50-432: The Welsh Socialist Republican Movement ( Mudiad Sosialaidd Gweriniaethol Cymru ) was a short-lived nationalist political movement which was born out of frustration with Plaid Cymru 's failure to oppose the first referendum on Welsh Devolution in 1979 in order to map out a specific policy of arguing for Independence. It was also an attempt to develop a Welsh Socialist alternative to Plaid Cymru and it produced pamphlets and
100-688: A commitment for both parties to campaign for a Yes vote in a referendum on full law-making powers for the Assembly, to be held at a time of the Welsh Assembly Government's choosing. Ieuan Wyn Jones was subsequently confirmed as Deputy First Minister of Wales and Minister for the Economy and Transport . Rhodri Glyn Thomas was appointed Heritage Minister. He later stood down, and Alun Ffred Jones took over. Ceredigion AM Elin Jones
150-449: A couple more copies of Y Faner Goch ("The Red Flag") and then reformed in the late 1980s to create Cymru Goch (Red Wales), a small socialist political party that lasted another 20 years, publishing Y Faner Goch until 2003 and establishing The Red Poets' Society, an annual poetry magazine that is active today. This article about a European socialist party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about
200-473: A leadership contest was held for the position of Welsh Labour Leader. The election was won by Carwyn Jones who was confirmed leader of Welsh Labour on 1 December 2009 and as First Minister on 9 December 2009 by the Welsh Assembly . Jones was officially sworn in the next day. Jones maintained the existing One Wales coalition agreement with Plaid Cymru , established by Morgan. Minister for
250-752: A newspaper called Y Faner Goch (The Red Flag). In the early 1980s, following undercover police operations targeting student circles in Aberystwyth and Bangor, several WSRM members were arrested and prosecuted under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 for conspiracy to cause explosions and possession of explosives. After its collapse around half a dozen members joined the what would become the Communist Party of Britain , some returned to Plaid Cymru, and others became active in issue-orientated movements. The socialist remnants published
300-530: A plot against him. His successor, Ieuan Wyn Jones , struggled to impose his authority, particularly over controversial remarks made by a councillor, Seimon Glyn. At the same time, Labour leader and First Minister Alun Michael was replaced by Rhodri Morgan. In the 2001 general election , notwithstanding Plaid Cymru recording its highest-ever vote share in a general election, 14.3%, the party lost Wyn Jones's former seat of Ynys Môn to Albert Owen , although it gained Carmarthen East and Dinefwr , where Adam Price
350-504: A political party in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Plaid Cymru Social democracy Socialism Communism Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other Plaid Cymru ( English: / p l aɪ d ˈ k ʌ m r i / PLYDE KUM -ree ; Welsh: [plaid ˈkəmri] , lit. ' Party of Wales ' ; officially Plaid Cymru –
400-624: A report which detailed failings by the party to prevent sexual harassment and bullying. In June 2023 Rhun ap Iorwerth was elected unopposed as leader. The party won the second most seats in Wales in the 2024 general election and won both its target seats. In September 2008, a senior Plaid assembly member spelled out her party's continuing support for an independent Wales. The then Welsh Minister for Rural Affairs , Elin Jones , told delegates at Plaid's annual conference in Aberystwyth that
450-508: A wide-ranging review of its priorities and goals, Gwynfor Evans fought a successful campaign (including the threat of a hunger strike) to oblige the Conservative government to fulfill its promise to establish S4C , a Welsh-language television station. In 1984, Dafydd Elis-Thomas was elected president, defeating Dafydd Iwan , a move that saw the party shift to the left. Ieuan Wyn Jones (later Plaid Cymru leader) captured Ynys Môn from
500-461: Is the Welsh upland landscape', the logo would change in the late stages of 20th century to include the red dragon of Wales, however this version was short-lived. In 2006, the party voted constitutional changes to formally designate the party's leader in the assembly as its overall leader, with Ieuan Wyn Jones being restored to the full leadership and Dafydd Iwan becoming head of the voluntary wing of
550-412: The 1979 general election , the party's vote share declined from 10.8% to 8.1% and Carmarthen was again lost to Labour, although Caernarfon and Merionethshire were held by the party. Caernarfon MP Dafydd Wigley succeeded Gwynfor Evans as president in 1981, inheriting a party whose morale was at an all-time low. In 1981 the party adopted a policy of "community socialism". While the party embarked on
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#1732801679262600-494: The 1999 National Assembly for Wales election , Plaid Cymru dropped its policy of Welsh independence in favour of continued membership in the European Union. These changes in policy were made as it was believed that the electorate in Wales did not view independence as an important issue. It also adopted social democracy for its economic policy in an attempt to weaken Labour. These changes in policy have been used to explain
650-487: The UK's Trident nuclear weapons programme ). The party also favours lowering the voting age to 16 years old. The voting age has already been lowered to include 16- and 17-year-olds for both Senedd elections and local elections in Wales since 2020, but not for UK general elections or police and crime commissioner elections: 18 is the minimum voting age for both of these. Plaid Cymru supports making social care "free at
