Everything about History Of Plaid Cymru totally explained
See also Plaid Cymru: The Party of Wales
Plaid Cymru; The Party of Wales (IPA:/plaɪd ˈkəmri/; often referred in common speech simply as
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 whose principal aims include the promotion of the
Welsh language and for the
political independence of the
Welsh nation.
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 Davies. 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". However, in the UK General Elections of 1922, 1923, and 1924; "Wales as a political issue was increasingly eliminated from the [nationalagenda]". To this end it was agreed that party business be conducted in Welsh, and that members sever all links with other British parties. 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 characterized by inter-party conferences, an obsession with
Westminster and a willingness to accept a subservient position for the Welsh language", wrote Dr. Davies.
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, didn't 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.
According to the 1931 census, out of a population of just over 2.5 million, the percentage of Welsh speakers in Wales droped 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 then 6% of the population speaking Welsh. The UK government settled on Llŷn as the sight for its new bombing school after similar locations
Northumberland and
Dorset were met with protests.
Criticism
Saunders Lewis' perceived "elitist views", and a "condescending attitude towards some aspects of
nonconformist,
radical and
pacifist traditions of Wales" drew criticism from fellow nationalist such as
David J. Davies, a
leftist party member.
In many ways it was Davies' ideal of Welsh nationalism which was adopted 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 1930's.
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 characterized 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'd 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").
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 Attlee, 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". In a report he gave to then
Home Secretary Herbert Morrison, Iwi proposed to make the then
Princess Elizabeth Constable of
Caernarfon Castle (a post then held by the
Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor), and patroness of
Urdd Gobaith Cymru, and a touring of Wales as
Urdd's patroness. However, this characterisation misrepresented Welsh nationalist sentiments, as "[Welshnationalists] 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. and the rejection of other nations to force Welshmen to serve in their armed forces. and by 1943 he'd 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. 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". 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. The Council of Wales held no authority on its own, to the frustration of many of the councillors.
At a party conference in 1949 fifty members left
Plaid Cymru over over Evans' strict observance of a
pacifist political doctrine, and over the party's continued emphasis on the Welsh language.
These disaffected radicals founded
The Welsh Republican Movement, characterised as "socialist, secular and disrespectful," which provided a home for radical ideas while
Plaid Cymru matured as a political party, wrote historian John Davies. 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 collage 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."
The flooding of Capel Celyn 1956
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. 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. 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. 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.
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 Griffiths, the argument "in favour of a political system in Wales more answerable to the electorate" was plausible. 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. much to widespread anger and resentment in Wales, wrote Dr Davies.
The Yes for Wales campaign, 1997
See also National Assembly for Wales, Yes for Wales
After the
1997 general election, 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 didn't 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.
The following year the
Government of Wales Act was passed by UK parliament, establishing the National Assembly for Wales (
Welsh Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru).
First Welsh Assembly, 1999 - 2003
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.
Jones' presidency; 2000 - 2003
In a speech at the
2000 National Eisteddfod 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 His controversal comments prompted
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to joined a chorus calling for his resignation as the Assembly's presiding officer. 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 "[onparity] with Scotland's parliament", and "opposed any military conflict in Iraq, saying it would destabilise the Middle East". Jones also criticized health and public services policies and would end the "endless revamping of structures and administration". 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 couldn't afford to purchase their first home or compete against commuter or second-home buyers. Holiday home owners spend less then 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 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 urbanized 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 didn't learn the Welsh language.
Concern for the Welsh language under these pressures prompted Glyn to say "Once you've 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. 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.
2001 Census and tickbox controversy
see also Demography of Wales, Welsh people
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.
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. However, the Foot and Mouth crisis did delay
UK General Elections, 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 Blair 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 had a passage in it removed just prior to Blair's signing of it, describing Mittal as "a friend".
Iwan's presidency; 2003 - Current
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 and leader of the
assembly group.
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 campaign
In August 2004, Adam Price began a campaign to
impeach then
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 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 hadn't 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.
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.
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 passed away in April, and of the 80th anniversary of the party's founding. At Evans' funeral in
Aberystwyth, 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's 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.
Cymru X
Cymru X 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, chaired by
Mabon ap Gwynfor. 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.
Crossroads, leadership, and rebranding
2005 also saw the party in 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 couldn't expect more than to form a coalition government with other parties. 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 ran, 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. He had been within 35 metres of the blast. Though the committee admitted the three didn't break any clear rules of the UK House of Commons, the committee believed the timing of the adverts were planned to coincide with the Assembly elections. 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".
One 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 summarized 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 wouldn't be fully funded. Indeed, with the budget outlined after the coalition was formed
Plaid was obliged to defend spending cuts it may have otherwise criticized.
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.
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.
Broadcast news controversy
In August 2007 MP Adam Price highlighted what he perceived as a lack of a Welsh focus on
BBC 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.
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. 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. 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.
Plaid Cymru party leaders
Plaid Cymru Leader
Plaid Cymru party presidents since 1925
Honorary party presidents
|
Portrait |
Entered office |
Left office |
Length of Leadership |
|
| 1 | Dafydd Wigley |
|
2001 |
present |
7 years
|
UK Members of Parliament Group Leaders
Further Information
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