History of Plaid Cymru
Encyclopedia
Plaid Cymru; The Party of Wales (ˈplaɪd ˈkəmri; often shortened to Plaid) originated after a 1925 National Eisteddfod meeting, held in Pwllheli
, Gwynedd
. Representatives from the Army of the Welsh Home Rulers (Byddin Ymreolwr Cymru) and The Welsh Movement (Y Mudiad Cymreig), both founded only the previous year, agreed to meet and discuss the need of a "Welsh party". Founded originally under the name Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, the National Party of Wales, the party would attract members from the political left, the political right, and the political centre
, both monarchists and republicans
, whose principal aims include the promotion of the Welsh language
and for the political independence
of the Welsh nation
.
According to historian Professor John Davies
, it was Dr. D.J. Davies'
ideas which were more influential in shaping long-term Plaid Cymru ideology and adopted by Plaid president Dr. Gwynfor Evans
following the Second World War. D. J. Davies was an "equally significant figure" as Saunders Lewis
in Welsh nationalism
history, argues Professor John Davies. However, Davies wrote that it was Lewis' "brilliance and charismatic appeal" which was firmly associated with the party of the 1930s.
Initially successful as an educational pressure group, events surrounding Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn) in the 1930s, adopting a pacifist political doctrine, and protests against the Flooding of Capel Celyn in the 1950s helped define Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. These early events were followed by Evan's election to the United Kingdom Parliament in 1966, campaigning for The Welsh Language Act of 1967 and Evan's Hunger Strike for a dedicated Welsh language television channel in 1981.
Plaid Cymru is the third largest political party in Wales, with 11 of 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales
. From 2007 to 2011, it was the junior partner in the One Wales
coalition government, with Welsh Labour. Plaid holds one of the four Welsh seats in the European Parliament
, three of the 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, and has 205 of 1,264 principal local authority councillors. According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission
for the year of 2004, the party has an income and expenditure of about £
500,000.
. A Welsh national consciousness
re-emerged during the 19th century; leading to the establishment of the National Eisteddfod in 1861, the University of Wales
(Prifysgol Cymru) in 1893, and the National Library of Wales
(Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru) in 1911, and by 1915 the Welsh Guards
(Gwarchodlu Cymreig) was formed to include Wales in the UK national component to the Foot Guards
. By 1924 there were people in Wales "eager to make their nationality the focus of Welsh politics".
Support for home rule
for Wales and Scotland amongst most political parties was strongest in 1918 following the independence of other European countries after the First World War, and the Easter Rising
in Ireland, wrote Dr. Davies. However, in the UK General Elections of 1922, 1923, and 1924; "Wales as a political issue was increasingly eliminated from the [national agenda]". By August 1925 unemployment in Wales rose to 28.5%, this in contrast to the economic boom in the early 1920s. For Wales, the long depression began in 1925.
It was in this climate that the Welsh Home Rulers group and the Welsh Movement met. Both organisations sent a delegation of three to the meeting, with H.R. Jones heading the Welsh Home Rulers group and Saunders Lewis
heading The Welsh Movement. They were joined by Lewis Valentine
, D.J. Williams, and Ambrose Bebb
, among others. The principal aim of the party was to foster a Welsh speaking Wales. To this end it was agreed that party business be conducted in Welsh, and that members sever all links with other British parties. Lewis insisted on these principles before he would agree to the Pwllheli conference.
According to the 1911 census, out of a population of just under 2.5 million, 43.5% of the total population of Wales spoke Welsh as a primary language. This was a decrease from the 1891 census with 54.4% speaking Welsh out of a population of 1.5 million.
With these prerequisites Lewis condemned "'Welsh nationalism' as it had hitherto existed, a nationalism characterised by inter-party conferences, an obsession with Westminster
and a willingness to accept a subservient position for the Welsh language", wrote Dr. Davies. It may be because of these strict positions that the party failed to attract politicians of experience in its early years. However, the party's members believed its founding was an achievement in itself; "merely by existing, the party was a declaration of the distinctiveness of Wales", wrote Dr. Davies.
In these early years Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru published a monthly paper called Y Ddraig Goch (the Red Dragon, the national symbol of Wales) and held an annual summer school.
H.R. Jones, the party's full-time secretary, established a few party branches, while Valentine served as party president between 1925 and 1926. In the UK General Election of 1929, Valentine stood for Caernarfon and polled 609 votes. Later they became known as 'the Gallant Six Hundred' when Dafydd Iwan
, the current party president, immortalised them in song.
By 1932 the aims of self government and Welsh representation at the League of Nations
had been added to that of preserving Welsh language and culture. However this move, and the party's early attempts to develop an economic critique, did not lead to the broadening of its appeal beyond that of an intellectual and socially conservative Welsh language pressure group.
Lewis wished to demonstrate how Welsh heritage was linked as one of the 'founders of European civilisation. Lewis, a self-described "strong monarchist
", wrote "Civilization is more than an abstraction. It must have a local habitation and name. Here its name is Wales". Additionally, Lewis strove for the stability and well-being of Welsh-speaking communities, decried both capitalism and socialism and promoted what he called perchentyaeth; a policy of 'distributing property among the masses.
Broadcasting campaigns and 1931 Census
With the advent of broadcasting in Wales
, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru protested the lack of Welsh language programmes in Wales and launched a campaign to withhold license fees. Pressure was successful, and by the mid 1930s more Welsh language programming was broadcast, with the formal establishment of a Welsh regional broadcasting channel by 1937.
According to the 1931 census, out of a population of just over 2.5 million, the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales dropped to 36.8%, with Ynys Mon
recording the highest concentration of speakers at 87.4%, followed by Cardigan
at 87.1%, Merionedd
at 86.1%, and Carmarthen
at 82.3%. Caernarfon listed 79.2%. Radnor
and Monmouth
ranked lowest with a concentration of Welsh speakers less than 6% of the population speaking Welsh.
Welsh nationalism was ignited in 1936 when the UK government settled on establishing a bombing school at Penyberth
on the Llŷn peninsula
in Gwynedd
. The events surrounding the protest, known as Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn), helped define Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. The UK government settled on Llŷn as the site for its new bombing school after similar locations Northumberland
and Dorset
were met with protests.
However, UK Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
refused to hear the case against the bombing school in Wales, despite a deputation representing half a million Welsh protesters. Protest against the bombing school was summed up by Lewis when he wrote that the UK government was intent upon turning one of the 'essential homes of Welsh culture, idiom
, and literature
' into a place for promoting a barbaric method of warfare. Construction of the bombing school building began exactly 400 years after the first Act of Union annexing Wales into England.
On 8 September 1936 the bombing school building was set on fire and in the investigations which followed Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine, and D. J. Williams claimed responsibility. The trial at Caernarfon failed to agree on a verdict and the case was sent to the Old Bailey
in London. The "Three" were sentenced to nine months' imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs
, and on their release they were greeted as heroes by fifteen thousand Welsh at a pavilion Caernarfon
.
Many Welsh were angered by the judge's scornful treatment of the Welsh language, by the decision to move the trial to London, and by the decision of University College, Swansea, to dismiss Lewis from his post before he had been found guilty. Scholar and historian Dafydd Glyn Jones
wrote of the fire that it was "the first time in five centuries that Wales struck back at England with a measure of violence... To the Welsh people, who had long ceased to believe that they had it in them, it was a profound shock".
However, despite the acclaim the events of Tân yn Llŷn generated, by 1938 Lewis' concept of perchentyaeth was firmly rejected as not a fundamental tenet of the party. In 1939 Lewis resigned as Plaid Genedleathol Cymru president citing that Wales was not ready to accept the leadership of a Roman Catholic. Academic and theologian J E Daniel
, the party's former vice-president between 1931–1935, was elected as president of Plaid Cenedlaethol Cymru in 1939, serving until 1943.
, radical
and pacifist traditions of Wales" drew criticism from fellow nationalist such as David James (D.J.) Davies
, a leftist Plaid Cymru party member and founder. Davies argued in favour of engaging English-speaking Welsh communities, and stressed the territorial integrity of Wales. Davies pointed towards Scandinavian countries
as a model to emulate, and was active in the economic implications of Welsh self-government.
Speaking at the North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History in Gallia County, Ohio
, in 2001, Professor John Davies said
It was Davies' ideal of Welsh nationalism which was adopted by Plaid Cymru after the Second World War, wrote Dr. Davies. But it was Lewis' "brilliance and charismatic appeal" which was firmly associated with Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru in the 1930s.
Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru's appeal may have been further complicated by the apparent "fascist-style corporatism shown by [Lewis] and other Roman Catholic leaders of the party", according to historian Lord Morgan
. Author G. A. Williams characterised the party of the 1930s as a "right wing force", and "Its journal refused to resist Hitler
or Mussolini
, ignored or tolerated anti-Semitism and, in effect, came out in support of Franco
".
However, within the context
of the 1930s, other UK politicians of other parties offered endorsements for fascist leaders. In 1933 Winston Churchill
characterised Mussolini as 'the greatest lawgiver among men', and later wrote in his 1937 book Great Contemporaries
, "If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable (as Hitler) to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations". In the same work, Churchill expressed a hope that despite Hitler's apparent dictatorial tendencies, he would use his power to rebuild Germany into a worthy member of the world community. And in August 1936, Liberal party
member David Lloyd George
met Hitler at Berchtesgaden
and offered some public comments that were surprisingly favourable to the German dictator, expressing warm enthusiasm both for Hitler personally and for Germany's public works schemes (upon returning, he wrote of Hitler in the Daily Express as "the greatest living German", "the George Washington of Germany").
, then UK Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
, voiced concern over Welsh nationalists after a deputation of Welsh Labour UK parliamentarians met with him about ignoring Welsh issues during the conflict.
Attlee characterised Welsh nationalists as "mischievous [who] tend to be against the war effort
". To root-out Welsh nationalist sympathies within army units, the UK government minister of Labour and National Service reported that Welsh speaking men were posted to predominantly Welsh speaking units
to report on anti-war sympathies.
Additional plans were developed to counter growing Plaid Cymru influence and included "rolling out" a member of the U.K. Royal Family
to "smooth things over", according to then constitutional expert Edward Iwi. In a report he gave to Home Secretary
Herbert Morrison
, Iwi proposed to make the then Princess Elizabeth Constable
of Caernarfon Castle
(a post held by David Lloyd George), and patroness of Urdd Gobaith Cymru
, and a tour of Wales as Urdd's patroness.
The idea of posting the princess as constable of Caernarfon Castle was rejected by the Home Secretary as it might cause conflict between north and south Wales, and King George VI refused to let the teenage princess tour Wales as to not add undue pressure on her. Additionally, the plan to make the princess patroness of Urdd Gobaith Cymru was dropped as it was thought unsuitable to link the princess to an organisation two of whose leading members were conscientious objectors".
Bards under the bed was one term coined by UK officials referring to Welsh nationalists and nationalism during the war years.
If ignoring the largely pacifist traditions of Welsh nationalism, some articles in the Welsh language press could be seen to give credence to Attlee's fears that Welsh nationalists would be used to spearhead an insurgency. However, this characterisation misrepresented Welsh nationalist sentiments, as "[Welsh nationalists] did far more to bring victory than hasten defeat".
Ambrose Bebb
, a founding member of the party, was one of the most outspoken party members in support of the War. Bebb considered Nazi Germany
's total defeat in the war as essential. Additionally, many of the Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru served in Britain's armed forces. Lewis maintained a strict neutrality in his writings through his column Cwrs y Byd in Y Faner. It was his attempt at an unbiased interpretation of the causes and events of the war.
Outside of the party's initial position on the war, party members were free to choose for themselves their level of support for the war effort
. Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru was officially neutral regarding involvement the Second World War, which party leaders considered a continuation of the First World War. Central to the neutrality policy was the idea that Wales, as a nation, had the right to decide independently on its attitude towards war, and the rejection of other nations to force Welshmen to serve in their armed forces. With this challenging and revolutionary policy Lewis hoped a significant number of Welshmen would refuse to join the British Army
.
Lewis, who served in the South Wales Borderers during the First World War, was not anti-military. Rather Lewis and other party members were attempting to strengthen loyalty to the Welsh nation
"over the loyalty to the British State
". Lewis argued "The only proof that the Welsh nation exists is that there are some who act as if it did exist".
However, most party members who claimed conscientious objection status did so in the context of their moral and religious beliefs, rather than on political conviction. Of these almost all were exempt from military service. About 24 party members made politics their sole grounds for exemption, of which twelve received prison sentences. For Lewis, those who objected proved that the assimilation of Wales was "being withstood, even under the most extreme pressures".
University of Wales by-election, 1943
Prior to 1950, universities could elect and return representatives to the UK parliament. In 1943 Lewis contested the University of Wales
parliamentary seat at a by-election, his opponent was former Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru deputy vice-president Dr William John Gruffydd
. Gruffydd had voiced doubts about Lewis' ideas since 1933, and by 1943 he had joined the Liberal party
. The "brilliant but wayward" Gruffydd was a favourite with Welsh-speaking intellectuals and drew 52.3 per cent of the vote, to Lewis' 22 per cent, or 1,330 votes.
The election effectively split the Welsh-speaking intelligentsia, and left Lewis embittered with politics. However, the experience proved invaluable for Plaid Cymru, as they began to refer to themselves, as "for the first time they were taken seriously as a political force".
The by-election campaign led directly to "considerable growth" for the party's membership.
was elected party president in 1945. Evans, born in Barry in Glamorgan
but spending most his life in Llangadog
in Carmarthenshire
, only learned to speak Welsh as an adult. Evans was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth
, and at St John's College, Oxford
, where he founded a branch of Plaid Cymru while he was a student. As a devout Christian pacifist, Evans was unconditionally released from conscription during the Second World War on grounds as a conscientious objector.
Building on a higher profile the party fielded more candidates in elections; and in the 1945 UK parliamentary election the party won 25 per cent of the vote in Caernarfon and 16 per cent in the Neath by-election. By 1945 Plaid Cymru was in a "better position then it had been in 1939," wrote Dr Davies.
Responding to Welsh nationalism; and despite opposition by Labour politicians such as Aneurin Bevan
, Morgan Phillips
and Attlee, the U.K. government
felt it prudent to establish the Council of Wales
in 1948, an unelected assembly of 27 with the brief of advising the UK government on matters of Welsh interest. The Council of Wales held no authority on its own, to the frustration of many of the councillors.
Following the war Plaid Cymru challenged the UK government's continued military conscription in peace time, and protested the War Office
's use of Welsh lands for training exercises. First in the Preseli Hills
in 1946, then in Tregaron
in 1947, and then Trawsfynydd
in 1951.
