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It's another of those famous phrases which the person to which it is widely attributed (in this case, Jim Callaghan) never actually said. It came to mind today when two different journalists telephoned me to ask whether Plaid is going through a crisis, following a series of press stories over the last couple of weeks.
Well, it is the 'silly season' of course; a time when there is a dearth of hard political news. That, in turn, means that some recent events have received rather more attention than they would have received in other times, or than they merit. And in a way, I suppose that I contributed ever so slightly by stepping down as Chair.
But there really is no crisis. There is a debate to be had about Plaid's future direction, and we are having it. Some of it will inevitably be held in the public arena, but some details of party strategy are always best discussed internally, and I hope that members will try and remember that.
For my part, I will be taking part as a candidate in the hustings meetings to select the party's nominees for the Mid and West Region, and I have every intention of using the opportunity to talk to members across the Region about where the party is going and what we should be doing next. That is a healthy debate to be having; and it's one of the right places to be having it - with the party's members and activists.
Elements of that discussion will no doubt spill over into the public domain, whether accidentally or deliberately. But debate is not the same as division. Intelligent and sensible debate is something Plaid used to be very good at, and it's a skill we need to relearn.
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12 comments:
But there really is no crisis. There is a debate to be had about Plaid's future direction, and we are having it. Some of it will inevitably be held in the public arena, but some details of party strategy are always best discussed internally, and I hope that members will try and remember that.
a lot of members would disagree with you and some of us on the national council would have appreciated a heads up before you went public.
As a matter of interest have we had a national council since the general election, have we had a debrief, no we haven't.
Anon,
"some of us on the national council would have appreciated a heads up before you went public"
The next National Council will be in October / November, I believe. For reasons which I will not go into on a public forum, it was my conclusion that I should not wait until then before resigning.
The general election performance was a disaster, don't you think that deserved an emergency national council instead of dealing with matters behind the closed doors of the Nat Exec. Your chairmanship after the election lacked openess and transparency and ther is now a big void at the top with no obvious leader.
Anon,
Harsh words indeed. If you are a member, as your comment suggests, and you want to e-mail me (address is on the blog), I'm quite happy to enter into a private discussion, and perhaps provide some more explanation. But there are some things which I don't intend to go into on a public forum, as I hope you'd understand.
The General Election was a disappointment.
But lets get things in perspective. Marcus at Plaid Panteg is also sounding a bit dispondent. Come on boys, lets look at the facts.
Labour are basically running an election campaign for the 2011 Assembly election on Plaid's 2007 Assembly manifesto. Labour have nicked our policies and in the UK 2015 election will nick the Tories policies too (whatever the class jingoism they're spouting today). Appart from pork-barrel policies to their core vote, they have no ideas - they just attack other and then take their policies, be it Plaid in Wales or Tory in England/UK.
Barnett: Labour 2 May 2010 - it's impossible and not needed. 4 May 2010 - we need to review Barnett now, nasty Tories stealing our money.
Referendum: Labour 2 May 2010 lets kick it into the long grass and try and fob off Plaid with this 'settled will for a generation'. Labour 4 May 2010, we need a referendum now, nasty Tories stealing our money again!
Housing eLCO: Labour 2 May 2010, lets kick this into the long grass and waste time in committees with it. Labour 4 May 2010, we need a housing eLCO now, nasty Tories keeping nicking council houses of poor people.
Electification of Railway: Labour 2 May 2010; lets kick it into long grass but make some warm noise about it in the mean time. Labour 3 May 2010, we need electification of rail now, nasty Tories starving Wales of infrastructure.
... I think you get the idea. So, Labour have nicked our ideas.
So;
1. Lets just say this, and quote the exact times Labour contradicted themselves. Do people want the real thing or the cheap and nasty immitation. So no more PPB which say nothing. Just bring out the facts with the quotes and dates and Labours contradictions.