700-482: The Welsh Conservatives and losing its deputy leader Helen Mary Jones . The party held an inquiry into the election result. The internal investigation led to the adoption of wide-ranging changes to its constitution, including a streamlining of the leadership structure. In May 2011, Ieuan Wyn Jones announced he would stand down as leader within the first half of the Assembly term. A leadership election
750-616: The Wilson government would halt the long-term decline in their industry had been dashed by a significant downward revision of coal production estimates. However, particularly in Carmarthen, Plaid also successfully depicted Labour's policies as a threat to the viability of small Welsh communities. In the 1970 general election , Plaid Cymru contested every seat in Wales for the first time and its vote share surged from 4.5% in 1966 to 11.5%. Gwynfor Evans lost Carmarthen to Labour, but regained
800-399: The deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy and Transport , other Plaid Cymru Assembly members were also part of the cabinets. After losses in the 2011 Assembly elections and dropping down to being the third largest party, Wyn Jones stepped down. He was succeeded by Leanne Wood . In the 2016 Assembly elections Wood managed to win her constituency seat of Rhondda meaning
850-592: The referendum result led many in the party to question its direction. Plaid campaigned to leave the Common Market in the 1975 referendum , feeling that the EC's regional aid policies would "reconcile places like Wales to their subordinate position". Nevertheless, 65% of Welsh voters voted to remain in the EC during a 1975 referendum . The EC was incorporated into the European Union (EU) in 1993. At
900-493: The 1999 devolved election. The 2004 local election saw the party lose control of the two South Wales councils it gained in 1999, Rhondda Cynon Taff and Caerphilly , while retaining its stronghold of Gwynedd in the north-west. The results enabled the party to claim a greater number of ethnic minority councillors than all the other political parties in Wales combined, along with gains in authorities such as Cardiff and Swansea , where Plaid Cymru representation had been minimal. In
950-599: The Conservatives in 1987 . In 1989 Dafydd Wigley once again assumed the presidency of the party. In the 1992 general election , the party added a fourth MP, Cynog Dafis , when he gained Ceredigion and Pembroke North from the Liberal Democrats . Dafis was endorsed by the local branch of the Green Party . The party's vote share recovered to 9.9% at the 1997 general election . In 1997, following
1000-629: The European Parliament elections of the same year, the party's vote share fell to 17.4%, and the reduction in the number of Welsh MEPs saw its representation reduced to one. In the general election of 5 May 2005, Plaid Cymru lost the Ceredigion seat to the Liberal Democrats ; this result was a disappointment to Plaid, who had hoped to gain Ynys Môn . Overall therefore, Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary representation fell to three seats,
1050-622: The Party of Wales , and often referred to simply as Plaid ) is a centre-left to left-wing , Welsh nationalist political party in Wales , committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom . It campaigns on a platform of social democracy and civic nationalism . The party is a strong supporter of the European Union and is a member of the European Free Alliance (EFA). The party holds 4 of 32 Welsh seats in
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#17328016792621100-606: The UK Parliament, 12 of 60 seats in the Senedd , and 202 of 1,231 principal local authority councillors. Plaid was formed in 1925 under the name Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru (English: The National Party of Wales) and Gwynfor Evans won the first Westminster seat for the party at the 1966 Carmarthen by-election . In 1999 (in the first devolved Welsh Assembly election), Plaid Cymru gained considerable ground in traditionally Labour heartlands. These breakthroughs were part of
1150-675: The candidate Lewis Valentine , the party's first president, offered himself in Caernarvonshire on a platform of demonstrating Welsh people's rejection of English dominion. By 1932, the aims of self-government and Welsh representation at the League of Nations had been added to that of preserving Welsh language and culture. However, this move, and the party's early attempts to develop an economic critique, did not broaden its appeal beyond that of an intellectual and socially conservative Welsh language pressure group. The alleged sympathy of
1200-468: The constituency of Carmarthen , Gwynfor Evans captured the seat from Labour at a by-election. This was followed by two further by-elections in Rhondda West in 1967 and Caerphilly in 1968 in which the party achieved massive swings of 30% and 40% respectively, coming within a whisker of victory. The results were caused partly by an anti-Labour backlash. Expectations in coal mining communities that
1250-501: The election of a Labour government committed to devolution for Wales, a further referendum was narrowly won, establishing the National Assembly for Wales . Plaid Cymru became the main opposition to the ruling Labour Party, with 17 seats to Labour's 28. In doing so, it appeared to have broken out of its rural Welsh-speaking heartland, and gained seats in traditionally strong Labour areas in industrial South Wales . Ahead of