Through-out the 1950s Evans reached out to other political parties in Westminster to establish a parliament for Wales. Though failing to establish a Welsh assembly, there was movement on devolution. With Plaid Cymru expanding its influence further into the industrial south-east constituencies, the UK government gave in on small concessions towards devolution. First with the established a Minister of Welsh Affairs in 1951, then a Digest of Welsh Statistics began publication in 1954, and in 1955 Cardiff
(Caerdydd) was recognised as the Welsh capital city.
On Evans' initiative in response to a lack of Welsh-medium education at the college level, the University of Wales set up a committee for the creation of a Welsh-medium college in 1950. By 1955 the university announced its expansion of a Welsh-medium curriculum, and its continued expansion in relation to the demand for classes in Welsh. Additionally, Plaid Cymru was attracting members from other parties, such as one time Plaid Cymru critic Huw T. Edwards
, who resigned from the Council of Wales and left Labour in 1958 over what he described as "Whitehallism."
At a party conference in 1949, fifty members left Plaid Cymru over Evans' strict observance of a pacifist political doctrine
and over the party's continued emphasis on the Welsh language, but also because the party firmly rejected adopting a republican
manifesto
.
The disaffected founded the Welsh Republican Movement
which provided a home for radical ideas while Plaid Cymru matured as a political party, wrote historian John Davies.
Breaking up the following decade, some of its aspects were later absorbed into Plaid Cymru, such as the use of English and the engagement in English-speaking Welsh communities, echoing calls from Dr D.J. Davies. This was "key ... to the party's increasing acceptability" to voters, wrote Davies.
Leading Plaid Cymru members advocated that an independent Wales would be better served by a Welsh constitutional monarchy
, one which would engender the affection and allegiance of the Welsh people and legitimise Welsh sovereignty
. An hereditary constitutional monarch would, they argued, embody and personify Welsh national identity above party politics, while political parties formed governments in a parliamentary system
similar to those of Denmark
, Norway
, the Netherlands
, or Spain
.
Economist D.J. Davies, originally a republican, wrote an article in Y Faner in 1953, and later published in English in the 1958 book Towards Welsh Freedom, in which he advocated for the elevation of a Welsh gentry family
as the Royal Family
of Wales. Among the criteria for consideration, argued Davies, was that the family had to have a history of contributing to Welsh life and reside in Wales.
Davies wrote in 1953 of the Rhys/Rice family of Dinefwr in Carmarthen, suggesting their elevation to a restored Welsh kingship. Author Siôn T. Jobbins suggested the election of a member of the Windsor dynasty for an independent Wales.
see also Capel Celyn
, Llyn Celyn
In 1956, a private bill
sponsored by Liverpool City Council
was brought before the UK parliament
to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley
, in Meirionydd in Gwynedd. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn
(Holly Chapel), a Welsh speaking community of historic significance. Despite universal and bi-partisan objections by Welsh politicians (thirty five out of thirty six Welsh MPs
opposed the bill, and one abstained) the bill was passed in 1957.
Evans joined Dr Tudor Jones and Capel Celyn farmer David Roberts, aged 65, at the Liverpool Town Hall to protest, and had to be forcibly ejected by police.
The building of the reservoir was instrumental in an increase in support for Plaid Cymru during the late 1950s. Almost unanimous Welsh political opposition had failed to stop approval of the scheme, a fact that seemed to underline Plaid Cymru's argument that the Welsh national community was powerless. At the subsequent General Election the party's support increased from 3.1% to 5.2%.
Of perhaps greater significance, however, was the impetus the episode gave to Welsh devolution. The Council of Wales recommended the creation of a Welsh Office
(Swyddfa Gymreig) and Secretary of State for Wales
early in 1957, a time when the governance of Wales on a national level was so demonstrably lacking in many people's eyes.
The flooding of Capel Celyn also sharpened debate within Plaid Cymru about the use of direct action
. While the party emphasised its constitutional approach to stopping the development, it also sympathised with the actions of two party members (who of their own accord) attempted to sabotage the power supply at the site of the Tryweryn dam in 1962.
In October 1965 the Llyn Celyn
reservoir opened to a sizeable Plaid Cymru organised demonstration. During the opening ceremonies, "posters reading ‘Hands Off Wales’ were displayed and pieces of rock where thrown at Liverpool’s Lord Mayor and Chief Constable".
In 2005, the Liverpool City Council formally apologised for the flooding.
In 1962 Saunders Lewis gave a radio speech entitled Tynged yr iaith
(The Fate of the Language) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless action was taken. Lewis' intent was to motivate Plaid Cymru into more direct action promoting the language, however it led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) later that year at a Plaid Cymru summer school held in Pontardawe
in Glamorgan
. The foundation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg allowed for Plaid Cymru to focus on electoral politics, while the Cymdeithas focused on promoting the language.
Lewis gave his radio speech responding to the 1961 census, which showed a decrease in the number of Welsh speakers from 36% in 1931 to 26%, out of a population of about 2.5 million. In the census; Merionnydd, Ynys Mon, Carmarthen, and Caernarfon averaged 75% concentration of Welsh speakers, with the most significant decrease in the counties of Glamorgan
, Flint
, and Pembroke
.
Responding on the calls of Welsh devolution, in 1964 the Labour Government
gave effect to these proposals establishing the unelected Welsh Office
and Secretary of State for Wales
.
, then the Carmarthen by-election
of 14 July 1966 was reason for celebration. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru M.P. The contest was caused by the death of Lady Megan Lloyd George
, Liberal
MP and daughter of Lord David
, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor
.
Evans' surprise win is credited with laying the foundations for Winnie Ewing
's victory for the Scottish National Party
at the Hamilton by-election, 1967
, an event of equal significance for Scottish nationalism
.
This was followed by two further by-elections in Rhondda West
in 1967 and Caerphilly
in 1968 in which the party achieved massive swings of 30% and 40% respectively, coming within a whisker of victory as both also won a higher proportion of the vote then it had won in Carmarthen.
The results were caused partly by an anti-Labour backlash. However, in Carmarthen particularly, Plaid Cymru also successfully depicted Labour's policies as a threat to the viability of small Welsh communities. Expectations in coal mining communities that the Wilson
government would halt the long-term decline in their industry had been dashed by a significant downward revision of coal production estimates.
, the argument "in favour of a political system in Wales more answerable to the electorate" was plausible.
But by 1967 Labour retreated from endorsing home rule mainly because of the open hostility expressed by other Welsh Labour MPs to anything "which could be interpreted as a concession to nationalism", and because of opposition by the Secretary of State for Scotland
, who was responding to a growth of Scottish nationalism.
By 1967 the Welsh Language Act
was passed, giving some legal protection for the use of Welsh in official government business. The Act was based on the Hughes Parry report, published in 1965, which advocated equal validity for Welsh in speech and in written documents, both in the courts and in public administration in Wales. However the Act did not include all the Hughes Parry report's recommendations. Prior to the Act, only the English language could be spoken at government and court proceedings.
, Hunger strike
In the 1970 General Election
Plaid Cymru contested every seat in Wales for the first time and its vote share surged from 4.5% in 1966 to 11.5%. Also in that year, founding member Saunders Lewis was nominated for the Nobel Prize
for Literature. Evans, however, lost Carmarthen to Labour, lost again by three votes in February 1974
, but regained the seat in October 1974
, by which time the party had gained a further two MPs, representing the constituencies of Caernarfon
and Merionethshire
. Alarmed at the decrease in the number of Welsh speakers, Evans began a campaign for the establishment of a Welsh language television channel.
At the 1979 General Election
the party’s vote share declined from 10.8% to 8.1% and Carmarthen was again lost to Labour.
Plaid Cymru led the Yes Campaign in favor of devolution, though some party members were somewhat ambivalent toward home rule (as opposed to outright independence). The referendum
was held on St David's Day (March 1) 1979, but the people of Wales voted against proposals to establish a Welsh Assembly.
Only 12% of the Welsh electorate voted to set up a directly elected forum which would have been based in Cardiff
's Coal Exchange. The Assembly would have had the powers and budget of the Secretary of State for Wales
. The plans were defeated by a majority of 4:1 (956,330 against, 243,048 for). The Wales Act
contained a requirement that at least 40% of all voters backed the plan. After the referendum results many in the party questioned its direction.
Following the Yes Campaign's defeat, and believing Welsh nationalism was "in a paralysis of helplessness," the UK Conservative
government Home Secretary announced in September 1979 that the government would not honour its pledge in the previous May's election campaign to establish a Welsh language television channel, much to widespread anger and resentment in Wales, wrote Dr Davies.
In early 1980 over two thousand members of Plaid Cymru pledged to go to prison rather than pay the television licence fees, and by that spring Evans announced his intention to fast to death
if a Welsh language channel were not established. In early September 1980, Evans addressed thousands at a gathering in which "passions ran high," according to Dr Davies. The government yielded by 17 September, and the Welsh Fourth Channel (S4C
) was launched on 2 November 1982.
Caernarfon MP, Dafydd Wigley
succeeded Gwynfor Evans as president in 1981, inheriting a party whose morale was at an all-time low after the defeat of the Yes Campaign. In 1981 the party adopted "community socialism," or a "decentralised socialist state," as a constitutional aim. This was in part as a consequence of Thatcherism
's effect in Wales. While the party embarked on a wide-ranging review of its priorities and goals, Evans continued his successful campaign to oblige the Conservative
UK government to fulfil its promise to establish S4C.
Wigley's election was seen as instrumental in deciding the future direction of Plaid Cymru. Though Wigley described his own politics as 'right-wing', at the time he represented a moderate, pragmatic social democracy
policy, in sharp contrast with rival candidate Dafydd Elis Thomas' far-left socialism. Wigley's triumph was also somewhat a pyrrhic victory
– he won the presidency, but Thomas would have a greater influence over the party's ideology throughout the 1980s.
In 1984 Wigley resigned from the presidency because of his children's health. In the 1984 party leadership elections Dafydd Elis-Thomas was elected President, defeating Dafydd Iwan
, a move that saw the party shift to the political left. Wigley returned to the job in 1991 after the resignation of Elis-Thomas.
Ieuan Wyn Jones
captured Ynys Mon
from the Conservatives in 1987
.
The 1991 census revealed that the decline in the number of Welsh speakers was arrested, and remained at the 1981 levels of 18.7% in a Welsh population of over 2.8 million. Gwynedd retained the highest concentration of Welsh speakers with 61%, followed by Powys, Clwyd, and Dyfed averaging in the mid-twenty percentile.
, the new Labour Government argued that an Assembly would be more democratically accountable than the Welsh Office
, echoing calls for self-government since 1918.
For eleven years prior to 1997 Wales had been represented in the UK Cabinet
by a Secretary of State
who did not represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster
. Plaid Cymru joined a bi-partisan Yes for Wales
campaign, alongside the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
During the campaign for a Welsh Assembly, Diana, Princess of Wales
was killed in a car accident in France. The campaign had been temporarily suspended and it was wondered what effect the death of the Princess of Wales would have on the election. Commentators pondered what effect the death of the princess and focus on the UK Royal Family would have on the devolution debate and turn out.
A second referendum was held on 18 September 1997 in which voters approved the creation of the National Assembly for Wales by a majority of just 6,712 votes.
The following year the Government of Wales Act
was passed by UK parliament, establishing the National Assembly for Wales
.
In the 1999 election
Plaid Cymru gained seats in traditionally Labour areas such as in the Rhondda, Islwyn
and Llanelli and achieving by far their highest share of the vote in any Wales-wide election. Ieuan Wyn Jones
was the campaign director during Plaid Cymru's first elections to the Welsh Assembly in 1999. While Plaid Cymru presented themselves as the natural beneficiary of devolution, others attributed their performance in large part to the travails of the Labour Party, whose nomination for Assembly First Secretary, Ron Davies, was forced to stand down in an alleged sex scandal
. The ensuing leadership battle did much to damage Labour, and thus aid Plaid Cymru whose leader, by contrast, was the more popular and higher profile Dafydd Wigley
. The UK Labour
national leadership was seen to interfere in the contest and deny the popular Rhodri Morgan
victory. Less than two months later, with a further slump in Labour support, Plaid Cymru came within 2.5 percentage points of gaining the largest vote share in Wales. Under the new system of elections, the party also gained two MEPs.
Lord Elis-Thomas was elected Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales
.
at Llanelli
, Cynog Dafis
, Plaid Cymru AM for Mid and West Wales, called for a new Welsh language movement with greater powers to lobby for the Welsh language at the Assembly, UK, and EU levels. Dafis felt the needs of the language were ignored during the first year of the Assembly, and that in order to ensure a dynamic growth of the Welsh language a properly resourced strategy was needed In his speech Dafis encouraged other Welsh language advocacy groups to work closer together creating a more favorable climate in which using Welsh was "attractive, exciting, a source of pride and a sign of strength". Additionally, Dafis pointed towards efforts in areas such as Catalonia
and the Basque country
as successful examples to emulate.
Lord Elis-Thomas disagreed with Dafis assessment, however. At the Urdd Eisteddfod Lord Elis-Thomas said that there was no need for another Welsh language act, citing that there was "enough goodwill to safeguard the language's future". His controversial comments prompted Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to joined a chorus calling for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer.
Lord Elis-Thomas was also under fire from Welsh Labour's Alun Michael
for his endorsement of Ieuan Wyn Jones as Plaid Cymru's president, however Elis-Thomas said he volunteered his preference as a matter of public interest and as a party member, not in his position as Assembly presiding officer.
Dafydd Wigley resigned late 2000, citing health problems but amid rumours of a plot against him. Ieuan Wyn Jones was elected President of Plaid Cymru with 77% of the vote over Helen Mary Jones
a few months later. Jones reshuffled the party leadership with Jocelyn Davies
as Business Manager;
Elin Jones
as Chief Whip and Agriculture & Rural Development Officer; Phil Williams as Economic Development; and Helen Mary Jones
as Environment, Transport and Planning, plus Equal Opportunities.
The party's move toward the political centre during this period may have been made easier by the formation of Welsh language pressure group Cymuned
(Community) and the Cymru Annibynnol
(The Independent Wales party), which provided another home for "radicals".
Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party
, having cooperated together since the 1980s, formalised their relationship by establishing the Celtic Alliance voting block in 2001. The Celtic Alliance created the third largest oppositional voting block in the UK parliament.
Llandudno Party Conference
At the Llandudno
Plaid Cymru party conference of 2002, Jones called for greater Assembly authority "[on parity] with Scotland's parliament", and "opposed any military conflict in Iraq, saying it would destabilise the Middle East". Jones also criticised health and public services policies and would end the "endless revamping of structures and administration".
, gentrification
Controversy erupted in mid-winter 2001 when Seimon Glyn, Gwynedd County Council's
housing committee chairman and Plaid Cymru member, voiced frustration over "English immigrants" moving into traditionally Welsh speaking communities. Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the dilemma of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with the report warning that '...traditional Welsh communities could die out..." as a consequence.
