interpretation is that he has brought new people into the party, and that is a good thing.
“It is also my understanding that in the selection contest, Peredur was ahead by a significantly larger margin than the number of disputed news members.”
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “Plaid Cymru has procedures in place to ensure a fair and open selection and will not be commenting further on internal processes.
“We’re proud to have such a strong team representing Plaid Cymru across Wales, all with a mix of experience and energy. Each and every candidate will be focused on standing up for Wales over the next 12 months and fighting for a fresh start for our nation after 26 years of decline under Labour.”
It is understood that in the selection contest Mr Griffiths had the highest number of votes followed by Blackwood town councillor Rhys Mills and former councillor Lyn Ackerman.
Mr Griffiths was first elected to the Senedd at the last election in 2021 as a regional member for South Wales East.
Although he lives in Caerphilly, he did not seek selection as a candidate in the new super constituency of Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni, where the top three Plaid candidates will be sitting MS Delyth Jewell, Caerphilly council opposition leader Lindsay Whittle and party researcher Niamh Salkeld.
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He should be thrown out of the party for that stitch-up!
It is well known that that he didn’t win the selection for the 2021 Senedd election. That was done by Lindsay Whittle. But yet Peredur was still chosen second. Just ask Lindsay!
It is slso a fact that members outside the constituency has voted in other selections. Shows the weaknesses of the closed list system
A bubbke politician with zero charisma and no local connection. This is now how we beat Reform. Get a grip Plaid
Another example of the “my sisters aunties brother-in-law lives in Trimsaran” method of being a favoured candidate. It’s the reason why Plaid Cymru under-performs in seats they should be winning. Shipping in someone from Cardiff instead of growing roots in real residents from the very communities to be represented.
Plaid would be berating any other party if they did this
100%. Total hypocrites if they keep him on instead of Rhys Mills
Can Plaid please tell us what connection this man has with this seat.? Simple question. They love to accuse other parties of parachuting. The truth is he has no contact and he knew he had no chance in the Caerphilly seat. What people like him do for cash – Peredur does not care for Welsh independence
To be fair, he does live quite locally to the constituency (just a few miles down the road in Caerphilly), so he must be very familiar with the area. However, from the rare occasions I’ve seen of him on TV in the past, I would have to agree with the general opinion on here that he is a pretty mediocre politician. As for the claims in the article, only time will tell if there is any solid evidence to back up these allegations.
Plaid’s selection process is like… a mess and is turning into an embarrassment for the party.
The desperation of incumbents (of all parties) to hang on to salaries, allowances and status is something to behold. Those ending up third on their party list look like they are sucking lemons.
Looks like he properly understood the selection rules and worked within them to ensure his success. Ironically, only Plaid voters would resent this.
I don’t think signing people up who don’t even live in the constituency is playing it by the rules. I can’t see how that revives a dormant constituency either. What has the new constituency members actually done except vote for Peredur?
Joke! He threatened Plaid with legal action in 2021 to be second on the list and now this. He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this again. It would be one thing if he was a competent politician but he is one of the worst ones there and that says a lot!!
As ever, I appreciate Nation Cymru for keeping me more up to date on these matters than my own party. This explains why, when I emailed Ty Gwynfor recently, they replied that the result of the party ballot in Casnewydd Islwyn was subject to NEC ratification, and left it at that. Peredur actively campaigned for my first preference, including visiting my house, and I was willing to provide it, but I guess we’ll have to let the process take its course. My main concern (following the Carmen Smith debacle and events in Caerfyrddin) continues to be the ‘gender zipping’ system.… Read more »