Is Plaid Cymru a nationalist party? And what if it is?

Alun Smith

In the Oxford English Dictionary the entry for Plaid Cymru simply states ‘ a political party in Wales’. In the Collins dictionary the entry reads ‘the nationalist party of Wales’.

I personally think that goes a long way to describing the confusion about the party in other parts of the UK and indeed in Wales itself, in that it’s open to interpretation by non-Welsh speakers like myself.

Some imagine what it might mean and form their opinion based on that. “I can’t vote for THEM, do you know what it means, it means Death to England”!!! Hrrrumph!!! Well, no, no it doesn’t. The words themselves simply mean ‘The Party of Wales’.

If we then look at the OED entry for ‘nationalism’, we find the words-“the desire by a group of people who share the same race, culture, language, etc. to form an independent country”.

The Collins entry reads “Nationalism is the desire for political independence of people who feel they are historically or culturally a separate group within a country”. ‘ Within’ a country? Fascinating, the nuance there.

Is it my imagination or does the Collins definition align more closely with the ‘nationalism’ of Reform/Restore/Advance and the OED definition with Plaid’s (parking for a moment that Plaid themselves have said that independence is not a priority for their prospective government in the first term)?

Reform are on record as saying they want to ‘come first in Wales’. My suspicion is that, what they really want to do, is come first in England, and they want to use Wales as a lab experiment to expedite that ambition.

‘Look’, they’ll say, ‘we can run a country, we proved it in Wales’. Even though they don’t actually see Wales as a separate country. But, hey, why ruin a perfectly heinous political narrative.

Here are some of the things Reform/UKIP/Advance/Restore candidates and counsellors have said about Wales in the recent past:-
1) All government and official buildings in Wales should fly the Union flag and only the union flag.
2) Funding for the Welsh language should be cut as it’s a waste of time and money.
3) Sports teams in Wales should be assimilated, no separate football or rugby teams.
4) The Welsh are foreigners.
5) The mines and steelworks should be re-opened (they’ve since U-turned on that).
6) The Welsh are foreigners.
7) The assembly, (it’s not called that), should be abolished. But then where would you put the flags?
The Welsh are foreigners.

Yes, one of those points appears three times. That’s deliberate. It’s because it’s the most ridiculous thing an Englishman has said since Captain Blackadder and his ill-fated “wibble” debacle.

There are many, many more, the above examples are just a flavour. An acidic, caustic, chaotic and unashamedly racist flavour, but a flavour nonetheless.

Now, here’s the shocker…many of the attitudes and much of the messaging around this from Reform are not dissimilar from countless Tories, over countless decades.

What’s different is that Reform are saying it out loud, not in the underbelly of the palace of Westminster.

This is why, I think, over the last 20 years or so, and in tandem with and reaction to, the rise of regressive parties in England, the desire for an independent Wales has grown.

The dragon is waking up

Slowly, steadily the dragon is waking up, looking around and realising, he doesn’t like what’s happening around him.

In 2018 the average pro-polling for independence was 10-12%. In 2025 it was 20-35%, as high as 45% for some age groups/areas. It was 72% for young adults between 25 and 34 in 2025.

We can only assume then, that those numbers are going to rise above 50% across the board somewhere between 2030 and 2040.

When we think of nationalists, we tend to think of jack-booted soldiers, goose-stepping across the borders of mainland Europe in the 1930’s, and even here, almost a hundred years later, it’s difficult to pry that image from our minds. But, I ask you, do you really think the nationalism of Plaid Cymru is even remotely similar?

Do you really think Nessa is going to lead a fleet of coracles out of Barry Island, invade the Cornish and force them all to wear Gareth Bale top-knots?

For me, the nationalism of Reform, and their sibling parties, is one of imperialism, of imposition. It insists on a return to a past that never truly existed at the expense of anyone and everyone who disagrees with them.

They’re confusingly insular and expansionist all at once. It’s a case of, ‘make the world England’ but keep England English…and ….white. The irony of them wanting to ‘invade’ Wales whilst complaining that ‘their England’ is being invaded is utterly, utterly lost on them.

Pride

Meanwhile, the ‘nationalism’ of Plaid Cymru-The Party of Wales, as I see it, is a nationalism rooted in a love for Wales and the Welsh.

It’s borne of a pride in Wales, what it was, what it is and what it could be. There’s a glint in the eye of a Welsh ‘nationalist’ and a warm smile to match.

You never see that with the nationalism of Reform or Restore. It’s a bitter look and a snide smirk. The ‘nationalisms’ are not the same.

Is Plaid Cymru a ‘nationalist’ party? Yeah, I think so. And I think that’s a good thing.

Come and see us, we’ve got fizzy pop and Welshcakes.