Labour has won every UK general election and Senedd election in Wales for over a hundred years. However, following 26 years of mismanagement in Cardiff Bay, and 9 months in Downing Street where they have done a very convincing impression of the Tory Party by continuing with an austerity agenda, this century of Welsh Labour victories may be overturned at the Senedd election in just over a year’s time.
And deservedly so. The recent saga over cutting Personal Independence Payments for the most vulnerable in our society – instead of taxing the ultra-rich – as a way of balancing the books would be utterly alien to the once-proud Labour Party of Aneurin Bevan. The failure of Eluned Morgan’s much-heralded ‘Partnership in Power’ to secure the £4 billion owed to Wales in HS2 consequentials, the devolution of the Crown Estate, or a fair funding settlement for Wales, calls into question how committed they are to Wales, either. Maybe it’s time for a rebrand?
The crucial question that faces us as a nation is what takes their place.
The Reform Party has certainly been making a lot of noise. In Llanelli, much of this has been around the Home Office’s botched scheme to convert the Stradey Park Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers. The hotel was wholly unsuitable for this purpose, while concerns around job losses and the impact on local public services were manipulated by far right political actors who are not from and care little for our community.
Blaming those who have abandoned their homes to flee war and persecution as a response to government ineptitude is not and never will be the answer. I, alongside my colleagues in Plaid Cymru, believe that Wales should have the powers and resources to make good our pledge to become a Nation of Sanctuary and ensure that asylum seekers are treated with care, respect and dignity.
We should also keep the issue in proportion. Currently, in Carmarthenshire, there are only 381 asylum seekers who receive government support, representing around 0.2% – or one in every five hundred – of the county’s population. Furthermore, the 2021 Census shows that only 5.6% of Llanelli’s total population was born outside of the UK.
Nigel Farage and his New Tories, bankrolled by billionaire donors and in the pocket of Donald Trump, don’t have the answers that will make a difference for our communities. “Beware these men whose only real ideology is their ego,” as Rhun ap Iorwerth said during our recent spring conference. We must also remember that the party hasn’t even shown Wales enough respect to appoint a leader here. We have no idea who their candidate for First Minister will be!
Against this backdrop, Plaid Cymru offers a real, grown-up alternative, and we are busy outlining our vision of a fresh start for Wales. We have recently announced our policy of a £10-a-week direct child payment to top-up the income of households who currently receive universal credit and lift them out of poverty. Scotland, the country from which the policy has been modelled, is the only UK country projected to see a decrease in child poverty rates, which in Wales stands at a shocking 30%.
We have also announced our policy to give a new lease of life to our town centres, by reforming business rates so that independent, local shops located there pay less, and out-of-town chain stores pay more to compensate. It is these policies – carried out by a party that will demand fairness from Westminster – that would make a real difference to our communities, and is why we need a fresh start with Plaid Cymru.