Much of the rural Welsh real-estate market was driven by a cycle of growing dormitory towns
, which was exacerbated by second home buyers and growing retirement communities. Many buyers were drawn to Wales from England because of relatively inexpensive house prices in Wales as compared to house prices in England. The rise in home prices outpaced the average earnings income in Wales, and meant that many local people could not afford to purchase their first home or compete against commuter or second-home buyers.
In 2001 nearly a third of all properties in Gwynedd were bought by buyers from out of the county, and with some communities reporting as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes. Holiday home owners spend less than six months of the year in the local community. Additional concern was expressed by Cymuned, which included disillusioned Plaid Cymru members, when it was pointed out that real-estate in North Wales
was specifically marketed to affluent buyers in England rather than marketed to locals. These growing dormitory towns along the North Wales Expressway
serve more as commuter communities for Chester
and other cross-border cities, effectively driving-out Welsh-speaking communities, activists pointed out.
In housing markets where commuters are wealthier and small town housing markets weaker than city housing markets or suburbs, the development of a bedroom community may raise local housing prices and attract upscale service businesses in a process called gentrification
. Long-time residents may be displaced by new commuter residents due to rising house prices. This can also be influenced by zoning restrictions in urbanised areas that prevent the construction of suitably cheap housing closer to places of employment.
The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicated the issue, as many new residents did not learn the Welsh language.
Concern for the Welsh language under these pressures prompted Glyn to say "Once you have more than 50% of anybody living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose your indigenous tongue almost immediately".
Plaid Cymru had long advocated controls on second homes, and a 2001 taskforce headed by Dafydd Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable local housing, and called for grants for locals to buy houses, and recommended council tax on holiday homes should double, following similar measures in the Scottish Highlands
.
However the Welsh Labour-Liberal Democrat
Assembly coalition rebuffed these proposals, with Assembly housing spokesman Peter Black
stating that "we [can not] frame our planning laws around the Welsh language", adding "Nor can we take punitive measures against second home owners in the way that they propose as these will have an impact on the value of the homes of local people".
In contrast, by fall 2001 the Exmoor National Park authority in England began limiting home ownership there which was also driving up local housing prices by as much as 31%. Elfyn Llwyd
, Plaid Cymru's parliamentary group leader, said that the issues in Exmoor National Park were the same as in Wales, however in Wales there is the added dimension of language and culture.
Reflecting on the controversy Glyn's comments caused earlier in the year, Llwyd observed "What is interesting is of course it is fine for Exmoor to defend their community but in Wales when you try to say these things it is called racist..."
Llwyd called on other parties to join in a debate to bring the Exmoor experience to Wales when he said "... I really do ask them and I plead with them to come around the table and talk about the Exmoor suggestion and see if we can now bring it into Wales".
By spring 2002 both the Snowdonia National Park
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) authorities began limiting second home ownership within the parks, following the example set by Exmoor. According to planners in Snowdonia and Pembroke applicants for new homes must demonstrate a proven local need or the applicant had strong links with the area.
In the 2001 General Election
, Plaid Cymru lost Jones' old seat of Ynys Môn
to Labour's Albert Owen
. An internal report commissioned by Plaid Cymru following the 2001 General Election attributed the loss of significant votes directly to Glyn's controversial comments. Despite this, Plaid Cymru recorded their highest ever vote share in a General Election of 14.3%, gaining Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
and electing Adam Price
.
According to the 2001 census the number of Welsh speakers in Wales increased for the first time in 100 years, with 20.5% in a population of over 2.9 million claiming fluency in Welsh, or one in five. Additionally, 28% of the population of Wales claimed to understand Welsh. The census revealed that the increase was most significant in urban areas; such as Cardiff (Caerdydd) with an increase from 6.6% in 1991 to 10.9% in 2001, and Rhondda Cynon Taff
with an increase from 9% in 1991 to 12.3% in 2001. However, the percentage of Welsh speakers declined in Gwynedd
from 72.1% in 1991 to 68.7%, and in Ceredigion
from 59.1% in 1991 to 51.8%. Ceredigion in particular experienced the greatest fluctuation with a 19.5% influx of new residents since 1991, partially attributable to the inclusion of transient collage students at local universities.
The census also revealed that one-third of the population of Wales described themselves as of British nationality, with respondents having to write in whether or not they were Welsh. Controversy surrounding the method of determining nationality began as early as 2000, when it was revealed that respondents in Scotland and Northern Ireland would be able to check a box describing themselves as Scottish or Irish, an option not available for Welsh respondents.
Prior to the Census, Plaid Cymru backed a petition calling for the inclusion of a Welsh tickbox and for the National Assembly to have primary law-making powers and its own National Statistics Office.
With an absence of a Welsh tickbox, the only other tickbox available was 'white-British,' 'Irish', or 'other'. Critics expected a higher proportion of respondents describing themselves as of Welsh nationality had a Welsh tickbox been available. Additional criticism targeted the timing of the census, which was taken in the middle of the Foot and Mouth crisis of 2001, a fact organisers said did not impact the results. However, the Foot and Mouth crisis did delay UK General Elections
, the first time since the Second World War any event postponed an election.
and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal
in the Mittal Affair
, also known as 'Garbagegate' or Cash for Influence. Mittal's LNM steel company, registered in the Dutch Antilles and maintaining less than 1% of its 100,000 plus workforce in the UK, sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase Romania
's state steel industry. The letter from Blair to the Romanian government, a copy of which Price was able to obtain, hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the European Union.
The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend".
In exchange for Blair's support Mittal, already a Labour contributor, donated £125,000 more to Labour party funds a week after the 2001 UK General Elections, while as many as six thousand Welsh steelworkers were laid off that same year, Price and others pointed out. Mittal's company, then the fourth largest in the world, was a "major global competitor of Britain's own struggling steel industry, Corus
, formerly known as British Steel
". Corus and Valkia Limited were two of the primary employers in South Wales, particularly in Ebbw Vale
, Llanwern
, and Port Talbot
.
Within a week of the Assembly elections, there were accusations of a plot headed by AM Helen Mary Jones and four other Plaid Cymru Assembly Members manoeuvering for Jones' removal. But Helen Mary Jones denied involvement. However, Ieuan Wyn Jones resigned as both party president
and leader of the assembly group.
By summer 2003 the party underwent a constitutional reorganisation dividing its Cardiff Bay
and Westminster
responsibilities. The organisational change prompted new party elections, with Ieuan Wyn Jones standing again for Assembly group leadership, having received both grassroots support from "all over Wales" and senior party members.
With the move towards digital programming, Plaid Cymru urged the "UK government to make Wales one of the first areas to completely switch over to digital television from the current analogue service".
In August 2004, Adam Price began a campaign to impeach
then UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair
over the alleged misleading of the UK Parliament and for allegedly making a secret agreement with then US President George W. Bush
to overthrow Saddam Hussein
, amongst other charges. Plaid's Parliament group leader Elfyn Llwyd
and then Scottish National Party
(SNP) group leader Alex Salmond
co-drafted the motion.
Impeachment had not been used in the UK for one hundred and fifty years. If successful, it could have seen Blair tried before the House of Lords
; however, as expected, the measure failed.
On 17 March 2005 Price was ejected from the Commons chamber after accusing the Prime Minister of having "misled" Parliament and then refusing to withdraw his comment, in violation of the rules of the House.
In November 2005, the campaign announced a new motion (this time with the support of the Liberal Democrats) asking for a Commons committee to examine the conduct of ministers before and after the war. The campaign tabled an Early Day Motion:
The motion collected 151 signatures, including some Labour back-benchers.
By October 2006, Price opened a three hour debate on an inquiry into the Iraq War, the first such debate in over two years. The SNP and Plaid Cymru motion proposing a committee of seven senior MPs to review "the way in which the responsibilities of government were discharged in relation to Iraq", was defeated by 298 votes to 273, a Government majority of 25, but was supported by a significant number of opposition MPs, and twelve "rebel" Labour MPs, including Glenda Jackson
.
Despite the lack of debate on the original impeachment motion, Price pledged to continue his campaign. However, with the resignation of Blair on 27 June 2007, the entire issue of impeachment may now be moot.
, attended by thousands, Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Iwan said "For Plaid Cymru members and supporters, young and old, Gwynfor Evans has been Plaid Cymru's spiritual leader and will continue to be so. It is impossible to underestimate Gwynfor's unique contribution to building Plaid Cymru into the party it is today".
Evans was "Wales' most remarkable politician," according to Plaid Cymru parliamentary group leader Elfyn Llwyd, adding that Evans will be remembered for his "fearless dedication to the cause of peace and international understanding". Evans was voted third Top Welsh millennium hero in 2000, and fourth Welsh hero in 2004, according to BBC Wales
online polls.
was founded in 2005 to merge Plaid Cymru's two existing movements in to one new youth movement. The student federation, 'the ffed', and the youth movement were merged to create a brand new youth organisation available to anyone under the age of 30.
CymruX is run by its National Committee. The committee is elected every March.
While working as President of the Aberystwyth Guild of Students
, Bethan Jenkins
saw Plaid Cymru defeated in Ceredigion. After leaving Aberystwyth University, Jenkins worked in the office of Leanne Wood AM
and used her contacts there to set up the organisation Cymru X
. Cymru X launched the first ever interactive text referendum on a Parliament for Wales, as well as campaigns against nuclear arms. Glyn Wise from Big Brother
fame also took part in a campaign alongside Cymru X to encourage young people to vote prior to the National Assembly election in 2007.
There are also some link-ups with the student and youth wings of the SNP.
Helen Mary Jones, however, disagreed with McAllister's assessment and in 2005 said that "Plaid Cymru speaks to and for all the people of Wales." Former Rhondda Cynon Taff
Plaid Cymru councillor Syd Morgan agreed with Helen Mary Jones and said that the issue was not with the party's message, but because of a lack of a "modern corporate image" that the "party as a whole does not resonate with the people of Wales."
In February 2006 Plaid Cymru undertook changes to its party structure, including designating the Welsh Assembly group leader as the overall party leader. This move placed Ieuan Wyn Jones again at the head of the party, with Dafydd Iwan remaining party president and popular Dafydd Wigley remaining Honorary President.
Responding to calls from within the party to reinvigorate its image, at a party conference the unveiling of a radical change of image prompted some controversy from within the party. Changes included officially using "Plaid" as the party's name, although "Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales" remained the official title. The adoption of Plaid, which had long been used in less formal speech as referring to the party, was a recognition of its use for all party business. Additionally, the party's colours were changed from the traditional green and red to yellow, while the party logo was changed from the 'triban' (three peaks) used since 1933 to a yellow Welsh poppy
(Meconopsis cambrica).
was heavily criticised by Plaid for not delivering a fully-fledged parliament. Additionally, Plaid criticised the Welsh Labour Party's allegedly partisan attempt to alter the electoral system. By preventing regional Assembly Members from standing in constituency seats Welsh Labour was accused of "changing the rules" to protect constituency representatives. Labour had 29 members in the Assembly at the time, all of whom held constituency seats.
of May 3, 2007, Plaid increased its number of seats from 12 to 15, regaining Llanelli, gaining one additional list seat and winning the newly created constituency of Aberconwy The 2007 election also saw Plaid's Mohammad Asghar
become the first ethnic minority candidate elected to the Welsh Assembly. The Party's share of the vote increased to 22.4%. After a tight race, Helen Mary Jones
won back the important Llanelli constituency for Plaid, with a majority of 3,884 votes.
Plaid AM Dr Dai Lloyd
hailed the 2007 Assembly election campaign as the "most professional" campaign that Plaid had run, and made special note that it was funded from exclusively Welsh sources. In the 2007 Assembly election Plaid spent just under £261,286 on the campaign, about three times that of the 2003 Assembly elections.
On 19 October 2007, Plaid AM Asghar escaped death as a terrorist explosion in Karachi
, Pakistan
, killed 130 others. He had been within 35 metres of the blast. Asghar had accompanied Benazir Bhutto
, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and intended target, on her return there from exile.
Following the Assembly elections, a UK parliamentary standards and privileges committee found Plaid MPs Elfyn Llwyd, Adam Price and Hywel Williams
guilty of improperly advertising during the elections. Though the committee admitted the three did not break any clear rules of the UK House of Commons, the committee believed the timing of the adverts was planned to coincide with the Assembly elections.
Parliamentary funds are available for MPs to communicate with constituents regularly. However the committee found that the three used this communication allowance improperly as part of Plaid's campaigning during the elections as the adverts were placed in publications with a circulation outside of their respective constituencies.
Plaid MP group leader Elfyn Llwyd said that they had "...acted in good faith throughout, and fully in line with the advice that was offered to us by the DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) at the time of the publication of the reports", but that they would comply with the findings. The three had to repay the money, about five thousand pounds each, and report the costs as part of Plaid's election spending.
Plaid entered into negotiations with Welsh Labour to form a stable government only after Plaids initial attempts to form a three-party coalition with the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties failed. The "One Wales
" agreement hammered out promised aid to "first-time house-buyers, pensioners and students and a review of NHS reconfiguration", and with a "commitment by Welsh Labour to campaign favourably for full parliamentary powers, similar to the Scottish Parliament
, in a referendum held before 2011". The historicOne Wales agreement was approved by both political parties by 7 July. Only a coalition between Plaid and Welsh Labour would provide the necessary two-thirds majority in the Assembly to trigger the referendum.
The One Wales agreement did receive criticism from fellow Plaid members. Plaid's honorary president Wigley summarised disagreement when he warned that the pact was reached too quickly and not enough planning had gone into it. Wigley believed that the agreement's failings might jeopardise the Assembly receiving full parliamentary powers by a 2011 referendum, and that other provisions of the agreement would not be fully funded. Indeed, with the budget outlined after the coalition was formed Plaid was obliged to defend spending cuts it may have otherwise criticised.
Queen Elizabeth II confirmed Ieuan Wyn Jones as Deputy First Minister of Wales and minister for Economy and Transport on July 11, 2007. Plaid's deputy president Rhodri Glyn Thomas
, who argued in favour of the Welsh language channel S4C becoming bilingual after digital switchover despite the circumstances of S4C's founding, was appointed Heritage Minister. Ceredigion AM Elin Jones
was appointed to the Rural Affairs brief in the new ten member Cabinet. As if in an effort to underscore Plaid's identity within the coalition, Plaid ministers sit with the Plaid assembly group rather than with Labour cabinet members.
Of Plaid's entering into government for the first time Jones said "The party's role so far has been one of the opposition party, which put pressure on the other parties to move things forward for the benefit of Wales". Speaking about moderation and consensus at the British-Irish Council
at Stormont
on 16 July 2007, Jones said that Wales has seen "a coming together of parties with different traditions, on the basis of a shared programme for government, and a shared commitment to improve the lives of all our people in all parts of Wales".
