Plaid hits back after Kinnock says party offers ‘same poison’ as Reform

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

Plaid Cymru has accused Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock of insulting former Labour voters after he claimed the party and Reform UK offered Wales the “same poison”.

Mr Kinnock used his speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to attack both parties, accusing Plaid of “separatism” and Reform of “plastic patriotism”.

He said both sought to build “walls between people and communities” and argued that their message was that people were “safer alone”.

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts responded by saying Labour should examine why it lost so much support at May’s Senedd election rather than attacking those who switched parties.

Labour suffered its worst Senedd election result in May, winning 11.1% of the vote and nine of the expanded parliament’s 96 seats after 27 years in government.

Plaid won the election with 35.4% and 43 seats, ahead of Reform on 29.3% and 34 seats.

Mr Kinnock told delegates: “Before the May 7 election, Plaid were silent on their obsession with separatism, but now their true colours are shining through.

“They say ‘let’s build walls, let’s look inward, keep Welsh power confined to Welsh borders’, and Reform are no better.

“All they ever want to do is build walls between people and communities.

“They stoke division and they tell you that your neighbour is the problem – and they may offer an arresting narrative on Facebook, but I spy some plastic patriotism, funded by crypto billionaires, egged on by foreign powers waging war on Europe and on our values.

“But conference – Wales is a nation of dragons. We are not Putin’s parrots.”

He said Plaid and Reform “offer the same poison” by suggesting “you’re safer alone”, adding: “But that’s a lie, and it’s not who we are in Wales.”

His comments came a year to the day after then-first minister Eluned Morgan described Plaid and Reform as “different poison, same bottle”.

‘Throwing insults’

Ms Saville Roberts said: “When Stephen Kinnock says Plaid Cymru and Reform ‘offer the same poison’, he’s insulting the many thousands of former Labour voters who chose Plaid Cymru in May.

“Instead of throwing insults, Labour should reflect on why so many people chose positive change after 27 years of Welsh Labour rule.”

Plaid cited post-election YouGov analysis which it said showed 39% of people who voted Labour at the 2021 Senedd election switched directly to Plaid in May.

The latest YouGov/Barn Cymru polling for ITV Cymru Wales, conducted earlier this month, put Plaid on 32% in Senedd voting intention, Reform on 27% and Labour on 13%.

The same polling showed a stronger recovery for Labour when voters were asked about Westminster, with the party on 18%, one point behind Reform and nine points behind Plaid.

Devolution

The row came as Welsh Labour leader Ken Skates used his first UK Labour conference speech since taking the job to call for a new phase of devolution, with more power moving from Cardiff Bay to local communities.

Ms Saville Roberts questioned why Labour had not pursued that approach during its 27 years in power in Wales.

She said: “So when Ken Skates now argues that power should be moved out of Cardiff Bay and into local communities, people are entitled to ask why Labour waited until it lost power to discover the virtues of decentralisation.

“Labour can keep attacking the choices voters made in May, but that won’t rebuild trust. The challenge for Labour is to understand why so many people wanted change.

“The challenge for Plaid Cymru is to deliver it, and that is exactly what we are focused on doing.”

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