26th June 2009
BNP
Er gwaetha’r cynnydd yng nghefnogaeth y Blaid a’n llwyddiant yn ein cadarnleoedd, mae’r anfadwaith bod pleidiau cenedlaetholaidd Prydeining wedi gwneud bron cystal a’r Blaid Genedlaethol Gymreig yn yr Etholiadau Ewropeaidd yng Nghymru dal yn fy mhoeni. Gobiethio bod hyn yn pigo cydwybod pob gwladgarwr wnaeth aros gatre, ond mae’n gyfrifoldeb arna i ofyn beth a ellir gwneud yn well neu’n wahanol. Yn hen draddodiad y trioedd, dyma dair, taer awgrym.
Rhaid i ni beidio ymddiheuro am ein cenedlaetholdeb. Yn oes globaleiddio mae gwleidyddiaeth hunaniaeth a’r amgen am ail-wreiddio grym gwleidyddol mewn cymunedau lleol a chenedlaethol yn ganolog i’n cyfnod. Dyna yn rhannol sydd wrth wraidd twf y Dde Brydeinig; consyrn gwirioneddol am bwer anatebol, boed yn sefydliadau Ewropeaidd annemocrataidd neu gorfforaethau’n ecsploetio llafur rhad.
Ein cyfrifoldeb a’n cyfle fel cenedlatholwyr Cymreig yw dangos bod yna ddewis amgen i hunaniaeth Brydeinig, hiliol y BNP (fyddai yn hala Colin Jackson ‘adre’, ond nid y mewnfudwr i Faldwyn, Gauleiter Griffin) a gwrth-Gymreig UKIP (sydd am ddileu’r Cynulliad ynghyd ag unrhyw fesur o ddwyieithrwydd). Mae hyn yn golygu gwella’n gallu i gynhyrchu negeseuon syml, gafaelgar: mi oedd neges UKIP, a’r BNP, dim ots pa mor wyrdroedig, yn hawdd i’w cofio ac yn uniongyrchol. Rhaid i ni greu neges o genedligrwydd cynhwysol Gymreig sydd yr un mor rymus emosiynol.
Yn ail, mae rhaid i ni dargedu’r dosbarth gweithiol sydd wedi eu bradychu gan Lafur newydd ac sydd nawr yn chwilio am gartref gwleidyddol newydd. Ar wahan i’r Cymoedd, mae’r Blaid wedi bod yn blaid y dosbarth canol Cymraeg am gyfran helaeth o’i bodolaaeth. Pan ymunodd fy nheulu i a’r Blaid yn ystod Streic y Glowyr, roedd e’n dipyn o sioc ddiwylliant i’r Blaid yn lleol. O fewn rhai misoedd, mi holltodd y gangen yn ddau: un yn cwrdd yn Neuadd Les y Glowyr a’r llall yn hen dy rheolwr yr Ammanford Colliery Company a oedd bellach yn ‘country club’ y Wernoleu. Mae’r Blaid a Rhydaman wedi mynd ar siwrnai gwleidyddol ers y ddyddiau hynny – ond os ydym am wireddu ein potensial fel yr ydym yn Sir Gar ac yn hen ardaloedd y chwareli, rhaid i ni droi nid yn unig yn Blaid Cymru, ond plaid pobl cyffredin trwy Gymru gyfan.
Yn olaf, mae rhaid i ni ffurfio cynghreiriau. Hen alwad gen i erbyn hyn, ond mae’r canlyniadau diwedderaraf a llwyddiant y Dde yn arbennig yn profi’r angen am gydweithio ar y Chwith. Pe bae’r Gwyrddion yng Nghymru wedi cytuno i’n galwad ni am restr ar y cyd i’r Etholiadau yma mae’n siwr gen i y byddwn wedi dod yn gyntaf a, gyda phum mil ychwanegol o bleidleisiau, wedi llwyddo i guro UKIP gan roi i’r Gwyrddion Cymreig eu Haelod cyntaf yn Ewrop. Mae’r un peth yn wir am Mebyon Kernow a’r Gwyrddion yn Ne-Orllewin Lloegr fyddai wedi ennill sedd oddi wrth y Toriaid wrth sefyll ar y cyd. A’r Dde ar garlam, nawr yw’r amser i greu clymblaid enfys go iawn i ennill nid yn unig yn Ewrop ym 2014, ond yn bwysicach fyth, yng Nghymru 2011.
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Despite the rise in Plaid’s support and our success in our strongholds, the villainy that British nationalist parties have done nearly as well as the Welsh National Party in the European elections still worries me. Hopefully this will prick the conscience every lover of our nation who stayed at home, but I have the responsibility of asking what can be done better or differently. In the old traditions of threes, here are three suggestions.
We must stop apologising for our nationalism. In a world of globalisation, identity politics and the alternative of re-rooting political power in local and national communities is central to our era. This, in part, is the root of the British Right’s growth: genuine concern about unaccountable power, in undemocratic European institutions or bodies exploiting cheap labour.