Jones joined the Queen representing Wales in Belgium at the 90th anniversary ceremony of the Third Battle of Ypres at Passchendaele (World War I). During the battle celebrated Welsh poet Hedd Wyn
had died, along with thousands of other Welshmen.
news broadcasts
. Price threatened to withhold future television licence
fees in response to a lack of thorough news coverage of Wales, echoing a BBC Audience Council for Wales July report citing public frustration over how the Welsh Assembly is characterised in national media. AM Bethan Jenkins agreed with Price and called for responsibility for broadcasting to be devolved to the Welsh Assembly, voicing similar calls from Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond
. Criticism of the BBC's news coverage for Wales and Scotland since devolution prompted debate of possibly providing evening news broadcasts with specific focus for both countries.
Grass roots party members blame the policy of placing women at the top of regional lists as the cause for Dafydd Wigley's failure to be elected to the Assembly. Plaid began the policy of placing women at the top of regional lists to attract more women into the political process, however opponents pointed out that the policy discriminated against men. In the so called Zip system whoever wins the greatest amount of party votes will be placed at the top of the regional list, followed by the opposite gender candidate who received the next highest vote share.
Additionally, Plaid parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd
encouraged the party to nominate peers into the UK House of Lords
, citing that Plaid peers would "help ensure planned legislation for Wales was not blocked at Westminster", adding that many in the Lords may want to prevent full law-making powers for Wales. With consensus building from within the party to nominate peers, honorary party president Dafydd Wigley
was nominated for peerage. Other Plaid nominees for life peerage include Eurfyl ap Gwilym
, and Janet Davies
. Currently, Lord Elis-Thomas is the lone Plaid peer.
In a September 2007 poll, "83% of the people of Wales now support self-government – with a clear majority of the Welsh electorate supporting a full law-making and a tax-varying Parliament for Wales", according to Plaid MP for Caernarfon, Hywel Williams
.
:Category:Plaid Cymru politicians
Pwllheli
Pwllheli is a community and the main market town of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-western Wales. It has a population of 3,861, of which a large proportion, 81 per cent, are Welsh speaking. Pwllheli is the place where Plaid Cymru was founded. It is the birthplace of Albert Evans-Jones -...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
. Representatives from the Army of the Welsh Home Rulers (Byddin Ymreolwr Cymru) and The Welsh Movement (Y Mudiad Cymreig), both founded only the previous year, agreed to meet and discuss the need of a "Welsh party". Founded originally under the name Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, the National Party of Wales, the party would attract members from the political left, the political right, and the political centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
, both monarchists and republicans
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, whose principal aims include the promotion of the Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and for the political independence
Welsh independence
Welsh independence is a political ideal advocated by some people in Wales that would see Wales secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state. This ideology is promoted mainly by the Welsh nationalist party, Plaid Cymru.-History:...
of the Welsh nation
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
.
According to historian Professor John Davies
John Davies (historian)
John Davies is a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster.Davies was born in the Rhondda, Wales, and studied at both University College, Cardiff, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is married with four children...
, it was Dr. D.J. Davies'
David James Davies
Dr. D.J. Davies , was a Welsh economist, industrialist, prize winning essayist, author, political activist, pilot, and an internationalist...
ideas which were more influential in shaping long-term Plaid Cymru ideology and adopted by Plaid president Dr. Gwynfor Evans
Gwynfor Evans
Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster ....
following the Second World War. D. J. Davies was an "equally significant figure" as Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party...
in Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism
Welsh nationalism emphasises the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history, and calls for more self-determination for Wales, which may include more Devolved powers for the Welsh Assembly or full independence from the United Kingdom.-Conquest:...
history, argues Professor John Davies. However, Davies wrote that it was Lewis' "brilliance and charismatic appeal" which was firmly associated with the party of the 1930s.
Initially successful as an educational pressure group, events surrounding Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn) in the 1930s, adopting a pacifist political doctrine, and protests against the Flooding of Capel Celyn in the 1950s helped define Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. These early events were followed by Evan's election to the United Kingdom Parliament in 1966, campaigning for The Welsh Language Act of 1967 and Evan's Hunger Strike for a dedicated Welsh language television channel in 1981.
Plaid Cymru is the third largest political party in Wales, with 11 of 60 seats in the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. From 2007 to 2011, it was the junior partner in the One Wales
One Wales
One Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between Labour and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding...
coalition government, with Welsh Labour. Plaid holds one of the four Welsh seats in the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
, three of the 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, and has 205 of 1,264 principal local authority councillors. According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
for the year of 2004, the party has an income and expenditure of about £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
500,000.
Foundation 1925
Discussions for the need of a "Welsh party" had been circulating since the 19th century. With the generation or so before 1922 there "had been a marked growth in the constitutional recognition of the Welsh nation", wrote historian Dr. John DaviesJohn Davies (historian)
John Davies is a Welsh historian, and a television and radio broadcaster.Davies was born in the Rhondda, Wales, and studied at both University College, Cardiff, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He is married with four children...
. A Welsh national consciousness
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
re-emerged during the 19th century; leading to the establishment of the National Eisteddfod in 1861, the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
(Prifysgol Cymru) in 1893, and the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
(Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru) in 1911, and by 1915 the Welsh Guards
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
(Gwarchodlu Cymreig) was formed to include Wales in the UK national component to the Foot Guards
Foot Guards
-British Army:The Foot Guards are the Regular Infantry regiments of the Household Division of the British Army. There have been six regiments of foot guards, five of which still exist. The Royal Guards Reserve Regiment was a reserve formation of the Household Brigade in existence from 1900-1901...
. By 1924 there were people in Wales "eager to make their nationality the focus of Welsh politics".
Support for home rule
Home rule
Home rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
for Wales and Scotland amongst most political parties was strongest in 1918 following the independence of other European countries after the First World War, and the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
in Ireland, wrote Dr. Davies. However, in the UK General Elections of 1922, 1923, and 1924; "Wales as a political issue was increasingly eliminated from the [national agenda]". By August 1925 unemployment in Wales rose to 28.5%, this in contrast to the economic boom in the early 1920s. For Wales, the long depression began in 1925.
It was in this climate that the Welsh Home Rulers group and the Welsh Movement met. Both organisations sent a delegation of three to the meeting, with H.R. Jones heading the Welsh Home Rulers group and Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party...
heading The Welsh Movement. They were joined by Lewis Valentine
Lewis Valentine
Lewis Edward Valentine was a Welsh politician, Baptist pastor, author, editor, and Welsh-language activist.-Early life:Valentine was born in Llanddulas, Conwy, the son of Samuel Valentine, a limestone quarryman, and his wife Mary...
, D.J. Williams, and Ambrose Bebb
Ambrose Bebb
William Ambrose Bebb was a Welsh author and politician.Ambrose Bebb was the son of diarist Edward Hughes Bebb, and the father of noted Welsh rugby international Dewi Bebb...
, among others. The principal aim of the party was to foster a Welsh speaking Wales. To this end it was agreed that party business be conducted in Welsh, and that members sever all links with other British parties. Lewis insisted on these principles before he would agree to the Pwllheli conference.
According to the 1911 census, out of a population of just under 2.5 million, 43.5% of the total population of Wales spoke Welsh as a primary language. This was a decrease from the 1891 census with 54.4% speaking Welsh out of a population of 1.5 million.
With these prerequisites Lewis condemned "'Welsh nationalism' as it had hitherto existed, a nationalism characterised by inter-party conferences, an obsession with Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
and a willingness to accept a subservient position for the Welsh language", wrote Dr. Davies. It may be because of these strict positions that the party failed to attract politicians of experience in its early years. However, the party's members believed its founding was an achievement in itself; "merely by existing, the party was a declaration of the distinctiveness of Wales", wrote Dr. Davies.
In these early years Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru published a monthly paper called Y Ddraig Goch (the Red Dragon, the national symbol of Wales) and held an annual summer school.
H.R. Jones, the party's full-time secretary, established a few party branches, while Valentine served as party president between 1925 and 1926. In the UK General Election of 1929, Valentine stood for Caernarfon and polled 609 votes. Later they became known as 'the Gallant Six Hundred' when Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan , is a Welsh folk singer and politician. He was the president of Plaid Cymru .Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynaman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and is the elder brother of politician Alun Ffred Jones. He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of...
, the current party president, immortalised them in song.
By 1932 the aims of self government and Welsh representation at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
had been added to that of preserving Welsh language and culture. However this move, and the party's early attempts to develop an economic critique, did not lead to the broadening of its appeal beyond that of an intellectual and socially conservative Welsh language pressure group.
The Lewis Doctrine 1926–1939
During the inter-war years, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru was most successful as a social and educational pressure group rather than as a political party. For Saunders Lewis, party president 1926–1939, "the chief aim of the party [is] to 'take away from the Welsh their sense of inferiority... to remove from our beloved country the mark and shame of conquest.'" Lewis sought to cast Welshness into a new context, wrote Dr Davies.Lewis wished to demonstrate how Welsh heritage was linked as one of the 'founders of European civilisation. Lewis, a self-described "strong monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
", wrote "Civilization is more than an abstraction. It must have a local habitation and name. Here its name is Wales". Additionally, Lewis strove for the stability and well-being of Welsh-speaking communities, decried both capitalism and socialism and promoted what he called perchentyaeth; a policy of 'distributing property among the masses.
Broadcasting campaigns and 1931 Census
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave...
, Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru protested the lack of Welsh language programmes in Wales and launched a campaign to withhold license fees. Pressure was successful, and by the mid 1930s more Welsh language programming was broadcast, with the formal establishment of a Welsh regional broadcasting channel by 1937.
According to the 1931 census, out of a population of just over 2.5 million, the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales dropped to 36.8%, with Ynys Mon
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
recording the highest concentration of speakers at 87.4%, followed by Cardigan
Cardigan, Ceredigion
Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Mid Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the pre-1974 county of Cardiganshire. It is the second largest town in Ceredigion. The town's population was 4,203...
at 87.1%, Merionedd
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
at 86.1%, and Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
at 82.3%. Caernarfon listed 79.2%. Radnor
New Radnor
New Radnor is a village in Powys, mid Wales. It was the original county town of Radnorshire. The population today is around 400, a higher than normal proportion of which are pensioners...
and Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
ranked lowest with a concentration of Welsh speakers less than 6% of the population speaking Welsh.
Tân yn Llŷn 1936
see also PenyberthPenyberth
Penyberth was a farmhouse at Penrhos, on the Llŷn Peninsula near Pwllheli, Gwynedd, which had been the home to generations of patrons of poets, but destroyed in 1936 in order to build a training camp and aerodrome for the RAF....
Welsh nationalism was ignited in 1936 when the UK government settled on establishing a bombing school at Penyberth
Penyberth
Penyberth was a farmhouse at Penrhos, on the Llŷn Peninsula near Pwllheli, Gwynedd, which had been the home to generations of patrons of poets, but destroyed in 1936 in order to build a training camp and aerodrome for the RAF....
on the Llŷn peninsula
Llŷn Peninsula
The Llŷn Peninsula extends into the Irish Sea from north west Wales, south west of the Isle of Anglesey. It is part of the modern county and historic region of Gwynedd. The name is thought to be of Irish origin, and to have the same root Laigin in Irish as the word Leinster...
in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
. The events surrounding the protest, known as Tân yn Llŷn (Fire in Llŷn), helped define Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. The UK government settled on Llŷn as the site for its new bombing school after similar locations Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
and Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
were met with protests.
However, UK Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
refused to hear the case against the bombing school in Wales, despite a deputation representing half a million Welsh protesters. Protest against the bombing school was summed up by Lewis when he wrote that the UK government was intent upon turning one of the 'essential homes of Welsh culture, idiom
Idiom
Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
, and literature
Literature of Wales (Welsh language)
After literature written in the classical languages literature in the Welsh language is the oldest surviving literature in Europe. The Welsh literary tradition stretches from the 6th century to the twenty-first. Its fortunes have fluctuated over the centuries, in line with those of the Welsh...
' into a place for promoting a barbaric method of warfare. Construction of the bombing school building began exactly 400 years after the first Act of Union annexing Wales into England.
On 8 September 1936 the bombing school building was set on fire and in the investigations which followed Saunders Lewis, Lewis Valentine, and D. J. Williams claimed responsibility. The trial at Caernarfon failed to agree on a verdict and the case was sent to the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
in London. The "Three" were sentenced to nine months' imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs
Wormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
, and on their release they were greeted as heroes by fifteen thousand Welsh at a pavilion Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
.
Dafydd Glyn Jones
Dafydd Glyn Jones is a Welsh scholar and lexicographer, born in the village of Carmel, Gwynedd. He is a specialist in Middle Welsh prose, and his other interests include Welsh history, Robert Jones, Rhoslan, and the life and work of Emrys ap Iwan....
wrote of the fire that it was "the first time in five centuries that Wales struck back at England with a measure of violence... To the Welsh people, who had long ceased to believe that they had it in them, it was a profound shock".
However, despite the acclaim the events of Tân yn Llŷn generated, by 1938 Lewis' concept of perchentyaeth was firmly rejected as not a fundamental tenet of the party. In 1939 Lewis resigned as Plaid Genedleathol Cymru president citing that Wales was not ready to accept the leadership of a Roman Catholic. Academic and theologian J E Daniel
John Edward Daniel
John Edward Daniel was a Welsh theologian and college lecturer who became chairman of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru.-Life:...
, the party's former vice-president between 1931–1935, was elected as president of Plaid Cenedlaethol Cymru in 1939, serving until 1943.
Criticism
Saunders Lewis' perceived "elitist views", and a "condescending attitude towards some aspects of nonconformistNonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
, radical
Radicalization
Radicalization is the process in which an individual changes from passiveness or activism to become more revolutionary, militant or extremist. Radicalization is often associated with youth, adversity, alienation, social exclusion, poverty, or the perception of injustice to self or others.-...
and pacifist traditions of Wales" drew criticism from fellow nationalist such as David James (D.J.) Davies
David James Davies
Dr. D.J. Davies , was a Welsh economist, industrialist, prize winning essayist, author, political activist, pilot, and an internationalist...
, a leftist Plaid Cymru party member and founder. Davies argued in favour of engaging English-speaking Welsh communities, and stressed the territorial integrity of Wales. Davies pointed towards Scandinavian countries
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
as a model to emulate, and was active in the economic implications of Welsh self-government.
Speaking at the North American Association for the Study of Welsh Culture and History in Gallia County, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, in 2001, Professor John Davies said
The other strand of Welsh twentieth-century radicalism- that of Plaid Cymru- also had American associations. While Saunders Lewis looked to France and Rome, that equally significant figure D.J. Davies looked to the Nordic countries and to America, in whose armed forcesUnited States ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
he served in the First World War, as a protest against the class bound attitudes of the officers of the British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. His inspiration came above all from the New DealNew DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
, and year in year out the model he offered for the regeneration of depression-ridden Wales was the work of the Tennessee Valley AuthorityTennessee Valley AuthorityThe Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
.
