Mae ein democratiaeth yn y fantol – Llywodraeth Plaid Cymru yw ei gwarchodwr gorau/Our democracy hangs in the balance – a Plaid government is its best protector

Colin Nosworthy

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Mae ein democratiaeth yn y fantol – Llywodraeth Plaid Cymru yw ei gwarchodwr gorau

Rwyf wedi cael y pleser o sgwrsio gyda channoedd o aelodau’r Blaid dros yr wythnosau diwethaf fel rhan o’r broses ddewis ymgeiswyr.

I’n haelodau ni mae democratiaeth fewnol yn norm – o ddewis ymgeiswyr, i benderfynu ar bolisi ac ethol aelodau ein Pwyllgor Gwaith Cenedlaethol.

Mae democratiaeth, oddi mewn a’r tu hwnt i bleidiau unigol, yn werthfawr ac yn gofyn am ymrwymiad diwylliannol parhaus i’w chynnal a’i dyfnhau.

Hyd yn oed ar lefel leol, mae gan aelodau’r Blaid yr hawl rydd i ddewis ymgeiswyr; mae nifer o bleidiau eraill wedi cynllwynio i warantu seddi i’w haelodau presennol. Yr unig bobl fydd yn gallu disodli cŵn bach Keir Starmer yn ein Senedd, Eluned Morgan yn eu plith, yw’r cyhoedd – dyw aelodau Llafur heb gael dewis rhydd o bwy yw eu prif ymgeiswyr. Ac mae’r Ceidwadwyr wedi dilyn yr un trywydd o dynnu dewis i ffwrdd o’u haelodau lleol i raddau helaeth.

Fel mae’r arolygon barn diweddaraf wedi dangos, mae etholiadau 2026 yn ymddangos eu bod nhw’n mynd i fod yn wahanol iawn eu patrwm i etholiadau a fu.

Ras tri-cheffyl

Mae nifer o arolygon barn yn dangos ras tri-cheffyl y flwyddyn nesaf, gyda’r Blaid yn arwain mewn rhai a Llafur eraill gyda Reform yn agos iawn. Dangosodd yr arolwg MRP diweddaraf ras dau geffyl rhwng Plaid Cymru a Reform i fod y prif blaid ar lefel San Steffan.

Nid yr arolygon barn yw’r unig ffon fesur o’r hyn sy’n debygol o ddigwydd.

Gŵyr Llafur eu bod nhw eisoes wedi colli’r etholiad yma. Dyna pam fod cymaint ohonynt yn sefyll i lawr – bron i hanner eu grŵp. A gwynt teg ar eu hôlau nhw.

Dros 25 mlynedd o Lafur mewn grym, ac mae traean o’n plant mewn tlodi, cymunedau yn fy ardal i yn y Gorllewin yn parhau i golli gwasanaethau, a llawer gormod o’n pobl ifanc yn gorfod symud i ffwrdd am waith a chyfleoedd.

Mae Plaid Lafur Starmer yng Nghymru wedi rhedeg allan o syniadau, angerdd a phwrpas. Maen nhw wedi rhoi gorau i arwain ein cenedl.

Maen nhw’n gwybod bod Starmer a’i griw wedi colli’r hawl foesol i’n llywodraeth: eu toriadau creulon i fudd-daliadau rhai o’r bobl anabl fwyaf bregus, gwrthod rhoi’r £4 biliwn sy’n ddyledus i Gymru o HS2, a
gwrthod datganoli pwerau sylfaenol megis y system gyfiawnder, darlledu, lles ac ystad y goron. Sut allan nhw amddiffyn hynny? Dydyn nhw ddim yn gallu ac dydyn nhw ddim eisiau – fel llygod mawrion yn gadael llong sy’n suddo.

Felly, y dewis i bobl yn yr etholiad y flwyddyn nesaf yw rhyngom ni yn y Blaid yn arwain y llywodraeth neu Reform.

Cŵn bach Trump

Mae Reform – cŵn bach Trump – yn bygwth sylfeini ein democratiaeth ac, yn wir, gwareiddiad ei hun.

Mae’r blaidd wrth y drws, a dim ond Plaid Cymru sydd â’r gallu i gynnig neges o obaith sy’n medru sefyll yn y bwlch.

Mae’r rhesymau dros dwf ideolog hyll Reform wedi’u gwreiddio’n ddwfn mewn problemau a thueddiadau economaidd a chymdeithasol mewn llawer o wledydd y Gorllewin, gan gynnwys y consensws neoryddfrydol sy’n gwneud i gymunedau dosbarth gweithiol dalu’r pris am drachwant y cyfoethog.

Bydd Llywodraeth a arweinir gan Blaid Cymru, unwaith a gaiff ei hethol, yn gallu dechrau mynd i’r afael â rhai o’r heriau hyn.

Yn wyneb tywyllwch brawchus Reform, mae Plaid Cymru yn mynd i gynnig goleuni sy’n fwy llachar nag erioed o’r blaen.

Taliad i blant

Mae Rhun ap Iorwerth wedi gwneud dechrau arbennig o dda ar hyn eisoes drwy gynnig sefydlu Cynnal, taliad i blant a fydd yn rhoi £10 yn ychwanegol yr wythnos yn nwylo’r teuluoedd mae ei angen arnynt fwyaf.

