Populism And Plaid Cymru - Another Chat As To Why They Should Use It For Welsh Independence

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've spoken about this before. But I'm going to bore you by chatting about it again. For Welsh independence whilst not the majority opinion is still growing however Plaid Cymru's position remains relatively unchanged. 

I have stated before that Adam Price the Plaid Cymru leader needs to be more populist in his approach. There is nothing wrong with populism in itself. Being a nationalist is not being nationalistic. After all it was the Unionist Jacob Rees Mogg who stated that fish were happier in British waters (perhaps someone should have explained to him that unless caught fish have more freedom of movement than the citizens of this Disunited Kingdom). Similarly being populist does not mean supporting a border wall between America and Mexico.

With Senedd (Welsh government) elections coming in May (for the moment anyway) and perhaps depending on the Corona situation this will be the first where the battle between the Unionists and Nationalists will be the one which will be on the agenda.

Now of course Unionists will be in the advantage they will have the current Welsh Labour and the Westminster UK government on their side. This will be a battle and not a war. But it's important that Plaid makes inroads into the Welsh electorate. It needs to engage with those who take little interest in politics unless events cause them to stop and think where they are in the scheme of things.

What Brexit and the Corona virus appears to have done is to take the issue of independence into the mainstream for various reasons. It cannot be ignored by those who wish it anymore. Of course Unionism will make attempts to stop this revolution in thoughts for independence to continue. But it's I would argue too late. "When" could be a long time coming but "if" is no longer a debate.

So Plaid needs to up it's game on the populism front. Independence is after all the only alternative to the failure of everything else that has blighted the lives of the people of Wales for centuries.

And what Adam Price and Plaid Cymru needs to realise is that the Welsh Conservatives will use populism against it. It's new leader Nikita Krushchev, sorry Andrew R T Davies, is not afraid to pronounce loudly to everybody on everything between meals no matter how questionable.

So the energetic populist engagement with the voters in the next election must be a priority for Plaid. Wales depends on it.

Until the next time

Plaid Cymru's Foothold With Ex Labour Voters

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The byelection last week notwithstanding you are getting a sense of momentum towards Plaid Cymru at the moment in Wales. Local government by elections have resulted in the party gaining seats where they have never gotten them before.

Yesterday (Thursday) it was the turn of the Court Ward in Barry. Plaid won the seat (for the first time) with 47% of the vote. Easily beating Labour with just 34%.

Now no one, least of all me will say that there wouldn't be obstacles and setbacks along the way. But what these by election results show is that Labour's biggest fear in Wales, that Plaid will eat into it's core vote, is beginning to happen.

What is happening, I would argue is a combination of things, but primarily no longer do Welsh voters accept the Labour core argument of looking at their past performance and not their current one of the arrogant incompetence of the establishment. They are looking for an acceptable alternative and that is what Plaid represents.

It is why Labour attack Plaid Cymru often. They know this.

Labour in Wales have lived off the mindset of the past for years. The fact that, albeit slowly, it's being chipped away is good for Wales let alone Plaid Cymru.

And if you add Plaid Cymru's local council by election successes across Wales with the attack on their Caenarfon office yesterday what you're getting is a sense that no longer are people looking at them as an irrelevance. They are taken seriously.

This might be the moment where people will look back and mark the date as when the march towards independence truly gathered momentum.

Until the next time.

Porthcawl "Too Rich" Or Bridgend Labour Council Too Poor?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I've read in the local Bridgend paper the Glamorgan Gazette a report about an alleged remark a  county councillor made describing Porthcawl as being basically too rich.

Now as insults go "hold my beer" as they say. Or in my case "Hold my cup of tea". Still it's an interesting idea of (if true) a certain type of attitude.

So let's start off with one simple fact. Porthcawl is not a "rich" town. There are of course "rich" parts in the town, especially near the sea, but nothing I've ever seen that would make it into one of those shows flaunting lifestyles of the rich and famous. Of course all of that depends on your definition of "rich" which I'll come back to in a moment.

No Porthcawl as a town is neither super rich or dirt poor. It's basically a normal friendly seaside town with the normal mixture within it.

Indeed perhaps one thing that the councillor might not have noticed (and if not why not?) is that a lot of the houses close to the sea are guesthouses. The rich are not living there. We're talking about small businesses making ends meet.

Now again assuming that the remark was correct what is perhaps interesting is to work out why it was said. I'd guessed when I started reading the story that the councillor was from the ruling Labour council and represented Bridgend Town. Perhaps subconsciously for him Porthcawl is too rich when compared to the urban tragedy that I've discussed often in this blog that is Bridgend Town.

In the very same edition the Glamorgan Gazette also ran a story that the Welsh government body had given the council to smarten up the town and do up the many empty shops there. Thing is though whilst not a bad thing in itself it's literally and metaphorically putting gloss over the cracks. Literal window dressing will not hide the consequences of arrogant incompetence that Bridgend Labour council have wrought on Bridgend Town for decades.

So perhaps (using the definitions he set) the councillor should ask himself not why Porthcawl is so rich but why Bridgend town is so poor? Perhaps then he will realise that it's a consequence of the policies of the party he represents. Perhaps then he will take the brave decision to move to Plaid Cymru. A party that will take the issue of the state of Bridgend Town seriously.

Perhaps. For if he did. Perhaps the council will sit up and take notice.

Until the next time.

