It is customary on
this day in particular to repeat the injunction left to us by Dewi, “Gwnewch y pethau bychain” – “Do the little
things”. And the little things are
certainly important in politics. It’s
often the little things which can make the greatest and most immediate
difference to people’s daily lives.
Certainly, when I was a councillor many years ago, it was a lesson which
I kept in mind; most of the impact that I had didn’t come from speaking or
voting in the chamber, but from acting as an advocate for the people I
represented, often on issues which might look very minor.
But concentrating
only on the little things means ignoring the big things; the little things need
to be put into the broader context, which only the big things can provide. Any politician, from any party, can attend to
the drains and the streetlamps. Any
politician from any party can seek and obtain power on a platform of minor
change today. But pursuing such a
programme means putting off the more fundamental changes indefinitely.
It’s not enough
just to remember the little things today; let us also remember the bigger task
which faces us, of bringing real and lasting change to the economic and
political structures.
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