2. Lets not agree with every anti-Tory line Labour comes out with. The economic mess is Labour's economic mess - the UK is the World's 5 or 6th biggest economy. The City is one of the world's three biggest financial centres. As Labour's Brit Nats continiously tell us, 'Britain is big enough to change the economic weather, not like puny little Wales.' Labour could have changed the international financial weather. They chose not to. The economic mess is their mess. The excess personal borrowing is their mess. The excess govt spending is their mess. Nobody elses.
3. Lets see IWJ act like a strong leader, and, yes, Ieuan, that means saying something risque and confrontational sometimes and certainly means giving Carwyn JOnes a public slapping after unilateral decisions like the one over Ysgol Treganna in Cardiff.
4. Can we have an election slogan that means something? No, 'think different' which didn't mean anything. Test, can every single party use that slogan? Yes. OK - it's not a Plaid slogan then. How about for the Assembly elections? 'Wales - a nation not a region'. Obvious, yes; appeal to core vote, yes; mean something, yes; encapsulates that we'll fight for Wales yes; suggest ambition of Wales and the Assembly - yes. Popular sentiment - yes.
5. Run an election narrative with along the line of 'No One Party State' - many people are as scared of a Wales run like Mid Glam on stilts by Labour as they are of the Tories. A time of economic hardship is a time for parties to get together - ether One Wales or Rainbow. But the last thing Wales need is a Labour One Party State - we can see how Carwyn's foot in mouth Referendum campaign has already split the campaing with the pro-devo Tories like Glyn Davies and also the LD who are traditionally (as a party at least) pro Devolution unhappy with him.
El Dafydd El
"But lets get things in perspective. Marcus at Plaid Panteg is also sounding a bit dispondent. Come on boys, lets look at the facts."
With respect, I am working my knackers off in Torfaen. We have a record number of council candidates ready for 2012 (every single ward), I am giving them hell in my own ward, we have won 2 of last 3 community council by elections and I cannot wait to get stuck into 2011, making sure we get two regional AMs.
I am alot of things, including a bit self important, but despondent I am not. ;)
And dare I say it, but I fully agree with what El Dafydd El has said.
Winning the referendum will christen One Wales a success.
Take my words back Marcus, boy!
Not dispondent, just looking at things honestly and wanting a good debate. I'll salute that!
Heard good things about you guys in Torfaen.
El Dafydd El
The reason I am no longer a Plaid member is that there are no real splits in the Party. and debates at conference. This may seem strange, The argument is often put that divided Parties cannot win, but I believe that the idea that a Party must be united is perverse. In reality it means all policy comes from the leadership ,and as I posted on my own blog (in this case Lib-Dems) this leads to the general membership and indeed backbenchers being little more than cannon fodder.
If you can’t express your views in the Party then there’s no point in being a member . This does not mean plotting but there nothing wrong with saying openly “ the leadership are wrong on this and I won’t support it.”
Glyn,
But might those views be better served by driving the debate within the party? Rather than outside the party?
"If you can’t express your views in the Party then there’s no point in being a member . This does not mean plotting but there nothing wrong with saying openly “ the leadership are wrong on this and I won’t support it.”"
Plaid AMs already do this though so it is no excuse for not being a member.
Talking up all this despondency and crisis is the job of the media in silly season and opposition parties. Let them get on with it... it's only to deflect from their own problems.
Plaid is going into 2011 with some great candidates (established and new), the prospect of building further on the past few years' solid advances outside the Fro Gymraeg and councillors in places like Torfaen, Cardiff and Wrecsam showing what's possible.
El Dafydd is spot on in his analysis. Plaid is driving the ideas agenda in Wales and Labour are the brake on further progress.
@Glynbeddau
Can I assure you that the Plaid grassroots membership isn't taken for granted. If you joined and came to any National Council (as a branch delegate) you'd see our ministers and other leading members facing rigorous questioning of policies and being answerable to the party grassroots.
Although a relatively new member, the ability to communicate with our leading politicians is something that I can't imagine happens in other parties.
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