It was Davies' ideal of Welsh nationalism which was adopted by Plaid Cymru after the Second World War, wrote Dr. Davies. But it was Lewis' "brilliance and charismatic appeal" which was firmly associated with Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru in the 1930s.
Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru's appeal may have been further complicated by the apparent "fascist-style corporatism shown by [Lewis] and other Roman Catholic leaders of the party", according to historian Lord Morgan
Kenneth O. Morgan, Baron Morgan
Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on Modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is also a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and television....
. Author G. A. Williams characterised the party of the 1930s as a "right wing force", and "Its journal refused to resist Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
or Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, ignored or tolerated anti-Semitism and, in effect, came out in support of Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
".
However, within the context
Context (language use)
Context is a notion used in the language sciences in two different ways, namely as* verbal context* social context- Verbal context :...
of the 1930s, other UK politicians of other parties offered endorsements for fascist leaders. In 1933 Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
characterised Mussolini as 'the greatest lawgiver among men', and later wrote in his 1937 book Great Contemporaries
Great Contemporaries
Great Contemporaries is a collection of 25 short biographical essays about famous people written by Winston Churchill.The original collection of 21 essays published in 1937 were mainly written between 1928 and 1931. Four were added to the book in the 1939 edition, about Lord Fisher, Charles...
, "If our country were defeated, I hope we should find a champion as admirable (as Hitler) to restore our courage and lead us back to our place among the nations". In the same work, Churchill expressed a hope that despite Hitler's apparent dictatorial tendencies, he would use his power to rebuild Germany into a worthy member of the world community. And in August 1936, Liberal party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
member David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
met Hitler at Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
and offered some public comments that were surprisingly favourable to the German dictator, expressing warm enthusiasm both for Hitler personally and for Germany's public works schemes (upon returning, he wrote of Hitler in the Daily Express as "the greatest living German", "the George Washington of Germany").
Bards under the bed 1939–1945
During the Second World War the UK government felt it prudent to "avoid action which might foster the growth of an extreme Welsh nationalist movement". Clement AttleeClement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
, then UK Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs
The position of Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs was a British cabinet level position created in 1925 responsible for British relations with the Dominions — Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland, and the Irish Free State, as well as the self-governing colony of...
, voiced concern over Welsh nationalists after a deputation of Welsh Labour UK parliamentarians met with him about ignoring Welsh issues during the conflict.
Attlee characterised Welsh nationalists as "mischievous [who] tend to be against the war effort
War effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
". To root-out Welsh nationalist sympathies within army units, the UK government minister of Labour and National Service reported that Welsh speaking men were posted to predominantly Welsh speaking units
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
to report on anti-war sympathies.
Additional plans were developed to counter growing Plaid Cymru influence and included "rolling out" a member of the U.K. Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
to "smooth things over", according to then constitutional expert Edward Iwi. In a report he gave to Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
, Iwi proposed to make the then Princess Elizabeth Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
of Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle
Caernarfon Castle is a medieval building in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure...
(a post held by David Lloyd George), and patroness of Urdd Gobaith Cymru
Urdd Gobaith Cymru
dde|200px|thumb|The Urdd logoUrdd Gobaith Cymru, literally, the Welsh League of Hope, but normally translated as the Welsh League of Youth, or merely referred to as the Urdd, is a Welsh-medium youth movement with over 1,500 branches and over 50,000 members...
, and a tour of Wales as Urdd's patroness.
The idea of posting the princess as constable of Caernarfon Castle was rejected by the Home Secretary as it might cause conflict between north and south Wales, and King George VI refused to let the teenage princess tour Wales as to not add undue pressure on her. Additionally, the plan to make the princess patroness of Urdd Gobaith Cymru was dropped as it was thought unsuitable to link the princess to an organisation two of whose leading members were conscientious objectors".
If ignoring the largely pacifist traditions of Welsh nationalism, some articles in the Welsh language press could be seen to give credence to Attlee's fears that Welsh nationalists would be used to spearhead an insurgency. However, this characterisation misrepresented Welsh nationalist sentiments, as "[Welsh nationalists] did far more to bring victory than hasten defeat".
Ambrose Bebb
Ambrose Bebb
William Ambrose Bebb was a Welsh author and politician.Ambrose Bebb was the son of diarist Edward Hughes Bebb, and the father of noted Welsh rugby international Dewi Bebb...
, a founding member of the party, was one of the most outspoken party members in support of the War. Bebb considered Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's total defeat in the war as essential. Additionally, many of the Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru served in Britain's armed forces. Lewis maintained a strict neutrality in his writings through his column Cwrs y Byd in Y Faner. It was his attempt at an unbiased interpretation of the causes and events of the war.
War effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
. Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru was officially neutral regarding involvement the Second World War, which party leaders considered a continuation of the First World War. Central to the neutrality policy was the idea that Wales, as a nation, had the right to decide independently on its attitude towards war, and the rejection of other nations to force Welshmen to serve in their armed forces. With this challenging and revolutionary policy Lewis hoped a significant number of Welshmen would refuse to join the British Army
Welsh Guards
The Welsh Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division.-Creation :The Welsh Guards came into existence on 26 February 1915 by Royal Warrant of His Majesty King George V in order to include Wales in the national component to the Foot Guards, "..though the order...
.
Lewis, who served in the South Wales Borderers during the First World War, was not anti-military. Rather Lewis and other party members were attempting to strengthen loyalty to the Welsh nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
"over the loyalty to the British State
Sovereign state
A sovereign state, or simply, state, is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither...
". Lewis argued "The only proof that the Welsh nation exists is that there are some who act as if it did exist".
However, most party members who claimed conscientious objection status did so in the context of their moral and religious beliefs, rather than on political conviction. Of these almost all were exempt from military service. About 24 party members made politics their sole grounds for exemption, of which twelve received prison sentences. For Lewis, those who objected proved that the assimilation of Wales was "being withstood, even under the most extreme pressures".
University of Wales by-election, 1943
Prior to 1950, universities could elect and return representatives to the UK parliament. In 1943 Lewis contested the University of Wales
University of Wales (UK Parliament constituency)
University of Wales was a university constituency electing one member to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1918 to 1950. It returned one Member of Parliament , elected under the first-past-the-post voting system....
parliamentary seat at a by-election, his opponent was former Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru deputy vice-president Dr William John Gruffydd
William John Gruffydd
Professor William John Gruffydd was a Welsh academic, poet, writer, and politician.-Family and Education:...
. Gruffydd had voiced doubts about Lewis' ideas since 1933, and by 1943 he had joined the Liberal party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
. The "brilliant but wayward" Gruffydd was a favourite with Welsh-speaking intellectuals and drew 52.3 per cent of the vote, to Lewis' 22 per cent, or 1,330 votes.
The election effectively split the Welsh-speaking intelligentsia, and left Lewis embittered with politics. However, the experience proved invaluable for Plaid Cymru, as they began to refer to themselves, as "for the first time they were taken seriously as a political force".
The by-election campaign led directly to "considerable growth" for the party's membership.
The Evans Legacy 1945–1981
With Lewis retreating from direct political involvement, and with the party drawing a modest increase in membership, Dr Gwynfor EvansGwynfor Evans
Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster ....
was elected party president in 1945. Evans, born in Barry in Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
but spending most his life in Llangadog
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, only learned to speak Welsh as an adult. Evans was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth University is a university located in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding Member Institution of the former federal University of Wales. As of late 2006, the university had over 12,000 students spread across seventeen academic departments.The university was founded in 1872 as...
, and at St John's College, Oxford
St John's College, Oxford
__FORCETOC__St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, one of the larger Oxford colleges with approximately 390 undergraduates, 200 postgraduates and over 100 academic staff. It was founded by Sir Thomas White, a merchant, in 1555, whose heart is buried in the chapel of...
, where he founded a branch of Plaid Cymru while he was a student. As a devout Christian pacifist, Evans was unconditionally released from conscription during the Second World War on grounds as a conscientious objector.
Building on a higher profile the party fielded more candidates in elections; and in the 1945 UK parliamentary election the party won 25 per cent of the vote in Caernarfon and 16 per cent in the Neath by-election. By 1945 Plaid Cymru was in a "better position then it had been in 1939," wrote Dr Davies.
Responding to Welsh nationalism; and despite opposition by Labour politicians such as Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin Bevan
Aneurin "Nye" Bevan was a British Labour Party politician who was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1959 until his death in 1960. The son of a coal miner, Bevan was a lifelong champion of social justice and the rights of working people...
, Morgan Phillips
Morgan Phillips
Morgan Walter Phillips was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories....
and Attlee, the U.K. government
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
felt it prudent to establish the Council of Wales
Council of Wales
See also the Council of Wales and the Marches for the council governing Wales between 1473 and 1689.The Council for Wales and Monmouthshire was an appointed advisory body announced in 1948 and established in 1949 by the UK government under Labour prime minister Clement Attlee, to advise the...
in 1948, an unelected assembly of 27 with the brief of advising the UK government on matters of Welsh interest. The Council of Wales held no authority on its own, to the frustration of many of the councillors.
Following the war Plaid Cymru challenged the UK government's continued military conscription in peace time, and protested the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
's use of Welsh lands for training exercises. First in the Preseli Hills
Preseli Hills
The Preseli Hills or Preseli Mountains are a range of hills in north Pembrokeshire, West Wales...
in 1946, then in Tregaron
Tregaron
Tregaron is a market town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales, lying on the River Brenig , a tributary of the River Teifi. The town is twinned with Plouvien, in Finistere, France. According to the 2001 Census, Tregaron's population was 1,183, of whom 68.8% spoke Welsh fluently.-History:Tregaron...
in 1947, and then Trawsfynydd
Trawsfynydd
Trawsfynydd is a village in Gwynedd, North Wales, adjacent to the A470 north of Dolgellau near Blaenau Ffestiniog....
in 1951.
Through-out the 1950s Evans reached out to other political parties in Westminster to establish a parliament for Wales. Though failing to establish a Welsh assembly, there was movement on devolution. With Plaid Cymru expanding its influence further into the industrial south-east constituencies, the UK government gave in on small concessions towards devolution. First with the established a Minister of Welsh Affairs in 1951, then a Digest of Welsh Statistics began publication in 1954, and in 1955 Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
(Caerdydd) was recognised as the Welsh capital city.
On Evans' initiative in response to a lack of Welsh-medium education at the college level, the University of Wales set up a committee for the creation of a Welsh-medium college in 1950. By 1955 the university announced its expansion of a Welsh-medium curriculum, and its continued expansion in relation to the demand for classes in Welsh. Additionally, Plaid Cymru was attracting members from other parties, such as one time Plaid Cymru critic Huw T. Edwards
Huw T. Edwards
Huw Thomas Edwards was a Welsh trade union leader and politician.Edwards was trade unionist who was for many years was the most influential figure in the Labour Party in north Wales. He was appointed the first chair of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire in 1949...
, who resigned from the Council of Wales and left Labour in 1958 over what he described as "Whitehallism."
A Welsh constitutional monarchy
see also Welsh peersWelsh peers
This is an index of Welsh peers whose primary peerage, life peerage, and baronetcy titles includes a Welsh place-name origin or its territorial qualification is within the historic counties of Wales....
At a party conference in 1949, fifty members left Plaid Cymru over Evans' strict observance of a pacifist political doctrine
Pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and over the party's continued emphasis on the Welsh language, but also because the party firmly rejected adopting a republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
.
The disaffected founded the Welsh Republican Movement
Welsh Republican Movement
The Welsh Republican Movement was a Welsh nationalist political party.It was founded in 1949 as a split from Plaid Cymru. The group, some of whom had previously been members of the Labour Party aimed to build a base in industrial south east Wales by focusing on socialism and republicanism rather...
which provided a home for radical ideas while Plaid Cymru matured as a political party, wrote historian John Davies.
Breaking up the following decade, some of its aspects were later absorbed into Plaid Cymru, such as the use of English and the engagement in English-speaking Welsh communities, echoing calls from Dr D.J. Davies. This was "key ... to the party's increasing acceptability" to voters, wrote Davies.
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, one which would engender the affection and allegiance of the Welsh people and legitimise Welsh sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
. An hereditary constitutional monarch would, they argued, embody and personify Welsh national identity above party politics, while political parties formed governments in a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
similar to those of Denmark
Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of Denmark is the Kingdom of Denmark's constitution, or fundamental law. Originally verified in 1849, the last revision was signed on 5 June 1953 as "the existing law, for all to unswerving comply with, the Constitutional Act of Denmark".-Idea and structure:The main...
, Norway
Constitution of Norway
The Constitution of Norway was first adopted on May 16, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll , then signed and dated May 17...
, the Netherlands
Constitution of the Netherlands
The Constitution of the Netherlands is the fundamental law of the European territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The present constitution is generally seen as directly derived from the one issued in 1815, constituting a constitutional monarchy. A revision in 1848 instituted a system of...
, or Spain
Constitution of Spain
Spain's first Constitution was passed in 1812. A list of the different Spanish constitutional laws follows:During Franco's dictatorship, there were many attempts to create stable institutions that did not emanate from the dictator as they did in the post-war period...
.
Economist D.J. Davies, originally a republican, wrote an article in Y Faner in 1953, and later published in English in the 1958 book Towards Welsh Freedom, in which he advocated for the elevation of a Welsh gentry family
Welsh peers
This is an index of Welsh peers whose primary peerage, life peerage, and baronetcy titles includes a Welsh place-name origin or its territorial qualification is within the historic counties of Wales....
as the Royal Family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
of Wales. Among the criteria for consideration, argued Davies, was that the family had to have a history of contributing to Welsh life and reside in Wales.
Davies wrote in 1953 of the Rhys/Rice family of Dinefwr in Carmarthen, suggesting their elevation to a restored Welsh kingship. Author Siôn T. Jobbins suggested the election of a member of the Windsor dynasty for an independent Wales.
The flooding of Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...
, Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
In 1956, a private bill
Local and Personal Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom
Local and Personal Acts of Parliament are laws in the United Kingdom which apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. This contrasts with a Public General Act of Parliament which applies to the entire community...
sponsored by Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
was brought before the UK parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley
Afon Tryweryn
For the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley, see Llyn Celyn.The Tryweryn is a river in north Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after joins the river Dee at Bala. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been dammed to form Llyn Celyn...
, in Meirionydd in Gwynedd. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn
Capel Celyn was a rural community to the north west of Bala in Gwynedd, north Wales, in the Afon Tryweryn valley. The village and other parts of the valley were flooded to create a reservoir, Llyn Celyn, in order to supply Liverpool and The Wirral with water for industry...
(Holly Chapel), a Welsh speaking community of historic significance. Despite universal and bi-partisan objections by Welsh politicians (thirty five out of thirty six Welsh MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
opposed the bill, and one abstained) the bill was passed in 1957.
Evans joined Dr Tudor Jones and Capel Celyn farmer David Roberts, aged 65, at the Liverpool Town Hall to protest, and had to be forcibly ejected by police.