Our responsibility and our opportunity as Welsh nationalists is to show that there is alternative option to the British identifying, racist BNP (who would send Colin Jackson ‘home’, but not the Mongomeryshire immigrant, Gauleiter Griffin) and the anti-Welsh UKIP (who would abolish the Assembly as well as any level of bilingualism). This means improving our ability to produce simple, gripping messages: UKIP’s message, and the BNP’s, no matter how perverted, is easy to remember and direct. We have to create an inclusive Welsh nationalist message that has the same emotional force.
Secondly, we have to target the working classes who have been betrayed by New Labour and who are now looking for a new political home. Except for the Valleys, Plaid has been the party of middle-class Welsh speakers for a large part of its existence. When my family joined Plaid during the Miners’ Strike, it was a bit of a shock to the party’s local culture. Within a few months, the branch split in two: one meeting in the Miners’ Welfare Hall and the other in the old Ammanford Colliery Company manager’s house that was now the Wernoleu’s country club. Plaid and Ammanford have been on a political journey since those days – but if we are to achieve our potential as we are in Carmarthenshire and in the old quarry areas, we have to become not only a Party of Wales, but a party for all ordinary people across Wales.
Finally, we must form alliances. It’s an old call of mine by now, but recent results and the success of the Right especially prove the need for co-operation on the Left. If the Greens in Wales had agreed to our call for a joint list for these elections I’m sure we’d have come first and, with five thousand extra votes, succeeded in beating UKIP and given the Welsh Greens their first member in Europe. The same is true of Mebyon Kernow and the Greens in South-West England who would have won a seat from the Tories by standing together. With the Right on the rise, now is the time to create a real rainbow coalition to win not only in Europe in 2014, but more importantly, in Wales 2011.
12 Responses to “BNP”
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Rebecca Host says:
June 28th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
1. You’ve already got three alliances:
a) Coalition and full co-operation with nuLabour in the Assembly.
b) Formal affiliation within the communist searchlight organisation with formal alliances with Tory, Libdem ,Labour, and SWP.
c) Alliance with various ethnic minority groups within Wales and the UK via involvement with the taxpayer funded ‘Operation Black Vote’
How many alliances do you think you’re going to need ?
2. If you’re stuck for a simple, easy to remember and direct slogan,just to be helpful, how about:
‘Plaid – we sell you out to unaccountable and undemocratic institutions faster !’
3. Incidentally, if you are serious about trying to defend your position, maybe you should at least try reading the BNP manifesto instead of having to resort to made-up porkies. Trouble with telling fibs is that you eventually get caught out when you least expect it.
T Stanfield says:
June 28th, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Plaid have tried to capture votes from immigrants and by forming coalition with nu-labour are now nothing more than a false flag nationalist party. The BNP will sweep you from power in wales within 5yrs. How many people in west Wales know the truth about your hidden agenda such as operation black vote? YOU will pay the price for your betrayel
Meirion says:
June 28th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Adam,
Do you seriously believe what you are writing about the BNP?
I have not read anything so irrational. I would have expected better from such leading politician.
I fail to understand why you don’t concentrate on your policies rather than indulge in cheap shot gutter statements.
Remember that meeting of 2006 in Carmarthen. Get real!
R Gough says:
June 28th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Thanks T Stanfield! Now I know that Adam Price is a gay man who is not ashamed to be open about it. One more reason to like him and dislike the BNP.
Incidentally, why is the BNP so un-British!? There are more gay people in Britain than there are people who voted BNP…
Plaid Cymru do better than the BNP in Wales because Plaid Cymru is an inclusive progressive party, in line with the values of most Welsh people. The BNP are a party of prejudice and paranoia, with nothing to contribute to a Welsh future.
Uncle says:
June 28th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
A person such as Colin Jackson would be classed as a successfully assimilated ethnic minority. The British National Party does not have a policy of forced repatriation.
As for Plaid, I cannot for the life of me understand how you can be both Nationalist and pro-EU. Really, true Welsh nationalists only have one choice, and you know who I mean.
Mike
(Cardiff)
R Gough says:
June 28th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Mike, Welsh nationalism is not the same as English or British nationalism. Welsh nationalism reflects the politics of Wales which tends to be more progressive. Far fewer people vote for right-wing parties or policies. Welsh nationalism is not about being anti other people, it’s about being pro-Wales. Being pro-Wales involves being pro-Europe because it’s in Wales’ best interests to be an independent nation within a federated continent.
Rebecca Host says:
June 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I see, so the Plaid idea for Wales is that with just 4 MEP seats, we should submit ourselves to a foreign, undemocratic and unaccountable institution where there are 781 other MEP seats from some 27 foreign countries. So how does it work again ? Tell me slowly so I understand Plaid’s concept,4 Welsh votes against a policy which is bad for Wales (such as eg: unlimited inward ethnic immigration), versus 781 foreign votes who couldn’t care less as long as they are claiming their EU allowances.