So Welsh UKIP, Welsh Labour Or Plaid Cymru Which One Do You Think Has A Vision?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

UKIP in Wales has a policy out regarding the Welsh Assembly. It's leader Mr Creepy and his cohorts know it's a simple policy with one simple message.

Abolish it.

Their argument is simple. It's a waste of money and has done nothing for all the twenty years since it was set up.

Of course when Mr Creepy and his cohorts are asked what has the House of Commons done for Wales during the same period then they are unusually silent.

But here's the thing. If you take the last of the Carwyn Jones years and the first months of Mark "Jeremy Disciple" Drakeford's tenure as First Minister then it's easy to see how that impression can get a footing in the thinking of the Welsh voter.

Government is a combination of good management a clear vision for the future. The Welsh Labour administration provides bad management whose only purpose is to stay in power. It is short sighted. The Welsh Labour party is the Mr Magoo of world politics.

Last Saturday there was the People's Vote in London. Over a million turned up. And amongst the speakers, introduced to loud cheers was Nicola Sturgeon. That's right an audience of mainly (I presume) English people cheered the leader of the Scottish Nationalists. Afterwards Mark Drakeford was introduced to equally thunderous applause....of course not he wasn't there....Jeremy would not approve (and probably most people even if they were Welsh would not recognise him anyway).

So only Plaid Cymru has the true vision thing. It is not a back to the future UKIP policy but a forward thinking idea of an independent Wales which, why there will still be problems it will Wales who will deal with it not begging for an answer from a large city far away.

Until the next time.

Why Plaid Cymru Should Not Change It's Name

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Last year, during the Plaid Cymru leadership elections I wrote a post saying that it was my gut instinct that Adam Price wouldn't win and citing his suggestion that Plaid should change it's name as an example as to why.

So much for my gut instinct.

But I come back to the issue as recently talk has reemerged in the Welsh media about this. Indeed Twitter led me to an article in a design website where designers suggested ideas on what it should be changed to (presumably pitching for that commission). So I, with all the expertise that being a fifty five year old Eastender (albeit a member of the party) will now argue that Plaid should keep it's name.

I will in some respects be rehashing the arguments I gave in that previous post with regard to this name change idea but as this issue has returned I don't feel it's unreasonable. Also to those who will say "Well he won the leadership election didn't he?" Well yes. But it doesn't mean that every idea Mr Price has uttered is a good one. Don't forget that before the election he advocated joint leadership of Plaid Cymru. An idea which quite rightly has died a death.

One of the reasons trotted out for a change is that the name is in Welsh. Well let's stop there. How can a single Plaid Cymru member advocate changes supporting the Welsh language when it's name is changed to an English one. How can opponents to bilingual road signs be argued with? With one change ammunition would have been given to the leader of Welsh UKIP Mr Creepy.

Furthermore in my twenty one years of living in Wales I've never heard a conversation which went like this:

Voter One : "I'm not voting for Plaid Cymru"

Voter Two: "Why?"

Voter One: "Cause it's name is in Welsh"

And as we apparently need to a lot these days let's look at Ireland, specifically Northern Ireland. Of the major political parties there Sein Fein is the only one with a non English name. Yet it hasn't stopped it becoming a major political force there. Indeed it's name helps establishes it's political philosophy whether you speak Gaelic or not.

A change of name (especially to the proposed example which I'll come to in a moment) will be a perceived as a waste of time and a betrayal of it's underlying values for voters in Wales even if they don't speak Welsh. It smacks of political tackiness.

And let's come to the proposed new name. "New Wales". I mean how lame is that? It either will be seen as a throwback to "New Labour" or sounding like an extreme right wing group. As a name it's a lazy choice, a choice that lacks inspiration. Oh before you ask what's my suggestion I don't have one. I don't need one. I'm happy with Plaid Cymru thankyou very much.

As an issue it's a waste of time, money and resources. Debating it alone will distract Plaid from the far more important issues facing Wales today. Needless to say voters will not thank Plaid for it.

But I will suggest a name change for when you see Plaid Cymru banner you will also "Party of Wales" next to it. Ditch that. No one will care. Just leave it as "Plaid Cymru" and then fight for all of the people living in Wales against the arrogantly incompetent unionist parties who just don't care about the voters.

Ultimately actions speak louder than words.

Until the next time.

The Worst Welsh Politician Of The Week

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

The worst Welsh politician of the week is not something I'd normally chat about as if I started to do this the winner would almost be either Secretary of State for Wales Alun "Chucky" Cairns, First Minister Mark "Jeremy's Disciple" Corbyn or the leader for UKIP in Wales Mr Creepy. So there would be no point doing it.

However this week is different. There would be three choices.

1) Labour minister in the Welsh government Lee Waters. We have spoken about Mr Waters before when he spoke on Twitter that their surprisingly socialist policy regarding free hospital car parking should be examined.

Here it's to do with his discovery revealed on Twitter that there is such a thing as a four holed punch and his childish wonderment of same. Leaving aside the question "How cut off from reality are you?" (I knew about this decades ago) it also showed a lack of sensitivity given that as a Llanelli Assembly Member the nearby Office Outlet store in Swansea is threatened with closure due to it's parent company being put under administration.

2) Carwyn Jones.....yes him. Lambasting Theresa May on Twitter over what's happening re Brexit. He's quite right of course. She's a subprime Minister in a subprime government. And yet what does that make him given as First Minister he surrendered Welsh powers to her for seven years?

