Assembly Member Leanne Wood has announced her intention to seek nomination as a candidate for the leadership of Plaid Cymru.
Ms Wood, the AM for South Wales Central, promised to prioritise the economy in moving towards ‘real independence’ for Wales. Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards has backed her leadership bid.
She said: “My politics have been shaped by the people and place I grew up in. I have always been a campaigner, an activist who became a politician to further those aims and that’s why I’m now putting my name forward as leader of the party I have been a proud member for 20 years – all my adult life. My first hand experience of recession and its impact during the 1980s gives me a determination to make sure that we do not lose yet another generation to youth unemployment. Tackling those economic challenges goes hand in hand with our journey to independence.
“We’re entering exciting times as a party. The internal review will inevitably throw up debates about the future political direction of Plaid Cymru which the leadership election could help to resolve. I have a clear vision of what our future direction should be; building the case for real independence. Over the years we have been less than clear as to what we mean by independence, why we want it or how we would get there. Now is the time to change that.”
Ms Wood joins fellow AMs Simon Thomas, Elin Jones and Dafydd Elis Thomas in the fight to take over Plaid Cymru’s leadership from the outgoing Ieuan Wyn Jones.
I think Leanne Wood is right when she says, "Over the years we have been less than clear as to what we mean by independence, why we want it or how we would get there."
The reason Plaid does not mention independence very much is that it is not popular with the voters. Good for her to speak up and say what Plaid Cymru really wants.
Leanne brings a fresh clear confident voice to the Plaid leadershop contest. Her vision I think is green, decentralised community level socialism. She is helping do practical things in the valleys like local food production, alotments and sociable cooking, local currencies like time banking.. A woman, young activist, very different for Plaid. Exciting.. Gyffroes.
This is the best news for Plaid Cymru since it lost its direction Twenty odd years ago to those who felt that it had to imitate other political parties to progress, it did not progress, and had it not been for circumstances of the creation of the Welsh Assembly, with its unique voting systems the current Plaid Cymru Party would still be firmly based in the backwaters.
Leanne would, undoubtedly, bring back a lost dimension and new priorities to Welsh Politics,and particularly to those who embraced the vision of the original concept of Saunders Lewis and others, so many years ago.
Lets hope those who cast vote in this internal election have the courage to embrace Leanne, if they do Wales may see a much more attractive political vision emanating from a party which had, unfortunately, lost its direction.
One final point, as an observer of Welsh Politics, I have seen ( as have everyone else who reads the South Wales Echo) the nasty side of individuals who get elected and then progress to use that position to display personal, subjective, sometimes hostile and aggressive, and vitriolic comments and statements about individuals and organisations, Leanne, on the other hand promotes her brand of Politics with style, and, always, always, with pinpoint accuracy.
Role on Plaid Cymru doing the right thing.
I`ve always supported a federal system, something like the ongoing process of Devolution we have now. Plaid Cymru should not waste its energy on chasing the fantasy of independence, but should concentrate on providing a meaningful opposition, exposing the rel problems, economc and social in Wales, and in time, with control of the existing system, under the understood political constraints, solve these problems something the existing Government is unwilling or unable to do. It should be remembered that Plaid Cymru is the Party of Wales, and not Plaid Cymry, the Party of the Welsh speakers.
Wonderful that Leanne is standing as Plaid leader…a chance for a fresh start with a leader committed to social justice, jobs and the environment. Pob lwc Leanne!