The building of the reservoir was instrumental in an increase in support for Plaid Cymru during the late 1950s. Almost unanimous Welsh political opposition had failed to stop approval of the scheme, a fact that seemed to underline Plaid Cymru's argument that the Welsh national community was powerless. At the subsequent General Election the party's support increased from 3.1% to 5.2%.
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
(Swyddfa Gymreig) and Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
early in 1957, a time when the governance of Wales on a national level was so demonstrably lacking in many people's eyes.
The flooding of Capel Celyn also sharpened debate within Plaid Cymru about the use of direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
. While the party emphasised its constitutional approach to stopping the development, it also sympathised with the actions of two party members (who of their own accord) attempted to sabotage the power supply at the site of the Tryweryn dam in 1962.
Llyn Celyn
Llyn Celyn is a large reservoir constructed between 1960 and 1965 in the valley of the River Tryweryn in Gwynedd, North Wales. It measures roughly 2½ miles long by a mile wide, and has a maximum depth of...
reservoir opened to a sizeable Plaid Cymru organised demonstration. During the opening ceremonies, "posters reading ‘Hands Off Wales’ were displayed and pieces of rock where thrown at Liverpool’s Lord Mayor and Chief Constable".
In 2005, the Liverpool City Council formally apologised for the flooding.
Tynged yr Iaith and the 1961 census
see also Tynged yr iaithTynged yr Iaith
"Tynged yr Iaith" was a radio lecture delivered in Welsh by Saunders Lewis on February 13, 1962. Reaction to it brought about a major change in the politics of Wales...
In 1962 Saunders Lewis gave a radio speech entitled Tynged yr iaith
Tynged yr Iaith
"Tynged yr Iaith" was a radio lecture delivered in Welsh by Saunders Lewis on February 13, 1962. Reaction to it brought about a major change in the politics of Wales...
(The Fate of the Language) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless action was taken. Lewis' intent was to motivate Plaid Cymru into more direct action promoting the language, however it led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) later that year at a Plaid Cymru summer school held in Pontardawe
Pontardawe
Pontardawe is a town of some 5,000 inhabitants in the Swansea Valley in south Wales...
in Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
. The foundation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg allowed for Plaid Cymru to focus on electoral politics, while the Cymdeithas focused on promoting the language.
Lewis gave his radio speech responding to the 1961 census, which showed a decrease in the number of Welsh speakers from 36% in 1931 to 26%, out of a population of about 2.5 million. In the census; Merionnydd, Ynys Mon, Carmarthen, and Caernarfon averaged 75% concentration of Welsh speakers, with the most significant decrease in the counties of Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, Flint
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, and Pembroke
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
.
Responding on the calls of Welsh devolution, in 1964 the Labour Government
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
gave effect to these proposals establishing the unelected Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
and Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
.
Evans' election 1966
If Plaid Cymru had been disappointed at the UK general election, 1966United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
, then the Carmarthen by-election
Carmarthen by-election, 1966
The Carmarthen by-election, was held in Carmarthen, Wales on 14 July 1966. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament...
of 14 July 1966 was reason for celebration. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru M.P. The contest was caused by the death of Lady Megan Lloyd George
Megan Lloyd George
Lady Megan Arfon Lloyd George CH was a British politician, the first female Member of Parliament for a Welsh constituency, and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. She later became a Labour MP....
, Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MP and daughter of Lord David
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor
Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor
Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1945 for the famous Liberal politician David Lloyd George. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1908 to 1915 and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922...
.
Evans' surprise win is credited with laying the foundations for Winnie Ewing
Winnie Ewing
Winifred Margaret 'Winnie' Ewing is a Scottish nationalist, lawyer and prominent SNP politician who was formerly a Member of Parliament , Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Scottish Parliament...
's victory for the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
at the Hamilton by-election, 1967
Hamilton by-election, 1967
The Hamilton by-election, in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, which took place on the 2nd of November 1967, was a milestone in the politics of Scotland...
, an event of equal significance for Scottish nationalism
Scottish independence
Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
.
This was followed by two further by-elections in Rhondda West
Rhondda West (UK Parliament constituency)
Rhondda West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rhondda district of Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system...
in 1967 and Caerphilly
Caerphilly (UK Parliament constituency)
Caerphilly is a county constituency centred on the town of Caerphilly in South Wales. It returns one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.The constituency has always elected Labour MPs.- Boundaries...
in 1968 in which the party achieved massive swings of 30% and 40% respectively, coming within a whisker of victory as both also won a higher proportion of the vote then it had won in Carmarthen.
The results were caused partly by an anti-Labour backlash. However, in Carmarthen particularly, Plaid Cymru also successfully depicted Labour's policies as a threat to the viability of small Welsh communities. Expectations in coal mining communities that the Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
government would halt the long-term decline in their industry had been dashed by a significant downward revision of coal production estimates.
Welsh Language Act 1967
With Plaid Cymru's electoral successes the issue of devolution was back on the national political agenda, wrote Dr Davies. A Plaid Cymru under Evans and a Labour party influenced by Gwilym Prys Davies (Gwilym Prys Davies had published a Labour pamphlet calling for a National Assembly of Wales in 1963) and James GriffithsJim Griffiths
James "Jim" Griffiths CH , was a Welsh Labour politician, trade union leader and the first ever Secretary of State for Wales.-Background and education:...
, the argument "in favour of a political system in Wales more answerable to the electorate" was plausible.
But by 1967 Labour retreated from endorsing home rule mainly because of the open hostility expressed by other Welsh Labour MPs to anything "which could be interpreted as a concession to nationalism", and because of opposition by the Secretary of State for Scotland
Secretary of State for Scotland
The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...
, who was responding to a growth of Scottish nationalism.
By 1967 the Welsh Language Act
Welsh Language Act 1967
The Welsh Language Act 1967 , is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which gave some rights to use the Welsh language in legal proceedings in Wales and gave the relevant Minister the right to authorise the production of a Welsh version of any documents required or allowed by the Act...
was passed, giving some legal protection for the use of Welsh in official government business. The Act was based on the Hughes Parry report, published in 1965, which advocated equal validity for Welsh in speech and in written documents, both in the courts and in public administration in Wales. However the Act did not include all the Hughes Parry report's recommendations. Prior to the Act, only the English language could be spoken at government and court proceedings.
'79 Yes Campaign; Hunger Strike for S4C
See also Welsh devolution referendum, 1979, S4CS4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
, Hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
In the 1970 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
Plaid Cymru contested every seat in Wales for the first time and its vote share surged from 4.5% in 1966 to 11.5%. Also in that year, founding member Saunders Lewis was nominated for the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for Literature. Evans, however, lost Carmarthen to Labour, lost again by three votes in February 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, but regained the seat in October 1974
United Kingdom general election, October 1974
The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. It was the second general election of that year and resulted in the Labour Party led by Harold Wilson, winning by a tiny majority of 3 seats.The election of...
, by which time the party had gained a further two MPs, representing the constituencies of Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
and Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
. Alarmed at the decrease in the number of Welsh speakers, Evans began a campaign for the establishment of a Welsh language television channel.
At the 1979 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 1979
The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 to elect 635 members to the British House of Commons. The Conservative Party, led by Margaret Thatcher ousted the incumbent Labour government of James Callaghan with a parliamentary majority of 43 seats...
the party’s vote share declined from 10.8% to 8.1% and Carmarthen was again lost to Labour.
Plaid Cymru led the Yes Campaign in favor of devolution, though some party members were somewhat ambivalent toward home rule (as opposed to outright independence). The referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was held on St David's Day (March 1) 1979, but the people of Wales voted against proposals to establish a Welsh Assembly.
Only 12% of the Welsh electorate voted to set up a directly elected forum which would have been based in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
's Coal Exchange. The Assembly would have had the powers and budget of the Secretary of State for Wales
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
. The plans were defeated by a majority of 4:1 (956,330 against, 243,048 for). The Wales Act
Wales Act 1978
The Wales Act 1978 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom intended to introduce a limited measure of self-government in Wales.The provisions of the Act were put to the populace in 1979 in the Welsh devolution referendum through the question:...
contained a requirement that at least 40% of all voters backed the plan. After the referendum results many in the party questioned its direction.
Following the Yes Campaign's defeat, and believing Welsh nationalism was "in a paralysis of helplessness," the UK Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government Home Secretary announced in September 1979 that the government would not honour its pledge in the previous May's election campaign to establish a Welsh language television channel, much to widespread anger and resentment in Wales, wrote Dr Davies.
In early 1980 over two thousand members of Plaid Cymru pledged to go to prison rather than pay the television licence fees, and by that spring Evans announced his intention to fast to death
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
if a Welsh language channel were not established. In early September 1980, Evans addressed thousands at a gathering in which "passions ran high," according to Dr Davies. The government yielded by 17 September, and the Welsh Fourth Channel (S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
) was launched on 2 November 1982.
The Wigley & Elis presidencies 1981–2000
Dafydd Wigley
Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000...
succeeded Gwynfor Evans as president in 1981, inheriting a party whose morale was at an all-time low after the defeat of the Yes Campaign. In 1981 the party adopted "community socialism," or a "decentralised socialist state," as a constitutional aim. This was in part as a consequence of Thatcherism
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
's effect in Wales. While the party embarked on a wide-ranging review of its priorities and goals, Evans continued his successful campaign to oblige the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
UK government to fulfil its promise to establish S4C.
Wigley's election was seen as instrumental in deciding the future direction of Plaid Cymru. Though Wigley described his own politics as 'right-wing', at the time he represented a moderate, pragmatic social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
policy, in sharp contrast with rival candidate Dafydd Elis Thomas' far-left socialism. Wigley's triumph was also somewhat a pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
– he won the presidency, but Thomas would have a greater influence over the party's ideology throughout the 1980s.
In 1984 Wigley resigned from the presidency because of his children's health. In the 1984 party leadership elections Dafydd Elis-Thomas was elected President, defeating Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan
Dafydd Iwan , is a Welsh folk singer and politician. He was the president of Plaid Cymru .Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynaman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and is the elder brother of politician Alun Ffred Jones. He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of...
, a move that saw the party shift to the political left. Wigley returned to the job in 1991 after the resignation of Elis-Thomas.
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency...
captured Ynys Mon
Ynys Môn (UK Parliament constituency)
Ynys Môn is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from the Conservatives in 1987
United Kingdom general election, 1987
The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987, to elect 650 members to the British House of Commons. The election was the third consecutive election victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who became the first Prime Minister since the 2nd...
.
The 1991 census revealed that the decline in the number of Welsh speakers was arrested, and remained at the 1981 levels of 18.7% in a Welsh population of over 2.8 million. Gwynedd retained the highest concentration of Welsh speakers with 61%, followed by Powys, Clwyd, and Dyfed averaging in the mid-twenty percentile.
The Yes for Wales campaign
After the 1997 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
, the new Labour Government argued that an Assembly would be more democratically accountable than the Welsh Office
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...
, echoing calls for self-government since 1918.
For eleven years prior to 1997 Wales had been represented in the UK Cabinet
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
by a Secretary of State
Secretary of State for Wales
The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...
who did not represent a Welsh constituency at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. Plaid Cymru joined a bi-partisan Yes for Wales
Yes for Wales
Yes for Wales! is the name of a cross-party pro-devolution group launched on 4 January 2011 which co-ordinated the successful campaign for a 'Yes' vote in the Welsh devolution referendum, 2011 to extend the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales.The group was chaired by Roger Lewis,...
campaign, alongside the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties.
During the campaign for a Welsh Assembly, Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
was killed in a car accident in France. The campaign had been temporarily suspended and it was wondered what effect the death of the Princess of Wales would have on the election. Commentators pondered what effect the death of the princess and focus on the UK Royal Family would have on the devolution debate and turn out.
A second referendum was held on 18 September 1997 in which voters approved the creation of the National Assembly for Wales by a majority of just 6,712 votes.
The following year the Government of Wales Act
Government of Wales Act 1998
This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998 This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998...
was passed by UK parliament, establishing the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
.
First Welsh Assembly, 1999–2003
Welsh Assembly election, 1999
The first National Assembly for Wales elections were held on 6 May 1999. The overall turnout of voters was 46.3%. Although the Welsh Labour Party were the biggest party, they did not gain enough seats to form a majority government and instead entered into coalition with the Liberal Democrats...
Plaid Cymru gained seats in traditionally Labour areas such as in the Rhondda, Islwyn
Islwyn (National Assembly for Wales constituency)
Islwyn is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the South Wales East electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to eight...
and Llanelli and achieving by far their highest share of the vote in any Wales-wide election. Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones
Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency...
was the campaign director during Plaid Cymru's first elections to the Welsh Assembly in 1999. While Plaid Cymru presented themselves as the natural beneficiary of devolution, others attributed their performance in large part to the travails of the Labour Party, whose nomination for Assembly First Secretary, Ron Davies, was forced to stand down in an alleged sex scandal
Sex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
. The ensuing leadership battle did much to damage Labour, and thus aid Plaid Cymru whose leader, by contrast, was the more popular and higher profile Dafydd Wigley
Dafydd Wigley
Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000...
. The UK Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
national leadership was seen to interfere in the contest and deny the popular Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
victory. Less than two months later, with a further slump in Labour support, Plaid Cymru came within 2.5 percentage points of gaining the largest vote share in Wales. Under the new system of elections, the party also gained two MEPs.
Lord Elis-Thomas was elected Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales
Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales
The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales is the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, elected by the Members of the National Assembly for Wales to chair their meetings ; to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members.He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the...
.
Jones' presidency; 2000–2003
In a speech at the 2000 National EisteddfodNational Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
at Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
, Cynog Dafis
Cynog Dafis
Cynog Glyndwr Dafis is a Welsh politician and member of the Plaid Cymru party. He was a school teacher and researcher before entering politics.-Education:...
, Plaid Cymru AM for Mid and West Wales, called for a new Welsh language movement with greater powers to lobby for the Welsh language at the Assembly, UK, and EU levels. Dafis felt the needs of the language were ignored during the first year of the Assembly, and that in order to ensure a dynamic growth of the Welsh language a properly resourced strategy was needed In his speech Dafis encouraged other Welsh language advocacy groups to work closer together creating a more favorable climate in which using Welsh was "attractive, exciting, a source of pride and a sign of strength". Additionally, Dafis pointed towards efforts in areas such as Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
and the Basque country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
as successful examples to emulate.
Lord Elis-Thomas disagreed with Dafis assessment, however. At the Urdd Eisteddfod Lord Elis-Thomas said that there was no need for another Welsh language act, citing that there was "enough goodwill to safeguard the language's future". His controversial comments prompted Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to joined a chorus calling for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer.
