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Opinion

Wales needs to realise that good behaviour will never be rewarded

26 Jun 2017 2 minute read
Picture: National Assembly. (CC BY 2.0)

 

Ifan Morgan Jones

The First Minister, Carwyn Jones was scathing in his assessment of the Tory-DUP deal, calling it an “outrageous straight bung”.

But the truth is that the UK’s politics has always been transactional, and hopefully this episode will remove the scales from the eyes of the First Minister and many others.

There has been a persistent myth in Wales, going back to the Tudor period, that if the country can show sufficient loyalty to the UK government it will be rewarded.

From the humanists in Elizabeth I’s court, through to the liberal nonconformists of the 19th century, to the Labour Party of the present-day, Wales has believed it deserves special treatment because it is more loyal than the rest of the UK.

Like a scrawny dog sitting by its master’s feet, it waits and waits for a tasty morsel from the table.

The truth, however, is that the way to get special treatment in this union is to bark louder than anyone else.

When the Scottish Terrier tried to run away it was tempted back with the ‘vow’ – a veritable feast of promises.

Scotland now benefits disproportionally from the Barnett formula because the UK Government fears that changing it would inflame Scottish nationalism.

And the DUP have now extracted a cool £1bn from Theresa May as the price of keeping her in power.

Meanwhile, Wales sits passively. Carwyn Jones will bristle with moral outrage but there’s no sign of a change in political strategy that will get Wales a better deal.

That will only come when Wales has a fully functional, national movement with mass support.

The only thing the Conservatives, staunch British nationalists, have to fear from Wales is the break-up of the UK. And the only way for Wales to avoid continued neglect by the UK Government is to threaten to do just that.


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Stifyn Richard Davies
Stifyn Richard Davies
7 years ago

Mewn cytundeb llwyr. Now IS the time to act!

Norma chattington
Norma chattington
7 years ago

Is this what Plaid has been saying .we need strong voices speaking up for Wales in Westminster .Leanne is the only leader that has been consistently standing up in our corner shame more people in the other parties were not .suportive .as usual to little to late from Carwyn .

CambroUiDunlainge
CambroUiDunlainge
7 years ago

Is she a strong leader? Because they gained a seat in the GE? or because they had a voter surge at the LE? Because they just scraped that extra seat in the GE by 100 votes and almost lost a safe seat. They may have had a surge in the Locals but they did not really capitalise did they? Is Leanne really speaking for Wales? Or just using that as a defence when people cannot tell the difference between New Plaid and Labour? Case and point their election manifesto: Defending Welsh Identity… then they never mentioned it again (Surely they… Read more »

Martin
Martin
7 years ago

Seems there’s an online comment here jumping on everyone who says something good about Leanne Wood.

CambroUiDunlainge
CambroUiDunlainge
7 years ago
Reply to  Martin

Responding to one comment about Leanne Wood is hardly “jumping on everyone”.

Sibrydionmawr
Sibrydionmawr
7 years ago

Unfortunately Plaid is full those Pobl Parchus who do still believe that being nice is the way to go. It’s very touching, but hopelessly naive. Gwynfor Evans, great man though he was in many ways, suffered way too much from this ailment, seeking always to appease, and appeal to the English settlers, but most, (not all, it must be said) just ignored him as the naive fool they probably regarded him as, when perhaps he should have been promoting a little more amharchusrwydd. I’m not for a moment suggesting that anti-English sentiments should boil over in the way that anti-immigrant… Read more »

Edi
Edi
7 years ago

bang on!

i’r dim!

Gwynfor
Gwynfor
7 years ago

Carwyn is a time wasting money wasting self preserving twonk! Labour have been ‘in power’ since day one in the Senedd and have done very little but look after themselves and their cronies on the M4 corridor ( doing a Westminster thing by throwing scraps to everyone else like the ‘expressway’ ) Spent millions of Euromoney on valley roads and bypasses that no one wanted! and can’t get from North to South on a decent road or you have to ‘go through England’ !!!!!!!???? What????? Name me any other country where if you travel from one end to the other… Read more »

Sibrydionmawr
Sibrydionmawr
7 years ago
Reply to  Gwynfor

Actually Norway is a country where, if you are travelling north to south, (or vice versa) it’s faster if you go through Sweden. It seems that Wales isn’t the only country with a north-south ‘main’ road like the A470!

