TIDE IS TURNING

The “tide is turning” on Welsh independence according to Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price.

Speaking ahead of the first ever March for Welsh independence held today in Cardiff organised by AUOB Cymru, Adam Price said that people were “waking up” to the idea that independence is normal.

Mr Price said that decades of neglect from the UK Government has resulted in poverty in Wales and that coupled with the Brexit chaos was enough to show that Westminster was “not fit” to govern or represent Wales.

He cited the emergence of various grassroots organisations including Yes Cymru, Undod, AUOB and Welsh Football Fans for Independence as a sign that attitudes towards Welsh independence is changing.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said,

“For many years, our desire to see an independent Wales has seemed distant. But the tide is turning, the marches are growing, and the voices are louder.

“Decades of Westminster neglect have resulted in poverty and under-investment. A third of our children are living in relative poverty and you only have to look at the Brexit chaos to see that Westminster is not fit to govern or represent Wales.

“People are waking up to the idea that independence is normal and that the solution to our problems in Wales is to take our future into our own hands.

“Grassroots organisations like of Yes Cymru, Undod, AUOB and Welsh Football Fans for Independence, the repainting of Cofiwch Dryweryn and the sold-out, thousand strong Yes is More gig shows there is a new-found confidence in Wales’ future as an independent country.

“Imagine what an outward, fairer, progressive and welcoming country, with all the democratic and economic levers it needs and where anyone who wants to be Welsh can call Wales their home, could contribute to the world.

“Today, I will be proud to march alongside my fellow citizens from all across Wales to proudly declare that Wales’ brightest possible future is as an independent nation at the heart of Europe.

POST-BREXIT FUNDING FARCE

Plaid Cymru Brexit Spokesperson, Hywel Williams MP, has attacked the Westminster Government for failing to deliver any details over the replacement to regional development funding, despite promising to do so by the end of last year. Mr Williams made the criticisms during a parliamentary debate on The Future of Regional Development Funding in Wales.

Little is known about the so-called Shared Prosperity Fund, which is meant to replace regional funding if the UK leaves the EU, because the Westminster Government failed to meet its own deadline on publishing a consultation by the end of 2018.  

Plaid Cymru have put forward detailed proposals for a replacement regional development funding system in a recent paper Not A Penny Less. Included in their proposals were a call to ensure that Wales does not receive a penny less in funding, that the National Assembly for Wales remains responsible for its distribution and that funds are fairly pre-allocated on need rather than doled out using a competitive bidding process, to ensure the three nations and English regions are not pitted against each other. 

Plaid Cymru supports a People’s Vote and would campaign for Wales to remain an EU member. Research by Cardiff University found that, as an EU member, Wales receives around £245 million more a year from the EU than it pays in.

During the debate, Hywel Williams MP said:

“Two years ago the Westminster Government committed to creating a UK Shared Prosperity Fund, ‘specifically designed to reduce inequalities between communities across our four nations.’ Well, where is it?

“Wales won’t forgive a Westminster Government that can’t or won’t plan the funding on which so many of our communities are forced to depend.

“Decisions on future funding must be timely, we can’t have a government caused funding gap disrupting a proper transition in the delivery of projects on the ground… we need timely planning and proper funding to enable Welsh solutions for Welsh problems.

Mr Williams went on to say:  

“The UK Shared Prosperity Fund must deliver for Wales.  Otherwise ever more of our citizens will conclude, rightly I believe, that we are better out than in. Out of the UK and back in the EU.”