However he doesn't win today. No the title of Worst Welsh Politician Of The Week goes to the equally titled Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

I've chatted about him before. He's a politician whose trajectory has moved from Plaid Cymru to it's leader to being in the House Of Lords to becoming an Independent Assembly Member and Minister for Culture in the current Welsh administration.to advocating (and this is where I have chatted about him previously) that for tourist purposes Wales should promote itself as a principality!!!

And on the last point let's not forget this from the man who used to be leader of Plaid Cymru!!!

You don't think he couldn't move further away from his Plaid Cymru roots? Think again. Now it has been revealed that when the position of Chief executive of the National Welsh Library in Aberystwyth was advertised he tried to stop one of the conditions of the post being that he/she had to be a Welsh speaker saying that it needed to attract the broadest field possible. The Welsh library, to it's credit, ignored him (and let's pause here - librarians were revolting - throwing the book at him - it takes a certain type of politician to do that).

There were many arguments that were put against the minister's position. I think though the most important one is this. There are some organisations though bilingual should have it's head a Welsh speaker simply because of it's responsibility to safeguard the Welsh language. The Welsh National library with it's vast collection of Welsh literature is one of these organisations. How can you be Chief executive of the Welsh National Library when you don't have an appreciation of a large proportion of what is stored there because you don't understand Welsh?

The fact that Elis-Thomas, a Welsh speaker, did not seem to care about this seems just to illustrate how far from Plaid Cymru he's moved from. Perhaps Plaid should organise a competition to see what his next step moving away from his roots will be. My entry will probably be him changing his name to David Ellis....sorry Lord David Ellis.

Until the next time.

Why Water Is An Independence Issue

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

There is the often repeated joke in England that it always rains in Wales. Similar stuff is thrown at Scotland as well. But it appears that the product from the clouds has now the potential to become an issue for independence as well.

For the chief of the environment agency has warned that England could run short of water within twenty five years. A combination of rising population and dwindling supply caused what would be a perfect storm for drought....if that wasn't the wrong metaphor to use.

Part of the way he seeks to resolve this is to "transfer water across the country" this for now only involves England. But you don't need to have any degrees in politics, business or water management to know that eyes will be looking across the borders into Wales and Scotland.

Of course this is not new. I've previously spoken in the past about the Tryweryn reservoir where in the nineteen sixties the village of Capel Celyn was flooded so that the it could built to supply Liverpool.

Could this happen again? Well politically in Wales First Minister Mark "Jeremy's Disciple" Drakeford and Welsh Secretary of state Alun "Chucky" Cairns are remarkably similar in the way they appear to be supplicants to their Westminster masters. So despite this not being in the interests of Wales there is nothing to suggest they won't agree to do it.

But there is another way and that is for Wales to judge whether they should sell the water to England and at what cost. It's a Welsh resource that should not be drained away like North Sea oil was for Scotland.

This is where independence come in. In my lifetime the Scottish Nationalist Party really stepped up a gear in the seventies in the discovery of North Sea oil. What people could see was that here was a Scottish resource being frittered away by Westminster whilst there were some parts of Scotland that would have benefited from monies that the oil would have provided.

In Independent Wales for oil read Water. Plaid Cymru should emphasise that it is a Welsh resource and the profits for supplying England with water should be put back to Wales with the consequent increase in resources for things like health,education and transport.

It should also emphasise through the rooftops something else as well. Not that no new reservoirs would be built, after all who knows what the future will bring, but that no communities will be flooded for new reservoirs built in Wales if it's designed to solely supply England.

Water is a resource and an independence issue Plaid needs to make this loud and clear. For we know the Unionist parties won't

On The Road With My Family. Shopping With My Family. Watching Fighting With My Family

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Mainly because of my shift work we rarely as a family are able to go out together to do something. Life as it were interferes, But yesterday was different. Wife, daughter and I were able to take one of the great road journeys of the world for the day.

Or the roughly half hour journey from the Vale Of Glamorgan to the out of town outlet centre Macarthur Glen just outside Bridgend. One of the two.

As there were things we had to do in the morning we left around three in the afternoon, Driving anything longer than ten minutes does not bring out the best in us. The wife, remarkable woman that she is, will never win the prize for car passenger of the year. She would say I should break when there is a gap that would full three buses or say I'm too slow or too fast or wondering why I've parked in a particular parking spot where there could be others available.

And also, and my mother is exactly the same, she has an inability to judge gaps in the road. She cannot believe that the mighty Kia Picanto can go through them and yet it always does. Would she ever say "Yes husband you were right?" Well what do you think?

(Before you think I'm being sexist, I'll say this. Between you me and the worldwide web she's a better driver than me aside from oddly enough motorways. She has more confidence and self awareness than I do. I'm far more cautious - Something which daughter has caught on to)

But eventually we got to Macarthur Glen. And after parking (in of course the wrong space) we had some time to spare before the film we had planned to see started. So we did some window shopping (the plan being that if there was anything we wanted to get then they'd be bought later).

Wife and daughter made a beeline for the Yankee Candle shop. I've chatted about them before. This thing about smelly candles is something I just don't understand. And when I went in there later, well I'm not a person with a refined sense of smell, but it was as if someone had mugged my nose.