1300-404: The first time. At this time Gwynfor Evans was elected president. Gwynfor Evans's presidency coincided with the maturation of Plaid Cymru (as it now began to refer to itself) into a more recognisable political party. Its share of the vote increased from 0.7% in the 1951 general election to 3.1% in 1955 and 5.2% in 1959 . In the 1959 election, the party contested a majority of Welsh seats for
1350-684: The first time. Proposals to flood the village of Capel Celyn in the Tryweryn valley in Gwynedd in 1957 to supply the city of Liverpool with water played a part in Plaid Cymru's growth. The fact that the parliamentary bill authorising the dam went through without support from any Welsh MPs showed that the MPs' votes in Westminster were not enough to prevent such bills from passing. Support for
1400-455: The intentional aim to win more seats in the Welsh valleys and North East Wales , which continues to be an ambition today. The party have mostly been in opposition in the Senedd . Although under the leadership of Ieuan Wyn Jones , the party was part of a coalition as a junior partner with Welsh Labour (See: One Wales , Morgan and Jones governments) between 2007 and 2011. Wyn Jones became
1450-407: The lowest number for the party since 1992. The party's share of the vote fell to 12.6%. Since Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru reformation to 'Plaid Cymru' in 1933, the logo representing the party was the green 'triban' (three peaks) which symbolically represented Plaid's three key goals; self-government, cultural prosperity and economic prosperity, 'anchored in the bedrock of Welsh identity and history that
1500-421: The new movement; keeping Wales Welsh-speaking took primacy, with the aim of making Welsh the only official language of Wales. In the 1929 general election , the party contested its first parliamentary constituency, Caernarvonshire , polling 609 votes, or 1.6% of the vote for that seat. The party contested few such elections in its early years, partly due to its ambivalence towards Westminster politics. Indeed,
1550-479: The newly created constituency of Aberconwy . The 2007 election also saw Plaid Cymru's Mohammad Asghar become the first ethnic minority candidate elected to the Welsh Assembly. The party's share of the vote increased to 22.4%. After weeks of negotiations involving all four parties in the Assembly, Plaid Cymru and Labour agreed to form a coalition government . Their agreed " One Wales " programme included
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1600-503: The party "focussed on bringing together tailor-made policies in order to transform our economy". On 1 May 2012, it was confirmed Leanne Wood would not be taking the £23,000 pay increase that every other party leader in the Assembly receives. First Jones government The first Jones government (10 December 2009 – 11 May 2011) was a continuation of the previous Labour – Plaid Cymru coalition government in Wales. Following Rhodri Morgan 's decision to retire,
1650-499: The party adopted a neutral standpoint and urged (with only limited success) conscientious objection to war service. In 1943, Saunders Lewis contested the University of Wales parliamentary seat at a by-election, gaining 1,330 votes, or 22%. In the 1945 general election , with party membership at around 2,500, Plaid Cymru contested seven seats, as many as it had in the preceding 20 years, including constituencies in south Wales for
1700-548: The party declined slightly in the early 1960s, particularly as support for the Liberal Party began to stabilise from its long-term decline. In 1962, Saunders Lewis gave a radio talk entitled Tynged yr Iaith (The fate of the language) in which he predicted the extinction of the Welsh language unless action was taken. This led to the formation of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society)
1750-471: The party gained one seat, and became the official opposition once again, although only for a brief period. In 2018 following internal pressure and a leadership contest , Adam Price defeated Wood and was elected the new leader. Following the 2021 Senedd election Plaid formed a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government . In May 2023 Price resigned as leader following the publication of
1800-590: The party would continue its commitment to independence under the coalition with Welsh Labour . In 2014, the party's constitution included the following aims: While Wales remains part of the United Kingdom, Plaid Cymru want to see further powers devolved from the UK Government to Wales, including: broadcasting and communication powers, devolution of the Crown Estate, welfare and rail. The party opposes nuclear power and nuclear weapons (including
1850-574: The party's leading members (including President Saunders Lewis ) towards Europe's totalitarian regimes compromised its early appeal further. Saunders Lewis, David John Williams and Lewis Valentine set fire to the newly constructed RAF Penyberth air base on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd in 1936, in protest at its siting in the Welsh-speaking heartland. The leaders' treatment, including
1900-474: The party's subsequent electoral success in Labour's traditional South East Wales heartlands. In the 1999 election , Plaid Cymru gained seats in traditional Labour areas such as Rhondda , Islwyn and Llanelli , achieving by far its highest share of the vote in any Wales-wide election. While Plaid Cymru regarded itself as the natural beneficiary of devolution, others attributed its performance in large part to