Emrys
Emrys
7 years ago

The problem we have is that the present leadership in Plaid Cymru is not up to the job. WE must have a leader who can persuade far more people that Plaid is a viable party with a vision for an independent Wales. Leanne failed in the last election. We were fortunate to win 4 seats but the over all result was very disappointing. A swing of a few hundred votes to Labour and we would have had two seats!

Rhys Jones
Rhys Jones
7 years ago

Could you clairfy what you mean by ‘fully functional, national movement with mass support’?

Are you suggesting that if Wales had more Plaid MP’s that it would allow them to form a colation with the Tories?

Capitalist and Welshnash
Capitalist and Welshnash
7 years ago
Reply to  Rhys Jones

Im tired of so many seeing the Tories as ‘the enemy’. Labour has done far more damage to Wales over the last century. At least the Tories beat Wales badly enough to give people a backbone to fight back.

Rhys Jones
Rhys Jones
7 years ago

Thank you for confirming that it is a Tory-Plaid coalition that the article is arguing for.

This of course makes sense considering that Plaid councillors in Conwy and Denbighsire wanted to form a coalition in these council areas.

leigh richards
7 years ago
Reply to  Rhys Jones

With all respect rhys i dont think there is anything in Ifan’s post which suggests he is argung for a plaid tory coalition. And with regards to recent events in conwy one individual wanted to sit in a coalition with independents and conservatives, but this was blocked by the national party executive – and the local party – and as i understand it the individual concerned is no longer a member of plaid cymru. But i do hope you will condemn scottish labour leader kezia dugdale urging people to vote tory in the recent general election http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/807559/Kezia-Dugdale-Nicola-Sturgeon-SNP-Scottish-independence-poll-Ruth-Davidson

Martin
Martin
7 years ago

It is widespread though. People feel at the moment like the Tories are wrecking their lives and incomes. It’s not undeserved. It may subside after Brexit mind.

Rhys Jones
Rhys Jones
7 years ago
Reply to  NationCymru

It would be useful therefore to try and outline a vision of an alternative option. Much of the article is written from the perspective of the West Wales Plaid bubble.

Most people outside of this bubble are faced with a stark choice, Labour or Tory.

Dafydd Thomas
Dafydd Thomas
7 years ago

The Holtham Commission reported in 2009 that Wales was being underfunded (Barnett formula) relative to Northern Ireland and Scotland. The Welsh Labour Government in Cardiff totally failed to get assistance from English Labour who were in government in London to deal with this failing l when they were in power. You can expect the DUP to get a reduction in Air Passenger Duty tax in Northern Ireland from the English Tories. The Tory secretary of state for Wales (Gauleiter of Wales) Alun Cairns said that a reduction in Air Passenger Duty in Wales would disadvantage England. Moral… Don’t be foolish… Read more »

Ximi Xwene
Ximi Xwene
7 years ago

This is such a simple message … and yet … how do we get it across? The British media won’t do it so we need much more direct action – flyposting perhaps, prominent signs, coordinated civil disobedience etc but above all, an aggressively independence-promoting strong leadership group. By “group” I mean the whole range of independence outliers including Plaid and YesCymru and any other bunch willing to stir it up.

All of that will mean I’ll have to get up off my fat arse and contribute of course!

Suzy Davies
Suzy Davies
7 years ago

Would have much preferred a deal with Plaid. However, current leadership has been insistent on cranking up anti-Conservative rhetoric in Wales to appeal to and reinforce her particular locus on the political spectrum. Fine for Leanne to do that – I’m not questioning her right to do that as leader. However, it’s made the prospect of co-operation with a pretty moderate Welsh Conservative group in the Assembly difficult. It’s also made it impossible to accept any confidence and supply offer in Westminster, were it to be made, leaving Plaid with plenty of arguments but no leverage at all. Of course… Read more »

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