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Opinion

The Labour administration not only has no plan to ‘build back better’, it appears to have no plan at all

11 Feb 2023 5 minute read
Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price

Adam Price

Last week’s Senedd debate on the Welsh Government’s Draft Budget for 2023-24 laid bare the Labour Party’s lack of intent and imagination when it comes to the future of our nation.

In that debate, I pointed out that, already, we seem to have forgotten the pledge which arose from the Covid pandemic to ‘build back better’. I also called out the Labour Welsh Government for responding to Plaid Cymru’s proposals for a progressive increase in income tax to fund the NHS and social care with nothing more than hollow criticism.

It is clear that in failing to counter our policy with anything of substance, the Labour administration not only has no plan to ‘build back better’, it appears to have no plan at all.

A party without focus is a party without purpose, and a party without purpose cannot bring about the radical change required to cut waiting times in the NHS, support teachers and improve standards in our schools, or balance the books in a way which benefits our economy and environment alike.

This all-important focus is the driving force of Plaid Cymru’s new political strategy which is designed to enable our movement to campaign smarter, to operate more effectively, and ultimately be in the strongest possible position to lead Wales to independence.

Grassroots

As a party which has always prided itself on being democratic and transparent, it is natural that the process of developing the strategy has consulted grassroots members and Plaid Cymru’s decision-making bodies at every turn.

Last summer we held the most wide-ranging consultation in the party’s history, inviting members to share their views on topics from independence to campaigning to political positioning. The feedback received by over 1,200 members has informed and enriched the political strategy, giving those who make our party what it is a real sense of ownership and agency.

This is a strategy by the members for the members – something no other party in Wales can claim to have.

The common thread running through the strategy is a commitment to building a New Majority – one that is diverse, dynamic, inclusive and dedicated to a better future for Wales.

It is a vision for growing our support in new areas and with new demographics by rooting our campaigns in policies for everyday life that address the specific needs and concerns in communities in which we are seeking to grow our support.

We will develop a strong, consistent political message and a radical policy programme that resonates with a broader range of voters and relates to issues of direct relevance to their daily lives, like affordable housing, the crisis in healthcare, economic inequality, and the environment, an effective and fair justice system, and decent pensions and benefits.

Resources

To do this successfully we will work smarter, accelerating the move from analogue to digital campaigning and ensuring that the party’s resources are utilised in the right way at the right time to achieve our goals.

We will renew our commitment to constructive collaboration by highlighting how the Co-operation Agreement has forced the Welsh Government’s hand to implement radical policies such as free school meals and action to tackle the housing crisis.

“The Agreement has enabled us to prove that it is possible to act as a robust opposition whilst delivering from outside government, so the strategy proposes that we continue to explore options for working creatively to make a real difference to people’s lives. Our aspiration will always be to lead the next Government of Wales as we believe it is the best way of accelerating the change our nation needs, but we have proven locally and nationally that we can deliver alongside others and will remain open to this constructive and mature approach.

Finally, the strategy proposes that the party renews its key values and vision – of an independent Wales within the European Union, a nation that is fair, green, equal, prosperous, inclusive and peaceful. We will not shy away from the difficult questions surrounding independence, the ones we know our movement can answer with confidence and clout, dispelling the myth that Cymru is too small, too poor and too stupid.

Self government

We will work with like-minded individuals and organisations across as broad a spectrum as possible to launch a national canvas of attitudes towards self-government. We will place a focus on engaging young people, those disillusioned by Starmer’s Labour and their lurch to the right, and those disaffected by politics altogether, and persuade them that there is something worth voting for.

In just three weeks’ time, the Plaid Cymru membership will have the opportunity to adopt this strategy at the party’s Spring Conference in Llanelli. I am excited by the focus and ambition it represents and sincerely believe that, if implemented in full, can lead us to success.

Whilst the Tories are mired by scandal and Labour sit on their hands as workers pay the price for the economic failures of the broken Union, now is our time.

Let’s re instill our identity as a party of local activism with national purpose and let’s bring communities together with a common goal of the common good – building a Wales that is fairer, greener, equal and free.


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Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
1 year ago

Individual Labour ministers appear to be pursing their own personal career plans and have been for some time…

hdavies15
hdavies15
1 year ago
Reply to  Mab Meirion

’twas always thus, MM

hdavies15
hdavies15
1 year ago

Fair comment Adam, as far as it goes, but will you now do the right thing and withdraw from that “marriage of convenience”? You now sound like a demented P.R machine with sweeping statements like – …… “The common thread running through the strategy is a commitment to building a New Majority – one that is diverse, dynamic, inclusive and dedicated to a better future for Wales.” How? and how much? are not even mentioned. Hardly vote winning material when the electorate is squeezed from all sides by the axis of Big Government and big business extracting cash via inflated… Read more »

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
1 year ago
Reply to  hdavies15

Plaid need to publish detailed tax raising plans before they criticise anyone. Then the electorate can decide if it wants to further impoverish itself in one of the most deprived regions in Western Europe.
I believe I am right in thinking that Wales can raise but not lower tax rates but cannot introduce new taxes such as a wealth tax so existing tax payers would bear the burden.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
1 year ago

Well well, was there anybody from Cymru at this secret meeting at Ditchley Park where senior politicians, heads of finance and commerce gathered to admit to each other and themselves that Brexit was a mad idea…Britmania authors in handcuffs, not looking good Raab and co…

Could Ditchley Park (once the wartime bolt-hole of one Winston Churchill) be the site of Fat Shank’s interment, I see he has been pierced by fresh arrows of allegation and a call to the Met cops to haul him in, but the beast staggers on, kept on his feet by his 5 mil crutch…

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
1 year ago
Reply to  Mab Meirion

I hope that if there are any Hotels for Refugees in Wales the authorities will be on their toes to stop a repeat of Knowsley. Hopefully such violence will be reflected in the length of sentence, and how much more serious this was compared to the actions of those already locked-up for peaceful protesting against climate change. If you should read the article in the Guardian notice how Braverman’s choice of words subtly add petrol to the fire…

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