Bethan Jenkins AC/AM Blog

It would be wrong for me to say that Plaid did well in the National Assembly election campaign. To come third to the Tories in Wales is a reality that I am far from comfortable with, but something we must face up to, and address. You may have read comments online recently and in the press about the views of individual Plaid members and political commentators – from blaming the lack of Welsh press, to the strategy, to the fact that this was a referendum on the UK government’s cuts where Plaid got squeezed in the debate, and the role of Plaid post the referendum on more powers for our National Assembly.

All of these elements were raised at the party’s National Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, which followed Ieuan’s Friday announcement that he will stand down as leader within the next two years.  We are conducting a full analysis of the election results, the processes within the party, how decisions were carried out, where resources were prioritised, and how party members on a grassroots level are kept up to date with the national campaign.

We can take lessons from the SNP, although I must add that trips to Scotland by Plaid members happen already, and we are gaining a greater understanding of what they are doing by carrying out such research. We cannot directly compare the SNP’s results with ours, but we should never turn the opportunity down to learn from them, or from other parties across Europe where we have clear links.

What has always struck me is that when I visit my friends who are in the SNP, they never appear satisfied with the current constitutional arrangements, and raise their arms to indicate quote marks when discussing the Scottish ‘Parliament’ – they seem to suggest that they do not see it as such until they win Independence for their Nation. We should have the same confidence and passion to talk about the future constitutional aims of our party, and more importantly, discuss what type of Wales we want to see in an Independent Wales. We need to do this without fear that our political opponents will scaremonger or criticise us. They will do that anyway!

I am not sure that I share the concern of others who are asking ‘what is Plaid for?’ I know that Plaid is for greater autonomy for Wales, but for me it is the type and scope of that debate that we should be assessing- we need to look at what Plaid as a movement can now offer the people of Wales.

We must appeal to more people, for a start. Relying on the Fro Gymraeg for support is not sustainable if we want to realistically win seats in the South Wales Valleys and in cities like Swansea and Cardiff. This must be an aspiration if we really want to be the party of Wales. What we need to do is show Labour up for what it is – a party interested in winning for power’s sake. We need to change people’s perception of Plaid by proving that we can be effective representatives, and that we are an integral part of the communities in which we live and work.

Nonetheless, the elephant in the room with regards to the ongoing success of Labour in Wales is the unwavering support that they gain from trade unions who are affiliated to the Labour party, despite the fact that in Neath Port Talbot and Rhondda Cynon Taff, for example, the Labour-run councils have been far from effective in dealing with staff entitlements and conditions in the last few months. Please don’t get me wrong-there are Plaid members in these unions who do a great job of representing their colleagues, and I support many of the campaigns that unions carry out across Wales. But in my view, we need to create a new Welsh trade union system, that is not tied up to the Labour party, that offers its own distinctive agenda.

Cosying up to Labour now will not win us seats, especially when Labour tribalism in many of our towns is as strong as it has ever been. The relationship between Plaid and Labour in the Assembly for the last four years may have been relatively stable, but this was not reflected on a grassroots level. Carwyn needs to eradicate the tribalism in his own party before re-entering talks with Plaid Cymru on any level. The ball is not only in our court in terms of change and reform, but in Labour’s too.

Carwyn Jones cannot expect to gain our support for vital votes in the Assembly and then take all the credit for getting legislation through, and he cannot assume that we will support the Government so that there will be stability for Labour in Wales. If they carry out initiatives that we do not agree with, we should not shy away from saying so. And we should also note the fact that Labour will seek to implement policies in Wales because they are not in power on a UK level, and will push issues like fairer funding when they failed to do so for so many years.

Of course I am pleased that Plaid in government played a key role in delivering  a referendum on more powers for the National Assembly. I wanted the referendum sooner, but such debates are quite easy to have in hindsight, and the fact that we won the referendum is the most important thing. But just because coalitions are becoming the norm, and just because we have had a taste of power does not mean that as a party, or more importantly, as a movement, we should seek power for power’s sake. If it means we are in opposition for some time so that we can strengthen and re energise, then so be it. If it means that we can become bolder and clearer in what we do then why should that be seen as a negative?  We need to develop our appeal as a party, reach out, and become the true party of Wales.