Back in the 1970’s I was living in Swansea.
Those were the days when Plaid Cymru was little more than a group of friends who would get together in a pub to drink beer and talk treason.
Plaid had to mature; it would never be a genuine political force if that were all it was.
So Plaid, all over Wales, got serious about the politics and started working on the issues.
A necessary transition but politics and life was a lot more fun in those Good Old Days.
I remember one election where I stood in the Penderi ward of Swansea City Council.
The ward included Blaenymaes, Portmead, Penlan and Clase.
Three councilors represented that ward and three brave Plaid Cymru candidates stood.
One of the Plaid candidates lived in Blaenymaes and was quite popular in his neighborhood. He had never stood in an election before and on the evening of the counting of votes, as chance would have it, the first box to be opened was Blaenymaes.
The poor guy described how he felt as though a cold hand had clutched at his bowels. He had got so many votes he thought he had won. His fears were soon put to rest when the other boxes were opened, and the Labour Party had a clear majority.
Then, as now, the Labour Party gets elected not on principles or policies, not even on the personalities of the candidates. Labour depends on the hereditary vote.
The votes of those “I always vote Labour” or “My parents and grandparents voted Labour, so I am too”
It’s hard to bring principles into politics when you’re faced with that.
These days I’m a politician instead of a political activist. There’s an important difference.
As an activist I was free to make all kinds of demands. Greater recognition of our language, fair deal for the miners etc.
Marching along with slogans that said what we wanted, and we always wanted it “NOW” I was fond of quoting Martin Luther King “I do not believe there is no money in the bank of justice.”
Now that I must steward the public purse and take great care of the taxpayer’s money, I have discovered that there is no justice in the bank.
Yes, I miss the days when I could shout those unreasonable demands and question the parentage of the politicians who stood in the way.
These days, I still make those demands but I have come to realize that they must be achieved one at a time. It can’t all happen at once, and that is a sad realization, but a realistic one. It doesn’t stop me entirely. One of my favorite quotes is from the American poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou.
“I will no longer accept the things I cannot change; I will change the things I can no longer accept.”
I still have my one demand, I will continue to demand it until granted.
An American friend of mine recently pointed out that the reason England does not have an Independence Day is because they’re the country that gave everyone else an Independence Day. So:
“What do we want?” “INDEPENDENCE!”
“When do we want it?” “NOW!”
Peter Freeman is a town councilor on Pembrey and Burry Port town council. His views are his and his alone. His writings express his own opinions and are not the opinions of Plaid Cymru or any other group. He can be contacted at:
cllrpeter.freeman@pembreyburryport-tc.gov.uk