I of course went to The Works and later bought a book for just £10. More expensive than the books I'd normally buy but I'm sure fellow Plaid Cymru members would approve (It's an absolute brick of a hardback size).

Seemed suitable as it's St David's Day

And so to the movie. Fighting With My Family tells the story of the wrestling obsessed Knight family and in particular daughter Paige who turns into fighting wrestling matches in Norwich to a WWE star. Wrestling and me parted in the seventies so I'd no backstory in my head.

So I'll start at the ending. Daughter loved the film. Wife (normally the most critical) loved the film. I too loved the film. But not as much as the female fan club around me.

Let's get to my reservations with it first. Paige Knight described it as being "95% factual". Well that 5% of non factual seemed important to me. She revealed that the scene (which is widely shown) where she and her brother Zak first meet Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did not happen. The final fight scene when compared with the actual match (which we saw later on YouTube) is shall we say Hollywoodised and I was shocked to find that the end credits reveals that the Dad, resplendent in a Norwich City shirt for a lot of the movie is actually an Arsenal fan. No wonder he did time in prison.

The WWE partly funded this film and this seems to show up in the Florida boot camp scenes. The sort of hard but fair cliché you get in these sort of movies as Paige gradually finds the motivation to progress in the wrestling camp.

But it's extremely well acted. Particularly the Knight family itself. The sense of a family no matter how eccentric and having to battle against the stresses of life. At no point did I look at any of the actors playing the family and thought they were exaggerated for the screen. Though Florence Pugh carries herself as Paige particular mention should be made to Jack Lowden who plays her older brother Zak, fighting against the agony of having almost reached his dream of becoming a WWE professional wrestler but not quite whilst his sister progresses.

Wife and daughter said they would give the movie a ten. Personally I'd say an eight. For as I said I loved it as well, just slightly not as much. And I didn't nod off either.

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post : Where I Owe More Tax Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

There is always a certain fear when the brown envelope hits the floor. You pick it up and find that it's from HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs - You don't think I want Wales to be a republic could make me ignore it? Ah well).

Well that envelope came again yesterday and unlike other occasions when it told me a change in the tax code or other admin stuff this time it said I owed them an extra amount of just over £107!!

I am annoyed for three reasons. Firstly I'm an employee which means the tax gets taken at source from my wages every month. In other words whatever has caused this alleged underpayment of tax is not my fault.

Secondly whatever has caused this alleged underpayment of tax is a factor as well. Because I don't know. It doesn't say on the document. I got the wife (who used to work at a pay department) to have a look and she can't see it either. That means on Wednesday (my next day off work) I'll have to ring these people up. The tax office enquiries service does not have a good reputation. And when I say it does not have a good reputation I mean I could be waiting on the end of an imaginary cordless phone line for hours.

Thirdly I'm not a wealthy man but I'm not on income support either. So it's made me realise the trauma families on income support face when similar letters drop into their homes. Even if this extra tax is justified the tax people have spent time and resources on getting just over a hundred pounds from me and other families where there are tax avoiders syphoning off much more laughing all the way to their next glass of champagne!

More on this to come.

To books then and the latest from the library I've read.

Edward Marston - Dance of Death

I've chatted about Edward Marston before in this blog on his Railway detective series so here's one on his Home Front detective Harvey Marmion also a series set in Britain of 1916 during the First world war.. Mr Marston seems to have tapped the entertainment historical detective market judging by the many books he's written. I can see why. Judged as an entertainment Dance of Death concerning the grisly murder of a professional dancer cannot be faulted. It has the detectives, the murder, the suspects and also the feel of historical accuracy.

It reminded me (though set a few decades earlier) of the Inspector Cribb novels of Peter Lovesey. And though not as good are certainly good value for your reading time.

A quick side issue here. I have a rough rule that if a book is part of a series then I read it in chronological order. The big exception to this though are detective series because to me the key is the particular murder and not the detective's family dynamic (there are things that happen here in that regard but I won't spoil by revealing). I'm not particularly bothered that the next Harvey Marmion novel I'll read might be earlier than this one in the series. To me it's funny how for the most part I'm fundamentalist on this issue but with detective fiction I couldn't give a damn.

Politics: And hidden away in the Welsh news was Plaid Cymru's stunning by election victory an increase in the percentage of 18% no less) in Cardiff's Ely ward for the council. It needs to be made clear here. Ely is a working class area which First Minister Mark Drakeford covers in the Senedd. It is the sort of place that Labour would describe as it's heartland. Not any more. The shift might be slow but previous Labour voters are seeing them in Wales for what they truly are. The arrogant incompetent arm of Welsh establishment.

Let this crumbling of the edifice continue. For at it's destruction will come independence.

And let's continue with the state of Cardiff shall we. the Cancer Research charity have opened a new superstore here (which I haven't been to yet). Now am I being heartless for saying that you can truly judge a nation's decline by the fact that a charity can open not just a shop but a superstore?

West Ham beat Fulham last night (I was at work). People say 40 points means safety which means they might get it when facing Cardiff City in two weeks time.....and I will be there!!!....albeit quietly in the home seats.

Until the next time.

The Real Independent Group : Or How Nationalists Could Profit From Labour/Tory Splits

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

At time of writing the Labour party has been hit by eight MPs who have left the party through issues of anti-semitism and the attitude towards the long time Brexit of the soul that a hard Brexit will bring. The Conservative party has currently lost three MPs because of Brexit and the party has gone too right wing (who knew?).