Mae’n bolisi sydd eisoes wedi llwyddo torri lefelau tlodi plant yn yr Alban. Mae ein harweinydd hefyd wedi addo ail-gydbwyso ein system trethi busnes fel y mae’n ffafrio’r siopau annibynnol lleol wrth galon ein trefi a phentrefi yn hytrach na chwmniau mawrion o’r tu allan. Dyma agenda a wnaiff wahaniaeth sylweddol i gymunedau ledled y wlad.

Ni fydd mwy o’r un peth gan Lafur, mwy o orwedd yn llesg yng nghanol y ffordd, ddim yn ddigon. Goleuni llachar y Blaid a wnaiff guro tywyllwch grymoedd yr adain dde eithafol.

Rwy’n ffyddiog y bydd ein gweledigaeth yn uno pob un o’n cymunedau a llwyddo i wrthsefyll cŵn bach Trump a’u hwyluswyr – a chŵn bach Starmer. Dim ond y Blaid all eu curo – dyma ein hamser ac mae gennym ddyletswydd i’n democratiaeth i ennill.

Mae Colin Nosworthy yn byw yn Aberystwyth a dros y ddwy flynedd ddiwethaf bu’n Gyfarwyddwr Cyfathrebu ar Bwyllgor Gwaith Plaid Cymru. Cyn hynny, bu’n Gynghorydd Arbennig yn y llywodraeth, aelod o fwrdd Mudiad Meithrin, a bu’n gweithio i Gymdeithas yr Iaith am ddegawd.

Our democracy hangs in the balance – a Plaid government is its best protector

I have had the pleasure of speaking to hundreds of Plaid members over the past few weeks as part of the candidate selection process.

For our members internal democracy is the norm – from choosing candidates, to deciding on policy and electing members of our National Executive Committee. Democracy, both inside and outside individual
parties, is precious and requires an ongoing cultural commitment to sustaining and deepening it.

Even at a local level, Plaid members have the freedom to choose candidates; a number of other parties have conspired to stitch up their selection. The only people who will be able to replace Keir Starmer’s
poodles in our Senedd, Eluned Morgan among them, are the public – Labour members have not had the freedom to choose their main candidates. And the Conservatives have largely followed the same path of taking the choice away from their local members.

As the latest opinion polls have shown, the 2026 elections seem like they are going to be very different to many previous ones.

Three-horse race

Most polling shows a three-horse race next year, with Plaid leading in some and Labour in others with Reform very close behind. The latest major MRP poll showed a two horse race between Plaid and Reform for the largest party at the Westminster level.

The opinion polls are not the only gauge of what is likely to happen.

Labour knows they have already lost the Senedd elections. That’s why so many of them are standing down – almost half of their group. And good riddance to them.

Over 25 years of Labour in power, and a third of our children are in poverty, communities like in my area in the west of Wales continue to lose services, and far too many of our young people have to move away
for work and opportunities.

Starmer’s Labour Party in Wales has run out of ideas, passion and purpose. They have given up on leading our nation.

They know that Starmer and his crew have lost the moral right to govern: their brutal cuts to the benefits of some of the most vulnerable disabled people, refusing to hand over the £4 billion owed to Wales from
HS2, and refusing to devolve basic powers such as the justice system, broadcasting, welfare and the crown estate. How can they defend that? They can’t and don’t want to – the rats are leaving the sinking ship.

So, the choice for the people of Wales at next year’s election is between us in Plaid leading the government or Reform.

Trump’s poodles

Reform – Trump’s poodles – threaten the very foundations of our democracy and, indeed, civilisation itself.

The wolf is at the door, and only Plaid Cymru has the ability to offer a message of hope that can stand in the way.

The reasons for the growth of Reform’s ugly ideology are deeply rooted in economic and social problems and trends in many Western countries, including the neoliberal consensus that makes working class communities pay the price for the excesses of the rich.

A government led by Plaid Cymru, once elected, will be able to begin to address some of these challenges.

In the face of the frighteningly severe darkness represented by Reform, Plaid Cymru is going to offer a light that’s brighter than ever before.

Child payment

Rhun ap Iorwerth has already made a particularly good start on this by offering to establish Cynnal, a new child payment which will put £10 extra a week in the hands of the families who need it most. It’s a
policy which has already succeeded in reducing the levels of child poverty in Scotland.

Our leader has also promised to rebalance our business rates system so that it favours local independent shops at the heart of our towns and villages rather than large companies from outside. This is an agenda that will make a significant difference to communities across the country.

The more-of-the-same, more lying prostrate in the middle of the road, from Labour will not be enough. Plaid’s bright light will pierce the darkness of the forces of the far right.

I am confident that our vision will unite all of our communities and succeed in resisting Trump’s poodles and apologists. Only Plaid Cymru can beat them: this is our time; we owe it to our democracy to win.

Colin Nosworthy lives in Aberystwyth and over the past two years has been Director of Communications on Plaid Cymru’s National Executive Committee. Before that, he was a Special Adviser in government, worked for Cymdeithas yr Iaith for a decade and was a board member of early years providers Mudiad Meithrin.