Tagged with Wales

Leanne Wood elected leader of Plaid Cymru – a new challenge for Labour

Leanne Wood has been elected leader of Plaid Cymru with 3,326 votes compared to runner-up Elin Jones’s 2,494. Leanne is a socialist and a republican as well as a nationalist, and will unquestionably lead Plaid to the Left. In doing so she will pose a new challenge to Carwen Jones, Welsh First Minister, and Welsh Labour. Having successfully pursued a policy of putting ‘clear red water’ between Welsh Labour on the one hand and both the Tories and New Labour on the other, could Plaid’s shift to the Left cause the same problem the SNP had caused for Scottish Labour? Continue reading →

Mark Serwotka backs Leanne Wood for Plaid leadership

Plaid’s Leanne Wood has received the backing of Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), who called her “one of the most outstanding politicians in Wales.” Leanne Wood  has been a consistent supporter of picket lines and union rallies over the years in defence of pay and conditions for public sector workers and also chairs the cross-party PCS Group at the Welsh National Assembly. Continue reading →

Welsh Labour circles the wagons

Wales is the one part of Britain (at least, beyond municipal level) where Labour remains in government and this achievement elicited due respect from Ed Miliband, Iain McNicol and Douglas Alexander when they visited Welsh Labour conference in Cardiff on the weekend.

But, while Alexander was keen to co-opt the Welsh example of successful devolution for his campaign against the SNP’s independence proposals, he was notably reticent about the content of the ‘distinctly Welsh social-democratic offer’. The latter might succinctly be summarised as its commitment to equality of outcome and rejection of the New Labour/Tory/Lib Dem approach to the ’reform’ of public services. Continue reading →

What would a Leanne Wood victory mean for Labour

Leanne Wood’s campaign to become leader of Plaid goes from strength to strength, now gaining the endorsement of Dafydd Iwan, former president of the party, and a renowned Welsh-language musician. Iwan’s support is significant as it bridges the gap between the traditionalist Welsh speaking foundations of Plaid’s support in the West and North of the country with the left-wing republicanism that Leanne avows. Continue reading →

Could Leanne Wood enable Plaid to challenge Labour in Wales like the SNP has in Scotland?

Nominations closed today in the race for the leadership of Plaid Cymru with Leanne Wood emerging as the 4-5 favourite according to online bookmaker Paddy Power. She faces three of her fellow assembly members in the contest — former MP and now AM for Mid and West Wales, Simon Thomas, another former MP and leader in the 1980s, Lord Elis-Thomas, and Elin Jones, former Welsh rural affairs minister and, at evens, probably her main opponent. Continue reading →