I won't bother going through their arguments as that's been distributed far and wide and I'd be boring you if I repeated them. I will say though that my gut instinct is that they won't be successful if only because I'm old enough to remember the SDP and whatever you think about their politics the original defectors "the gang of four" were people with stature. For the most part you look at these recent people who have moved and say "who?"

But let's say I'm wrong. Let's say they have "momentum" what then?

Well I'd argue that essentially this whole movement is an "English middle class" thing and that the people who would vote for them (if they were a party....they're not yet) would be that cliched "Middle England" voter. What the Independent Group would miss is the fact that with devolution the real independence groups, Plaid Cymru and especially the SNP are more powerful than they were at the time of the SDP.

So you see the Nationalist option is there. And if the only alternatives to the disillusioned Scottish/Welsh Labour/Tory party voter is a sort of LibDem on the cheap then who else is there but the Nationalists to offer an alternative future to the electorate. Both Plaid and the SNP could mine that seam. People who would not vote Tory but cannot see the point of a party that cannot even control itself would look at the Nationalist parties as both unified and with policies that would be to their point of view.

The possibilities for the Nationalist parties profiting from this situation are clearly there. After all they actually represent a unified front in contrast to the shambles that are the Unionist parties in Westminster.

Irony a go go.

Until the next time.

Welsh Trade Unions And The Welsh Labour Party. Time For A Split?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Welsh trade unions and the Labour party have been entwined for over a century. And understandably so. But as the disunited kingdom contemplates the possibility of a long dark Brexit of the soul then perhaps this partnership should not now be as strong a it was.

And, like the majority of Welsh voters (though it is declining) this support is mainly due now to what the Labour party has done in the past. It cannot be argued that in the past the Labour Party was the party for ordinary men and women. Hence it got the people's votes and most of the unions political monies.

But that was then and this is now. Past performance does not justify the votes and finances of the arrogantly incompetent Labour party of the present.

Look at the workers at the Ford Engine plant in Bridgend who are soon to be made redundant. Did they see the Welsh Labour party swing into action when the first signs in 2017 that there was a problem? No. They give Ford money to deal with the consequences of Brexit (which as I posted at the time raised questions in itself) and what good did it give those soon to be redundant workers?

Remember when the news of the redundancies first came out the comments from Welsh Labour figures (including former First Minister and local Assembly member Carwyn Jones) gave statements which were just nothing of substance.

I can give you other examples. When the announcement Tesco call centre in Cardiff was to be closed down Carwyn Jones did not know it was coming and Labour did not fight to the death to keep it open. Similarly the soon to be closed call centre in Swansea. Where was the fight from the Welsh government for the workers? I don't know whether they had union membership there (and if not Welsh Unions you should ask why) but I'd guess they're feeling betrayed by "the people's party" now.

(And by the way I still think people in Wales should boycott Virgin media for this)

So this political levy. Why can't some of it go to Plaid Cymru? Why does it have to be (in terms of political parties) Welsh Labour? After all no one would call Plaid Cymru conservative. It will have the interests of the Welsh people and those who have made their home here at heart. Plaid who tried to get zero hours contracts abolished in Wales where Labour, Labour please note, voted against.

More people are considering independence as an option for Wales.
Unlike Labour Plaid is not a party of the establishment. It will not cocoon itself in Cardiff Bay as the rest of the nation suffers. It will go out and battle for the best outcome. Not make meaningless statements of nothing as jobs are under threat.

So perhaps trade unions in Wales it's time for a split. No longer make alliances based on a glorious past but of an independent future instead.

Until the next time.

Are Plaid Cymru Talking About Independence? I Should Think So Too...

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday a Plaid Cymru candidate for the National Assembly for Wales resigned from the party. Professor Nigel Copner stated ( from the online article in the South Wales Argus I saw that Plaid was not "determined to win" (well I disagree with that) and the party's position on independence is "not currently economically viable" and loses the party credibility. It is that comment I want to focus on here. That's right a man who's English, not a professor and has not fought an election campaign is going to argue with this guy. So here we go.

I will start by repeating a few things I've said before in this blog but I'd argue is important to reiterate here.

Plaid Cymru is the party of independence for Wales or it is nothing.

Since I moved to Wales in 1997 Plaid's lowest ebb was under the leadership of Iuean Wynne Jones who amongst other things muddied the waters on the issue and the electorate quite rightly punished Plaid for it. After all you might as well vote Liberal Democrat for all the good that it would do.

That does not mean that Plaid does not have other policies (I won't bore you with them here) in the same way that the SNP or Sein Fein in Northern Ireland don't have other policies either. But independence means that policies are made in Wales for the people living in Wales and are not beholden to a weak Westminster Prime Minister or as in the case of the First Minister a devotion to the thoughts of "Jeremy".

As for independence not being currently economically viable Wales is particularly hit by factory closures and/or job losses as well as the cancellation of infrastructure projects already. So the status quo is not viable and that does not include the dark ages of Brexit that might be soon upon us.

Independence is not necessarily a cure for these issues. What it does however is to allow Wales to judge them without looking over the shoulder to Westminster. That's the difference. It gives Wales a purpose, an identity that Westminster and it's supporters have tried to take away.

Independence would give Wales it's groove back.