Lord Elis-Thomas was also under fire from Welsh Labour's Alun Michael
Alun Michael
Alun Edward Michael is a British Labour Co-operative politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Cardiff South and Penarth since 1987. He was formerly First Minister of Wales and leader of the Welsh Labour Party from 1999 to 2000.-Education:Michael was born at Bryngwran Anglesey, son of...
for his endorsement of Ieuan Wyn Jones as Plaid Cymru's president, however Elis-Thomas said he volunteered his preference as a matter of public interest and as a party member, not in his position as Assembly presiding officer.
Dafydd Wigley resigned late 2000, citing health problems but amid rumours of a plot against him. Ieuan Wyn Jones was elected President of Plaid Cymru with 77% of the vote over Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones is a Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2011.-Background:...
a few months later. Jones reshuffled the party leadership with Jocelyn Davies
Jocelyn Davies
Jocelyn Davies is a Plaid Cymru politician and a member of the National Assembly of Wales, list member for South Wales East since 1999. She was Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration...
as Business Manager;
Elin Jones
Elin Jones
Elin Jones AM , is a Welsh politician, born in Lampeter, Wales, who has represented Ceredigion for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 1999.-Background:...
as Chief Whip and Agriculture & Rural Development Officer; Phil Williams as Economic Development; and Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones is a Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2011.-Background:...
as Environment, Transport and Planning, plus Equal Opportunities.
The party's move toward the political centre during this period may have been made easier by the formation of Welsh language pressure group Cymuned
Cymuned
Cymuned is a Welsh communities pressure group. Established in 2001, the group campaigns on behalf of local communities in Wales, particularly Welsh-speaking and rural ones, which it perceives to be under threat due to demographic change.Cymuned has campaigned on issues of housing, incomers, and...
(Community) and the Cymru Annibynnol
Cymru Annibynnol
Cymru Annibynnol, the Independent Wales Party is a small political party operating in Wales. They were formed as a splinter from Plaid Cymru in January 2000, when that party's leader Ieuan Wyn Jones distanced Plaid from supporting Welsh independence....
(The Independent Wales party), which provided another home for "radicals".
Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
, having cooperated together since the 1980s, formalised their relationship by establishing the Celtic Alliance voting block in 2001. The Celtic Alliance created the third largest oppositional voting block in the UK parliament.
Llandudno Party Conference
At the Llandudno
Llandudno
Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
Plaid Cymru party conference of 2002, Jones called for greater Assembly authority "[on parity] with Scotland's parliament", and "opposed any military conflict in Iraq, saying it would destabilise the Middle East". Jones also criticised health and public services policies and would end the "endless revamping of structures and administration".
Language and Housing Controversy
see also Commuter townCommuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
, gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
Controversy erupted in mid-winter 2001 when Seimon Glyn, Gwynedd County Council's
Gwynedd Council
Gwynedd Council is the governing body for the principal area of Gwynedd, one of the subdivisions of Wales within the United Kingdom.- Creation of the Authority :...
housing committee chairman and Plaid Cymru member, voiced frustration over "English immigrants" moving into traditionally Welsh speaking communities. Glyn was commenting on a report underscoring the dilemma of rocketing house prices outstripping what locals could pay, with the report warning that '...traditional Welsh communities could die out..." as a consequence.
Much of the rural Welsh real-estate market was driven by a cycle of growing dormitory towns
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
, which was exacerbated by second home buyers and growing retirement communities. Many buyers were drawn to Wales from England because of relatively inexpensive house prices in Wales as compared to house prices in England. The rise in home prices outpaced the average earnings income in Wales, and meant that many local people could not afford to purchase their first home or compete against commuter or second-home buyers.
In 2001 nearly a third of all properties in Gwynedd were bought by buyers from out of the county, and with some communities reporting as many as a third of local homes used as holiday homes. Holiday home owners spend less than six months of the year in the local community. Additional concern was expressed by Cymuned, which included disillusioned Plaid Cymru members, when it was pointed out that real-estate in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
was specifically marketed to affluent buyers in England rather than marketed to locals. These growing dormitory towns along the North Wales Expressway
A55 road
The A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, is a major road in Britain. Its entire length is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the point where it crosses the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait. All junctions are grade separated except for two roundabouts — one...
serve more as commuter communities for Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
and other cross-border cities, effectively driving-out Welsh-speaking communities, activists pointed out.
In housing markets where commuters are wealthier and small town housing markets weaker than city housing markets or suburbs, the development of a bedroom community may raise local housing prices and attract upscale service businesses in a process called gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. Long-time residents may be displaced by new commuter residents due to rising house prices. This can also be influenced by zoning restrictions in urbanised areas that prevent the construction of suitably cheap housing closer to places of employment.
The issue of locals being priced out of the local housing market is common to many rural communities throughout Britain, but in Wales the added dimension of language further complicated the issue, as many new residents did not learn the Welsh language.
Concern for the Welsh language under these pressures prompted Glyn to say "Once you have more than 50% of anybody living in a community that speaks a foreign language, then you lose your indigenous tongue almost immediately".
Plaid Cymru had long advocated controls on second homes, and a 2001 taskforce headed by Dafydd Wigley recommended land should be allocated for affordable local housing, and called for grants for locals to buy houses, and recommended council tax on holiday homes should double, following similar measures in the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
.
However the Welsh Labour-Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
Assembly coalition rebuffed these proposals, with Assembly housing spokesman Peter Black
Peter Black (Welsh politician)
Peter Black is a Welsh Liberal Democrat politician, and Member of the Welsh Assembly for the South Wales West Region.-Background:...
stating that "we [can not] frame our planning laws around the Welsh language", adding "Nor can we take punitive measures against second home owners in the way that they propose as these will have an impact on the value of the homes of local people".
In contrast, by fall 2001 the Exmoor National Park authority in England began limiting home ownership there which was also driving up local housing prices by as much as 31%. Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010...
, Plaid Cymru's parliamentary group leader, said that the issues in Exmoor National Park were the same as in Wales, however in Wales there is the added dimension of language and culture.
Reflecting on the controversy Glyn's comments caused earlier in the year, Llwyd observed "What is interesting is of course it is fine for Exmoor to defend their community but in Wales when you try to say these things it is called racist..."
Llwyd called on other parties to join in a debate to bring the Exmoor experience to Wales when he said "... I really do ask them and I plead with them to come around the table and talk about the Exmoor suggestion and see if we can now bring it into Wales".
By spring 2002 both the Snowdonia National Park
Snowdonia
Snowdonia is a region in north Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three National Parks in Wales, in 1951.-Name and extent:...
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...
(Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) authorities began limiting second home ownership within the parks, following the example set by Exmoor. According to planners in Snowdonia and Pembroke applicants for new homes must demonstrate a proven local need or the applicant had strong links with the area.
In the 2001 General Election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, Plaid Cymru lost Jones' old seat of Ynys Môn
Ynys Môn (UK Parliament constituency)
Ynys Môn is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
to Labour's Albert Owen
Albert Owen
Albert Owen is a Welsh Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament for Ynys Môn. He took the seat in the 2001 election from Plaid Cymru with a margin of exactly eight hundred votes and retained the seat with an increased majority of approximately twelve hundred votes in the 2005 election. In...
. An internal report commissioned by Plaid Cymru following the 2001 General Election attributed the loss of significant votes directly to Glyn's controversial comments. Despite this, Plaid Cymru recorded their highest ever vote share in a General Election of 14.3%, gaining Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (UK Parliament constituency)
Carmathen East and Dinefwr is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. It was created in 1997 mostly from the former seat of Carmarthen...
and electing Adam Price
Adam Price
Adam Price is a politician in Wales, and former Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr. He was elected to Parliament in the 2001 general election and re-elected in 2005 but stood down at the 2010 election...
.
2001 Census and tickbox controversy
see also Demography of Wales, Welsh peopleWelsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
with an increase from 9% in 1991 to 12.3% in 2001. However, the percentage of Welsh speakers declined in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
from 72.1% in 1991 to 68.7%, and in Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
from 59.1% in 1991 to 51.8%. Ceredigion in particular experienced the greatest fluctuation with a 19.5% influx of new residents since 1991, partially attributable to the inclusion of transient collage students at local universities.
The census also revealed that one-third of the population of Wales described themselves as of British nationality, with respondents having to write in whether or not they were Welsh. Controversy surrounding the method of determining nationality began as early as 2000, when it was revealed that respondents in Scotland and Northern Ireland would be able to check a box describing themselves as Scottish or Irish, an option not available for Welsh respondents.
Prior to the Census, Plaid Cymru backed a petition calling for the inclusion of a Welsh tickbox and for the National Assembly to have primary law-making powers and its own National Statistics Office.
With an absence of a Welsh tickbox, the only other tickbox available was 'white-British,' 'Irish', or 'other'. Critics expected a higher proportion of respondents describing themselves as of Welsh nationality had a Welsh tickbox been available. Additional criticism targeted the timing of the census, which was taken in the middle of the Foot and Mouth crisis of 2001, a fact organisers said did not impact the results. However, the Foot and Mouth crisis did delay UK General Elections
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
, the first time since the Second World War any event postponed an election.
The Mittal Affair
Controversy ensued in 2002 as Adam Price exposed the link between UK prime minister Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Narayan Mittal is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company....
in the Mittal Affair
Mittal Affair
The Mittal Affair began in 2002 when the Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament Adam Price exposed the link between UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. The events are also referred to as "Garbagegate" or "Cash for Influence"...
, also known as 'Garbagegate' or Cash for Influence. Mittal's LNM steel company, registered in the Dutch Antilles and maintaining less than 1% of its 100,000 plus workforce in the UK, sought Blair's aid in its bid to purchase Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
's state steel industry. The letter from Blair to the Romanian government, a copy of which Price was able to obtain, hinted that the privatisation of the firm and sale to Mittal might help smooth the way for Romania's entry into the European Union.
The letter had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend".
In exchange for Blair's support Mittal, already a Labour contributor, donated £125,000 more to Labour party funds a week after the 2001 UK General Elections, while as many as six thousand Welsh steelworkers were laid off that same year, Price and others pointed out. Mittal's company, then the fourth largest in the world, was a "major global competitor of Britain's own struggling steel industry, Corus
Corus Group
Tata Steel Europe is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest steel-maker in Europe and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel of India, one of the ten largest steel producers in the world.Corus Group was formed through the merger of Koninklijke...
, formerly known as British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
". Corus and Valkia Limited were two of the primary employers in South Wales, particularly in Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River, south Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough...
, Llanwern
Llanwern
Llanwern is an electoral ward and community in the urban-rural fringe of the City of Newport, South Wales. Llanwern ward is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Liswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city boundary to the east...
, and Port Talbot
Port Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
.
Second Welsh Assembly, 2003–2007
In the May Assembly election of 2003 Plaid Cymru lost five seats, with critics pointing towards a less organised electoral organisation which often found difficulty articulating the party's message in the media. This was in sharp contrast to the electoral organisation and performance of 1999.Within a week of the Assembly elections, there were accusations of a plot headed by AM Helen Mary Jones and four other Plaid Cymru Assembly Members manoeuvering for Jones' removal. But Helen Mary Jones denied involvement. However, Ieuan Wyn Jones resigned as both party president
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
and leader of the assembly group.
By summer 2003 the party underwent a constitutional reorganisation dividing its Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
and Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
responsibilities. The organisational change prompted new party elections, with Ieuan Wyn Jones standing again for Assembly group leadership, having received both grassroots support from "all over Wales" and senior party members.
With the move towards digital programming, Plaid Cymru urged the "UK government to make Wales one of the first areas to completely switch over to digital television from the current analogue service".
Impeachment of Blair Campaign, 2004–2007
See also Impeach Blair campaignImpeach Blair campaign
On 26 August 2004, a cross-party group of British MPs announced their campaign to impeach the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, Tony Blair for high crimes and misdemeanours.A campaign to impeach the US President, George W...
In August 2004, Adam Price began a campaign to impeach
Impeach Blair campaign
On 26 August 2004, a cross-party group of British MPs announced their campaign to impeach the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time, Tony Blair for high crimes and misdemeanours.A campaign to impeach the US President, George W...
then UK Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
over the alleged misleading of the UK Parliament and for allegedly making a secret agreement with then US President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to overthrow Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, amongst other charges. Plaid's Parliament group leader Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010...
and then Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) group leader Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
co-drafted the motion.
Impeachment had not been used in the UK for one hundred and fifty years. If successful, it could have seen Blair tried before the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
; however, as expected, the measure failed.
On 17 March 2005 Price was ejected from the Commons chamber after accusing the Prime Minister of having "misled" Parliament and then refusing to withdraw his comment, in violation of the rules of the House.
In November 2005, the campaign announced a new motion (this time with the support of the Liberal Democrats) asking for a Commons committee to examine the conduct of ministers before and after the war. The campaign tabled an Early Day Motion:
- "Conduct of Government Policy in relation to the war against Iraq"
- "That this House believes that there should be a select committee of 7 Members, being members of Her Majesty's Privy Council, to review the way in which the responsibilities of Government were discharged in relation to Iraq and all matters relevant thereto, in the period leading up to military action in that country in March 2003 and in its aftermath".
The motion collected 151 signatures, including some Labour back-benchers.
By October 2006, Price opened a three hour debate on an inquiry into the Iraq War, the first such debate in over two years. The SNP and Plaid Cymru motion proposing a committee of seven senior MPs to review "the way in which the responsibilities of government were discharged in relation to Iraq", was defeated by 298 votes to 273, a Government majority of 25, but was supported by a significant number of opposition MPs, and twelve "rebel" Labour MPs, including Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
.
Despite the lack of debate on the original impeachment motion, Price pledged to continue his campaign. However, with the resignation of Blair on 27 June 2007, the entire issue of impeachment may now be moot.
80th anniversary and Evans celebrated 2005
In 2005 Plaid Cymru celebrated both the life of iconic figure Gwynfor Evans, who had died in April, and of the 80th anniversary of the party's founding. At Evans' funeral in AberystwythAberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, attended by thousands, Plaid Cymru president Dafydd Iwan said "For Plaid Cymru members and supporters, young and old, Gwynfor Evans has been Plaid Cymru's spiritual leader and will continue to be so. It is impossible to underestimate Gwynfor's unique contribution to building Plaid Cymru into the party it is today".
Evans was "Wales' most remarkable politician," according to Plaid Cymru parliamentary group leader Elfyn Llwyd, adding that Evans will be remembered for his "fearless dedication to the cause of peace and international understanding". Evans was voted third Top Welsh millennium hero in 2000, and fourth Welsh hero in 2004, according to BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
online polls.
Cymru X
Cymru XCymru X
CymruX is the youth wing of Plaid Cymru, a political party in Wales.-Origins:CymruX was founded in 2005 to merge Plaid Cymru's two existing movements in to one new youth movement. The student federation 'the ffed' and the youth movement were merged to create a brand new youth organisation...
was founded in 2005 to merge Plaid Cymru's two existing movements in to one new youth movement. The student federation, 'the ffed', and the youth movement were merged to create a brand new youth organisation available to anyone under the age of 30.