1950-506: The party. The party unveiled a radical change of image in 2006. In that year, the party opted to use "Plaid" as the party's name, although "Plaid Cymru — the Party of Wales" would remain the official title. Plaid would abandon the triban (apart from the merchandise) and adopt the yellow Welsh poppy ( Meconopsis cambrica ). In the National Assembly election of 3 May 2007, Plaid Cymru increased its number of seats from 12 to 15, regaining Llanelli , gaining one additional list seat and winning
2000-522: The point of need". In 2022, Plaid Cymru's policies included in its co-operation agreement with Welsh Labour included: While both the Labour and Liberal parties of the early 20th century had accommodated demands for Welsh home rule, no political party existed for the purpose of establishing a Welsh government. Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru ( Welsh for 'the National Party of Wales')
2050-497: The popular Rhodri Morgan victory. Less than two months later, in elections to the European parliament , Labour support slumped further, and Plaid Cymru came within 2.5% of achieving the largest share of the vote in Wales. Under the new system of proportional representation , the party also gained two MEPs. Plaid Cymru then developed political problems of its own. Dafydd Wigley resigned, citing health problems but amid rumours of
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2100-504: The same year. Labour's return to power in 1964 and the creation of the post of Secretary of State for Wales appeared to represent a continuation of the incremental evolution of a distinctive Welsh polity, following the Conservative government's appointment of a Minister of Welsh Affairs in the mid-1950s and the establishment of Cardiff as Wales' capital in 1955. However, in 1966 , less than four months after coming in third in
2150-762: The seat in October 1974 , by which time the party had gained a further two MPs, representing the constituencies of Caernarfon and Merionethshire . Plaid Cymru's emergence (along with the Scottish National Party ) prompted the Wilson government to establish the Kilbrandon Commission on the constitution. The subsequent proposals for a Welsh Assembly were, however, heavily defeated in a referendum in 1979 . Despite Plaid Cymru's ambivalence toward home rule (as opposed to outright independence)
2200-479: The travails of the Labour Party , whose nomination for Assembly First Secretary , Ron Davies , was forced to stand down in an alleged sex scandal . The ensuing leadership battle, won by Alun Michael , did much to damage Labour, and thus aided Plaid Cymru, whose leader was the more popular and higher profile Dafydd Wigley . The Labour Party's UK national leadership was seen to interfere in the contest and deny
2250-611: The trial judge's dismissal of the use of Welsh and their subsequent imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs , led to "The Three" becoming a cause célèbre . This heightened the profile of the party dramatically and its membership had doubled to nearly 2,000 by 1939. Penyberth, and Plaid Cymru's neutral stance during the Second World War , prompted concerns within the UK Government that it might be used by Germany to insert spies or carry out other covert operations. In fact,
2300-583: Was appointed to the Rural Affairs brief in the new 10-member cabinet. Jocelyn Davies became Deputy Minister for Housing, and later, Regeneration. In the 2010 general election , Plaid returned three MPs to Westminster. They took part in the Yes for Wales cross-party campaign for the March 2011 referendum. In the 2011 National Assembly election , Plaid slipped from second place to third, being overtaken by
2350-616: Was elected as Plaid Cymru's president. Ieuan Wyn Jones, who had resigned from his dual role as president and Assembly group leader following the losses in the 2003 Assembly election, was re-elected in the latter role. Elfyn Llwyd remained the Plaid Cymru leader in the Westminster Parliament. Under Iwan's presidency the party formally adopted a policy of independence for Wales within Europe. Plaid Cymru had historically supported Welsh independence but dropped this policy ahead of
2400-511: Was elected. The Assembly elections of May 2003 saw the party's representation drop from 17 to 12, with the seats gained in the 1999 election falling again to Labour and the party's share of the vote declining to 21%. Plaid Cymru narrowly remained the second-largest party in the National Assembly ahead of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Forward Wales . On 15 September 2003, folk-singer and county councillor Dafydd Iwan
2450-679: Was formed on 5 August 1925, by Moses Gruffydd , H. R. Jones and Lewis Valentine , members of Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru ( Welsh for 'the Home Rule Army of Wales'; lit. ' the Self-Rulers' Army of Wales ' ); and Fred Jones , Saunders Lewis of Y Mudiad Cymreig ( Welsh for 'the Welsh Movement';) and D. Edmund Williams. Initially, home rule for Wales was not an explicit aim of
2500-513: Was held in which three candidates eventually stood: Elin Jones , Dafydd Elis-Thomas and Leanne Wood ; Simon Thomas withdrew his candidacy before ballots were cast. On 15 March 2012, Plaid Cymru elected Leanne Wood as its new leader. She received 55% of the vote, over second-placed Elin Jones with 41%. Wood was the party's first female leader, and its first not to be a fluent Welsh speaker. Soon after her election as leader, she appointed former MP Adam Price to head an economic commission for
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