Polls show that support for independence is on the rise (36%. Not Scottish levels but growing). Brexit has put the issue on the map and as I've stated in this blog before unless it creates a land of milk and honey that level will increase.

The professor is wrong. Independence is definitely on the agenda. And has in time the potential to be the number one issue.

And people will remember the party whose policy it is.

Until the next time.

First Minister Of Wales Mark Drakeford : The Disciple's New Year Message

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So as far as I can see First Minister Mark Drakeford gave out a New Year message as supposedly the leader of a nation. Blink and you'd miss it. It was on Twitter.

Two tweets that was it. It said that Britain had the prospect of being on a No-Deal Brexit. That the Welsh government will continue to stand up for Wales. That Wales could not work in isolation.  He would like to see "a more unified approach" from the UK government to secure "the bext possible deal for the whole of the UK".

All very well. until you remember that he was Finance Minister in the Carwyn Jones administration that surrendered the Brexit powers that should have come to Wales after March 29 to the pathetic May administration for seven years. Let's repeat that : He did not negotiate. He surrendered.

So much for standing up for Wales.

It is not a statement that thinks Wales should have any input in any negotiations. Why? He's not thinking of Theresa. Oh no. He's thinking of Jeremy. As I have said before in this blog Wales does not have a new leader. It has a disciple.

But the most interesting statement was that Wales could not work in isolation. It shows yet again that he is a Unionist in a Nationalist political role. Of course it would be great to work with other nations. Plaid Cymru has advocated independence and not isolation. But the thing is. History shows that there are moments when isolation is better than compromise (and let's be clear I'm not talking about Brexit here).

But Mark Drakeford's instinct is to compromise with Westminster, especially a Westminster with Jeremy as Prime Minister.

So the question which needs to posed to the disciple is this. If an issue comes up in tenure as First Minister where the best possible action for Wales is to take a course of action different from Westminster will he do it?

For if he doesn't he will be a Welsh Quisling. Truly a "Red Cairns".

Until the next time.

The Insomniac Meanderings Post : Birthday Not Birthday Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Today is my birthday not birthday in that whilst my actual birthday is Wednesday (fifty five folks) as I'm working on that day in the afternoon/evening shift it would be impossible for wife/daughter/mother to have done anything for me. And quite frankly I wouldn't have wanted it anyway if I was conscious of the ticking clock that would have been time to go to work.

And to be honest it wouldn't have bothered me if there was no cake etc. I'm not one for birthday celebrations as regular readers will know that I'm not one for Christmas. Given that all it's telling me is that I'm older and as Bonnie Tyler once sang the best of my years have gone by. But the women in my life (wife/mother/daughter) would have wanted it. So a low key quiet thing is acceptable today, the last day off I have before January second.

Also, since I won't be able to post tomorrow (early shift) I'll throw in New Year resolutions in as well.

Just three:

1) Make a greater effort in learning French and Welsh. And from January 1st a new language as well which I'll chat about then.

2) Increase my involvement with Plaid Cymru. There will be a time of the year when this will not be easy as I'll will be looking after someone after an operation. But for most of the year work/family aside there's no reason why I can't do this.

3) To be a far better cook. When I do look after that person I don't think 24 Pasta Bake is going to cut it somehow.

Oh.....and World Peace.

One last word about Christmas (I think). I really don't get the vibe that people really enjoyed Christmas this year. I suspect it's because they're looking at the year to come.

Random thought: I still haven't heard people call The Second Severn Crossing The Prince Of Wales bridge yet. Quiet rebellion there perhaps.

I'm not sure how 2019 is going to turn out. Everything suggests that it's going to be very demanding on us all. But let's hope it turns out to be different and so to the readers of this blog and the wayward thoughts of an old man like me I truly wish you a Happy New Year.

Anyway time to start my birthday not birthday.

Until the next time

Labour is the only alternative for the United Kingdom? Thing Is There's No Longer A Kingdom To Unite

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well as the turbulent year (yes that's my only prediction - not hard to work that one out) of 2019 is soon amongst us we are already seeing UK Labour people saying that the only alternative to continued Conservative rule is the Jeremy Corbyn led Labour administration.

A vote for any other party in a UK election they will say is a wasted vote.

The majority of Welsh MPs are from the Labour party. And yet Conservative governments for the United Kingdom are elected.

The majority of Scottish MPs are from the SNP. Hardly a friend of Conservatism. And yet Conservative governments for the United Kingdom are elected.

So let's be clear here. A vote for Labour in the next Westminster election in Scotland or Wales is a wasted vote. That doesn't mean it won't happen. Particularly of course in Wales where Labour still cling on to people's memories of it's past and not it's arrogantly incompetent present. I have written before that people in the next election might vote Labour because it's the lesser of two evils.

But what this mess since the Brexit vote has revealed is that Westminster is in a nervous breakdown at the moment. I have never known a situation where the entire United Kingdom is in such a fragile state that the whole union , not just in Scotland, is under threat.

Labour, particularly a pro Brexit Labour that it currently is will not change that. A vote for Labour in the next Westminster election will be a wasted vote. A vote for Plaid Cymru or the SNP will not be a wasted vote. For people who vote for the nationalist parties know that independence is the ultimate goal. Nationalists know that whilst bedding in an  independent nation will not be easy, and as I've said before mistakes will be made, there would be a purpose and indeed a true fairness that is lacking in Westminster rule.