CymruX is run by its National Committee. The committee is elected every March.
While working as President of the Aberystwyth Guild of Students
Aberystwyth Guild of Students
Aberystwyth Guild of Students is the students' union of Aberystwyth University. It is affiliated to the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom and NUS Wales/UCM Cymru....
, Bethan Jenkins
Bethan Jenkins
Bethan Jenkins AM , is a Welsh politician, born in Aberdare, Wales, who has represented the South Wales West Region for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 2007.-Background:...
saw Plaid Cymru defeated in Ceredigion. After leaving Aberystwyth University, Jenkins worked in the office of Leanne Wood AM
Leanne Wood
Leanne Wood AM , is a Welsh politician, born in the Rhondda, Wales, who has represented the South Wales Central region for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 2003. Wood is known as a republican and socialist....
and used her contacts there to set up the organisation Cymru X
Cymru X
CymruX is the youth wing of Plaid Cymru, a political party in Wales.-Origins:CymruX was founded in 2005 to merge Plaid Cymru's two existing movements in to one new youth movement. The student federation 'the ffed' and the youth movement were merged to create a brand new youth organisation...
. Cymru X launched the first ever interactive text referendum on a Parliament for Wales, as well as campaigns against nuclear arms. Glyn Wise from Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
fame also took part in a campaign alongside Cymru X to encourage young people to vote prior to the National Assembly election in 2007.
There are also some link-ups with the student and youth wings of the SNP.
Crossroads, leadership, and rebranding
In 2005, the party reached a kind of crossroads, as historic tensions within the party resurfaced between Plaid Cymru as a social pressure group and Plaid Cymru as an electoral political party. Professor Laura McAllister, a Plaid Cymru history expert and former party candidate, said that unless the party shed its "pressure group past" it could not expect more than to form a coalition government with other parties.Helen Mary Jones, however, disagreed with McAllister's assessment and in 2005 said that "Plaid Cymru speaks to and for all the people of Wales." Former Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Rhondda Cynon Taf, or RCT, is a county borough in the South Wales Valleys of Wales. It consists of 3 valleys: the Rhondda Valley, Cynon Valley and Taff-Ely Valley...
Plaid Cymru councillor Syd Morgan agreed with Helen Mary Jones and said that the issue was not with the party's message, but because of a lack of a "modern corporate image" that the "party as a whole does not resonate with the people of Wales."
Responding to calls from within the party to reinvigorate its image, at a party conference the unveiling of a radical change of image prompted some controversy from within the party. Changes included officially using "Plaid" as the party's name, although "Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales" remained the official title. The adoption of Plaid, which had long been used in less formal speech as referring to the party, was a recognition of its use for all party business. Additionally, the party's colours were changed from the traditional green and red to yellow, while the party logo was changed from the 'triban' (three peaks) used since 1933 to a yellow Welsh poppy
Welsh poppy
The Welsh poppy is a perennial plant of the family Papaveraceae. Its habitat is damp, shady places on rocky ground, and it is native to south-western England, Wales, Ireland and Western Europe. In its most western locations, it is increasingly found on more open ground with less cover.It has...
(Meconopsis cambrica).
The Government of Wales Act 2006
The Government of Wales Act 2006Government of Wales Act 2006
The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
was heavily criticised by Plaid for not delivering a fully-fledged parliament. Additionally, Plaid criticised the Welsh Labour Party's allegedly partisan attempt to alter the electoral system. By preventing regional Assembly Members from standing in constituency seats Welsh Labour was accused of "changing the rules" to protect constituency representatives. Labour had 29 members in the Assembly at the time, all of whom held constituency seats.
Third Welsh Assembly, 2007–2011
In the Welsh Assembly electionNational Assembly for Wales election, 2007
The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place...
of May 3, 2007, Plaid increased its number of seats from 12 to 15, regaining Llanelli, gaining one additional list seat and winning the newly created constituency of Aberconwy The 2007 election also saw Plaid's Mohammad Asghar
Mohammad Asghar
Mohammad Asghar , known as Oscar, is an Asian politician, who has been a member of the Conservative party, the Labour party, and Plaid Cymru. He came to prominence after being elected to the Welsh Assembly in 2007 as a member of Plaid Cymru on the list for South Wales East...
become the first ethnic minority candidate elected to the Welsh Assembly. The Party's share of the vote increased to 22.4%. After a tight race, Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones
Helen Mary Jones is a Plaid Cymru politician, who was a member of the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2011.-Background:...
won back the important Llanelli constituency for Plaid, with a majority of 3,884 votes.
David Lloyd (Welsh politician)
Dr David Rees Lloyd is a Welsh politician. He has a wife Catherine, and they have 3 children. He was the Plaid Cymru National Assembly for Wales Member for South Wales West from 1999 to 2011....
hailed the 2007 Assembly election campaign as the "most professional" campaign that Plaid had run, and made special note that it was funded from exclusively Welsh sources. In the 2007 Assembly election Plaid spent just under £261,286 on the campaign, about three times that of the 2003 Assembly elections.
On 19 October 2007, Plaid AM Asghar escaped death as a terrorist explosion in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, killed 130 others. He had been within 35 metres of the blast. Asghar had accompanied Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and intended target, on her return there from exile.
Following the Assembly elections, a UK parliamentary standards and privileges committee found Plaid MPs Elfyn Llwyd, Adam Price and Hywel Williams
Hywel Williams
Hywel Williams is a Welsh politician and Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Arfon. He previously represented Caernarfon.-Biography:He was educated at Ysgol Glan y Môr, Pwllheli and the University of Wales, Cardiff....
guilty of improperly advertising during the elections. Though the committee admitted the three did not break any clear rules of the UK House of Commons, the committee believed the timing of the adverts was planned to coincide with the Assembly elections.
Parliamentary funds are available for MPs to communicate with constituents regularly. However the committee found that the three used this communication allowance improperly as part of Plaid's campaigning during the elections as the adverts were placed in publications with a circulation outside of their respective constituencies.
Plaid MP group leader Elfyn Llwyd said that they had "...acted in good faith throughout, and fully in line with the advice that was offered to us by the DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) at the time of the publication of the reports", but that they would comply with the findings. The three had to repay the money, about five thousand pounds each, and report the costs as part of Plaid's election spending.
The "One Wales" Agreement
See also One WalesOne Wales
One Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between Labour and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding...
Plaid entered into negotiations with Welsh Labour to form a stable government only after Plaids initial attempts to form a three-party coalition with the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties failed. The "One Wales
One Wales
One Wales is the coalition agreement for the National Assembly for Wales between Labour and Plaid Cymru agreed to by Rhodri Morgan, First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour, and Ieuan Wyn Jones, leader of Plaid Cymru, on 27 June 2007. It was negotiated in the wake of the preceding...
" agreement hammered out promised aid to "first-time house-buyers, pensioners and students and a review of NHS reconfiguration", and with a "commitment by Welsh Labour to campaign favourably for full parliamentary powers, similar to the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, in a referendum held before 2011". The historicOne Wales agreement was approved by both political parties by 7 July. Only a coalition between Plaid and Welsh Labour would provide the necessary two-thirds majority in the Assembly to trigger the referendum.
The One Wales agreement did receive criticism from fellow Plaid members. Plaid's honorary president Wigley summarised disagreement when he warned that the pact was reached too quickly and not enough planning had gone into it. Wigley believed that the agreement's failings might jeopardise the Assembly receiving full parliamentary powers by a 2011 referendum, and that other provisions of the agreement would not be fully funded. Indeed, with the budget outlined after the coalition was formed Plaid was obliged to defend spending cuts it may have otherwise criticised.
Queen Elizabeth II confirmed Ieuan Wyn Jones as Deputy First Minister of Wales and minister for Economy and Transport on July 11, 2007. Plaid's deputy president Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM is a Welsh politician. He has been the Plaid Cymru National Assembly for Wales Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 1999.-Education:...
, who argued in favour of the Welsh language channel S4C becoming bilingual after digital switchover despite the circumstances of S4C's founding, was appointed Heritage Minister. Ceredigion AM Elin Jones
Elin Jones
Elin Jones AM , is a Welsh politician, born in Lampeter, Wales, who has represented Ceredigion for Plaid Cymru as a Member of the National Assembly for Wales since 1999.-Background:...
was appointed to the Rural Affairs brief in the new ten member Cabinet. As if in an effort to underscore Plaid's identity within the coalition, Plaid ministers sit with the Plaid assembly group rather than with Labour cabinet members.
British-Irish Council
The British–Irish Council is an international organisation established under the Belfast Agreement in 1998, and formally established on 2 December 1999 on the entry into force of the consequent legislation...
at Stormont
Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
on 16 July 2007, Jones said that Wales has seen "a coming together of parties with different traditions, on the basis of a shared programme for government, and a shared commitment to improve the lives of all our people in all parts of Wales".
Jones joined the Queen representing Wales in Belgium at the 90th anniversary ceremony of the Third Battle of Ypres at Passchendaele (World War I). During the battle celebrated Welsh poet Hedd Wyn
Hedd Wyn
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh language poet who was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod...
had died, along with thousands of other Welshmen.
Broadcast news controversy
In August 2007 MP Adam Price highlighted what he perceived as a lack of a Welsh focus on BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
news broadcasts
News broadcasting
News broadcasting is the broadcasting of various news events and other information via television, radio or internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or television studio newsroom, or by a broadcast network...
. Price threatened to withhold future television licence
Television licence
A television licence is an official licence required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts...
fees in response to a lack of thorough news coverage of Wales, echoing a BBC Audience Council for Wales July report citing public frustration over how the Welsh Assembly is characterised in national media. AM Bethan Jenkins agreed with Price and called for responsibility for broadcasting to be devolved to the Welsh Assembly, voicing similar calls from Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
. Criticism of the BBC's news coverage for Wales and Scotland since devolution prompted debate of possibly providing evening news broadcasts with specific focus for both countries.
Party Conference 2007 and Peerage Call
At the Llandudno party conference, 2007, Plaid members discussed the new European Union reform treaty, a change in placing women at the top of regional lists in the Welsh assembly elections, and the party's position on nuclear power.Grass roots party members blame the policy of placing women at the top of regional lists as the cause for Dafydd Wigley's failure to be elected to the Assembly. Plaid began the policy of placing women at the top of regional lists to attract more women into the political process, however opponents pointed out that the policy discriminated against men. In the so called Zip system whoever wins the greatest amount of party votes will be placed at the top of the regional list, followed by the opposite gender candidate who received the next highest vote share.
Additionally, Plaid parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010...
encouraged the party to nominate peers into the UK House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, citing that Plaid peers would "help ensure planned legislation for Wales was not blocked at Westminster", adding that many in the Lords may want to prevent full law-making powers for Wales. With consensus building from within the party to nominate peers, honorary party president Dafydd Wigley
Dafydd Wigley
Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000...
was nominated for peerage. Other Plaid nominees for life peerage include Eurfyl ap Gwilym
Eurfyl ap Gwilym
Eurfyl ap Gwilym is a Welsh politician of Plaid Cymru, and Deputy Chairman of the Principality Building Society.He was educated at Ardwyn Grammar School and at King's College London .-Professional career:...
, and Janet Davies
Janet Davies (Welsh politician)
Janet Davies is a Plaid Cymru Welsh politician. She was the National Assembly for Wales Member for South Wales West from 1999 to 2007, retiring at the 2007 election.-Background:...
. Currently, Lord Elis-Thomas is the lone Plaid peer.
In a September 2007 poll, "83% of the people of Wales now support self-government – with a clear majority of the Welsh electorate supporting a full law-making and a tax-varying Parliament for Wales", according to Plaid MP for Caernarfon, Hywel Williams
Hywel Williams
Hywel Williams is a Welsh politician and Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Arfon. He previously represented Caernarfon.-Biography:He was educated at Ysgol Glan y Môr, Pwllheli and the University of Wales, Cardiff....
.
Plaid Cymru Leader
| Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Length of Leadership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency... |
2006 | current | ||
Plaid Cymru party presidents since 1925
| Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Length of Leadership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Valentine Lewis Valentine Lewis Edward Valentine was a Welsh politician, Baptist pastor, author, editor, and Welsh-language activist.-Early life:Valentine was born in Llanddulas, Conwy, the son of Samuel Valentine, a limestone quarryman, and his wife Mary... |
1925 | 1926 | 12 months | |
| 2 | Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis was a Welsh poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, and political activist. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist and a founder of the Welsh National Party... |
1926 | 1939 | 19 years | |
| 3 | J E Daniel John Edward Daniel John Edward Daniel was a Welsh theologian and college lecturer who became chairman of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru.-Life:... |
1939 | 1943 | ||
| 4 | 1943 | 1945 | |||
| 5 | Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Evans Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster .... |
1945 | 1981 | 36 years | |
| 6 | Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000... |
|
1981 | 1984 | 4 years |
| 7 | Lord Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis-Thomas Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, PC, AM, is a Welsh politician and was the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales until 2011... |
|
1984 | 1991 | 8 years |
| 8 | Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000... |
|
1991 | 2001 | 10 years |
| 9 | Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency... |
2001 | 2003 | 2 years | |
| 10 | Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan Dafydd Iwan , is a Welsh folk singer and politician. He was the president of Plaid Cymru .Dafydd Iwan Jones was born in Brynaman in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and is the elder brother of politician Alun Ffred Jones. He spent most of his youth in Bala in Gwynedd before attending the University of... |
 |
2003 | current | Current |
Honorary party presidents
| Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Length of Leadership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000... |
|
2001 | present | 7 years |
Welsh Assembly Group Leaders since 1999
| Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Length of Leadership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000... |
|
1999 | 2001 | 3 years |
| 2 | Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones, AM is a Welsh politician, who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Assembly Government from 2007 until 2011. Jones is the current leader of Plaid Cymru and Member of the National Assembly for Wales for the Ynys Môn constituency... |
2001 | current | 8 years |
UK Members of Parliament Group Leaders
| Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Length of Leadership | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Evans Dr Richard Gwynfor Evans , was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. President of Plaid Cymru for thirty six years, he was the first Member of Parliament to represent Plaid Cymru at Westminster .... |
1966 | 1979 | ||
| 2 | Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley Dafydd Wigley, Baron Wigley is a Welsh politician. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001 and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party from 1991 to 2000... |
|
1980 | ||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | Elfyn Llwyd Elfyn Llwyd Elfyn Llwyd, PC is a Welsh barrister and politician. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2010... |
Current |
See also
- History of the Welsh languageHistory of the Welsh languageThe history of the Welsh language spans over 1400 years, encompassing the stages of the language known as Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh.-Origins:Welsh evolved from British, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Britons...
- List of Plaid Cymru MPs
:Category:Plaid Cymru politicians
- Politics of WalesPolitics of WalesPolitics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom....
- National Assembly for Wales election, 2007National Assembly for Wales election, 2007The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place...
External links
- Plaid Cymru – Our History (official website)