So in this Disunited Kingdom it's the Labour vote in Wales and Scotland that's wasted. The Nationalist vote will be a pointer for the future.

Until the next time.

Bridgend Town : The Urban Tragedy Christmas Edition

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

As regular readers will know, one of the things that has lead me to supporting Plaid Cymru is the arrogant incompetence of the way they have managed Bridgend Town which has I would argue been the main cause of the many shop closures and general sense of the decline that it gives.

Though I no longer live in the area I still work there and yesterday I had a couple of hours being able to wander round the town.

What I'm going to say next is in no way could be considered scientific. It's just what I saw.

Overall then there appears to be no change since I came here last. Improvements in some areas mitigated by decline in others. This is not a good situation for the town as 2019 approaches. It has the potential to be hit by three separate issues and is venerable to them.

Just on the outskirts of the town centre there was this:

It was an employment office

I wish I could say that Bridgend did not need a place to advertise jobs but we all know that's not the case.

There are as I've explained before four points of reference I start with regard to the town nowadays. Let's begin with the Nolton street arcade. A small group of shops where apart from the two that go directly onward to the street every shop in the arcade has closed down. Let's see what's been done.

Pretend It Doesn't Exist Apparently

I'm assuming (though I don't know) that this was the council's doing but really? Out of sight out of mind is that it? As if people will forget the toyshop that was once here. Or the woollen shop. Or the café.

This is really shameful whoever is responsible.

Then there is the McDonald's. Closed in 2000 left to rot for seventeen years before being demolished last year. Nothing seems to have happened to it for a year....

Yay Construction!!!

Thing is of course that you need to remember that the result is apparently social flats on top of shops. It's the shops bit that amazes. Not only does Bridgend Town have many shops that have been closed down and left to rot. It also has a number of these...

Closed Down - Left To Rot - Spruced Up - Unable To Rent

So in view of this why create another place for empty shops to thrive? It makes no sense whatsoever.

The McDonalds was left to rot for seventeen years. The Phones4U store has been closed since 2014. Let's see if it's still there....

Yes It Is

The really good news story was in the Bridgend Indoor Market. As explained previously it's had a makeover and whilst there are still a number of empty stalls there were new ones as well. Of course it's early days but I think it's fair to say that there is an air of cautious optimism.

The Lights Are On

Those lights which don't forget the council kept up for a year without bothering to take down. At least they're appropriate for now.

I saw one new shop. A hairdresser's but two shops were closed. They were...

Bridgend's in the club no more

This was a clothing store. It took a fair amount of space in the small shopping centre the town has so it's closure is damaging in more ways than one.

Betfred

Even the bookies have given up.

The decline shows itself not just in the empty shops but in other ways too...

Have a look at the bunting

I'm sure this bunting has been around since at least May when the council did something to celebrate VE day. No one it appears has bothered to take it down. It's all around the town centre.

And as it's Christmas let's have a look at the town centre tree.

Dull Isn't It?

Actually there are lights (with the look that they've been purchased from Poundland) and put on as if throwing it and seeing where it landed was the new fashion in Christmas decorations.

It was busy. But the town was not last Saturday before Christmas busy. The out of town stores (actually about a ten/fifteen minute walk away) were heaving with customers.

Bridgend Town is in a venerable state. And potentially 2019 will be the year which will decide it's foreseeable future. A combination of Brexit, the (possibly interlinked) future of the Ford Engine plant and the consequences of the local council cuts means that it will be crossing it's fingers for a while.

Until the next time.

Why Plaid Cymru Needs To Prepare For A Hard Brexit

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Everything I'm going to say next I've said before. But things seem to be a lot more heightened now with the government talking about sending in troops in the event of a no-deal long dark entrance of the soul Brexit (they speak of 3,500 which if you think about it seems remarkably low in case of shortages of food or medicines).

Let me say also this again. No nationalist wishes for a hard Brexit. For the damage it will cause to families across Wales will be substantial and it will not be clear when the pain it will cause will end.

But that needed and having been said. Plaid Cymru should politically prepare for a hard Brexit. For it will not be the party that failed to negotiate with the EU a workable deal (the Conservatives) or the party that has sat on it's hands whilst being unable to sort out a clear policy of it's own (Labour).

In the event of a hard Brexit the Welsh voter will not vote Conservative. But they should also be reminded that Welsh Labour were happy to let Theresa May's pathetic withering of a government have Welsh powers for seven years. The Finance Minister at the time? The new First minister Mark Drakeford.

Secretary of state for Wales and social slug Alun "Chucky" Cairns is warning Welsh businesses they should prepare for a hard Brexit. Of course if the Conservatives had done their job as the UK government such preparation would have been made months, if not years before March 29th next year. The sheer bare faced cheek of Chucky has plumbed new depths.

Which is why Plaid should make a position as the only alternative to the Unionist parties that would have brought Wales to this position crystal clear. They would have created the misery that hard Brexit would bring so in Wales it would be Plaid and Plaid only that could offer an alternative.

And that alternative would be independence.

For Plaid Cymru would simply say that if Hard Brexit has brought Wales to a disastrous situation then Wales would need to sort out it's problems away from the Union. Independence would not be simple solution. Mistakes will be made. But independence would bring solutions tailored  for Wales not Westminster's messy patchwork that brought the situation in the first place.

Plaid also will need to be unashamedly populist about this. But there's nothing wrong with populism if the cause is just.

So I say again nobody with a brain wants a hard Brexit. But should it happen Plaid must be ready to offer hope where the other parties offer failure.

Until the next time.

Let's Talk More About The Potential For Anti English Sentiment Around Newport

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have on this blog chatted about the potential for anti English sentiment around the Newport area when in a few weeks time the tolls will be abolished from the Severn Bridge and the proposed M4 relief road will encourage families from Bristol to buy cheaper houses in the South East of Wales up to the Newport whilst at the same time there is a lack of social housing for the local people in that area.

When I've gone on Twitter recently I've seen tweets bemoaning English immigration generally. The argument is that those who do emigrate from England will not embrace the local culture. Indeed will actively set out to undermine it. I have read an article where the word "lebensraum" is mentioned.

Personally taken as a whole I don't agree. But there is a clear danger here because those who will be moving will still work in England. Thus they would not be starting a new life but extending the one they already have. I have mentioned in the past that Alun Cairns' Western Powerhouse plan would appear to be partitioning South East Wales.

These people will be resented by the local community if there is a detrimental knock on effect on the housing market for them. The ingredients for social unrest are clearly there.

And yet if Secretary of State for Wales Alun "Chucky" Cairns and whatever non entity/Corbyn disciple becomes the next First Minister just banged their heads together I'm sure this would be resolved.

If the danger I've described does happen we know that Chucky and [insert non entity here] will (rightly) blame those who instigated it and (purely for political gain and ignoring the facts) Plaid Cymru. But as I've emphasised before if the potential for social unrest can be stopped and no action is taken then both Unionist parties would be equally culpable as the instigators.

There is still time. But the time for action is now.

Until the next time.

Plaid Cymru, The Welsh Youth Vote And More Hard Brexit Hypotheicals

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

I have chatted before about how a hard Brexit might help the cause of Plaid Cymru and Welsh Independence. Though, as I stress again here no nationalist wants a hard Brexit because of the pain it will cause families across Wales.

It does not mean however that Plaid Cymru should not plan for the consequences of a hard Brexit politically which is why the Welsh Youth Vote becomes important.

If we judge the consequences of a hard Brexit by age then it will be the young who will be the most affected. Not just because of the economic consequences but also on the issue of freedom of movement.

During the referendum freedom of movement was portrayed as a one way street. To paraphrase it was "look at those people with their East European accents coming here and doing the jobs we don't want to do".

The Leave campaign exploited this. But the young knew what the referendum result will mean for them. They cannot explore other cultures in the same way as they used to. Trust me two weeks in Ibiza does not mean you've discovered Spain.

They know that they can't as a rule apply for jobs in an EU state. They know that falling in love and settling down with somebody from an EU state will become next to impossible.

In short the curtailment of their freedom of movement will mean that their lives will be less enriched because of the decisions of people who for the most part have settled lives.

(And in a separate post I'll be chatting about the effect of a hard credit on the Welsh language)

They will see the advantages the youth of other EU countries will have and as a consequence the young people in Wales will become angry

So who would they vote for?

The Conservatives?  Hardly likely given they helped set this mess up in the first place? Ditto (thankfully) UKIP.

Labour? The party whose policy on Brexit seems to change with the wind though for the moment they want to create a " Brexit for jobs" (whatever that means today)

Which leaves Plaid Cymru the party in Wales that consistently wanted to remain in the EU and would come independence negotiate it's return in a heartbeat.

So if I was Plaid 's top brass I'd be going after the Welsh Youth Vote very strongly.I

It's the future after all.

Until the next time.

Wales: Where The People's Flag Is Deepest Yellow

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Yesterday the Welsh Labour government did something that twelve months ago seemed incredible. In the Welsh Senedd it abolished a bill that would stop any attempt by Westminster to seize powers returning from the EU following Brexit. Following a deal they did to allow Theresa May's government to have these powers for seven years.

So, Mr Shifty Santa Carwyn Jones. Do you think Rhodri Morgan would have agreed to this? Do you? You and indeed the three nothings vying to replace you as First Minister have spat on his memory.

You buckled under pressure from the weakest government in living memory. You may be bigger than Nicola Sturgeon (you're certainly wider) but we all know since she refused to surrender Scottish powers who has the greatest stature.

Wales did not vote to have their powers reduced. You have just allowed it. Where is the demorcracy in that? The people were entitled to vote on this given that you were reducing them. But no. You and Welsh Labour did not care about that. Continuing in this most shameful of acts to run Wales with the arrogant incompetence that has marked your reign.

And who voted with you and Labour? UKIP! Led by Mr Creepy they would have been first to scream if Westminster arbitrarily stopped Brexit without a referendum. But here. Who cares about democracy? Who cares about Wales? They don't want a National Assembly. They want to destroy it from within and you have helped them.

Similarly the Tories voted with you. They voted with you. Are you proud of yourself? Really?

And presumably you wouldn't have agreed to this without London Labour's agreement. Which if I'm right means that Colonial Corbyn strikes again.

Only Plaid Cymru and one independent AM voted against this. They know the damage you have done for Wales. Do you know? Do you care?

So the people's flag is deepest yellow in Wales. Where you are your conspirators have revealed yourselves and your party to be political cowards.

You can run Carwyn and Welsh Labour but there will be a time when the people living in Wales will understand the effect of what you've done.

And they will not forgive.

Until the next time.