Incidentally, regarding Plaid’s ‘progressive’ history and links to Nazi Germany, this, by Dr.Martyn Johnes, University of Wales, Swansea:
‘The war was deeply divisive for Plaid Cymru. While some in the party wondered whether a German victory would be better for Wales, others supporters were hostile to Nazism and served in the British armed forces. Saunders Lewis’ alleged anti-Semitism and fascist sympathies became a target for opponents of the party and an embarrassment to some of its supporters.
T Stanfield says:
June 28th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
why is it that plaid have formed a coalition with nu labour? doesn’t that say something to you about all the political parties? They are one and the same and have led our once great country to financial ruin. The BNP breakthrough has now happened and its now a matter of time before we succeed in Wales- Watch this space. just for the record how many MEP’s do Plaid have? How many do the BNP have?
R Gough says:
June 29th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Rebecca, if you believe that there is “unlimited inward ethnic immigration” as a result of being a part of the EU then you are misinformed. Yes, there is inward ethnic immigration, in the same way that there always has been. But, immigrants into the UK have to pay hundreds of pounds just to be considered for entry (they don’t get the money back if their application fails). Most of these immigrants will be students on temporary visas and they will not be allowed to use public services for free during their stay (they have to pay). Those that immigrate to work have to contribute more to the economy than they take out. That’s the law. Asylum seekers are not new to the UK, we used to have a pride in our welcoming of those in need.
As for Plaid being linked to fascism – you are right. A few members of the party did have fascist sympathies in the 1930s and 1940s. I don’t think it’s fair to tar the current members of the party with the same brush however. Adam Price, for example, wasn’t even born! I think that any link with fascism is shameful. Sadly, however, you will fail to find a single political party or newspaper (except for the Daily Mirror) that didn’t have some members or writers that discussed fascism sympatheticaly during that period.
T Stanfield, I’m not sure why the media needs to point out Adam Price’s sexual orientation? Surely you don’t think that somebody being gay is news!? As for the BNP not being anti-gay – Ha! Mark Collett would disagree:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/programmes/2001/bnp_special/membership/other/mark_collett.stm
http://www.petertatchell.net/politics/votegreentostopbnp.htm
Perhaps some members of the BNP should get their facts straight. And, if you want to appear like a reasonable party, perhaps you should stop denouncing reason:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article633579.ece
Dafydd says:
June 29th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
T Stanfield seems to having some sort of convulsion! Still right wing and rabid have always had a close association. The odious BNP will never make any substantive breakthrough in Wales but I agree with Adam they do need to be watched.
To ensure they remain in their rightful place at the very margins of decent society, the left should form alliances to minimise their harm.
I have to admit I do favour one of their policies on immigration. Had we the power we could have stopped the odious Nick Griffin and his Nazi pals from coming to Wales in the first place!
Richard Vale says:
June 30th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Adam, when I read the replies to your piece on the BNP (and their cousins in blazers, UKIP), I was shocked to see the vile and disgusting response you got back from a couple of individuals. Well done for leaving them up for all to see, because they are a reminder to all decent readers of this blog of the existence of this nasty and poisonous minority and of the need to stop them from gaining a foothold in Wales.
My wife is German, which I suppose makes me either a traitor or a proxy member of the Aryan master race in the eyes of people like T Stanfield. We have had a few instances of nasty prejudice directed at us over the years, and I still remember with anger my oldest son coming home in tears from playing on a village green aged about 5 asking what a Nazi was. It turned out that some slightly older children had discovered that he had a German first name.
One of the other things I have learned from living in Germany and visiting our friends and relatives there over many years is that what happened there in the 1930s could very well happen anywhere else, including Britain. In my wife’s small home village a small minority of thugs gained the whip-hand and bullied and terrorised the majority of decent people into silence and submission. They beat up and then hanged a Jewish lad in the village hall, not because he was Jewish, but because he had slept with one of the thugs’ girlfriends. Of course, when it came to what was laughably decribed as “court”, they dressed the murder up as a patriotic act and were acquitted, and no witnesses dared come forward.
Eventually, and only after the War, some of the murderers were hand short prison sentences. To this day, the episode is a source of bitterness and division within the village whenever it is retold in books or newspaper articles.
The truth is that that the people of that village are no different to people in Britain, and T Stanfield is a reminder of that.
Even sadder then that he or she should see fit to leave such a stain on a website belonging to someone who so well represents the best Welsh traditions of decency, fair play and toleration.
Chwarae teg ichi, Adam.
Left united says:
July 1st, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Adam,
Why would the greens go into partnership with a party who nearly put the Tory’s into office in Wales on your watch? If you had enough in common with the Torys to share office with them how can u argue to share enough ground with the greens for electoral coalition. Rule out further co operation with the Torys and you may just rehabilitate yourselves as a credible party of the left who maybe the Greens could do business with.
A coalition of the left is needed including socialists in Welsh Labour. Lets cut the tribalism and work together on ideology, ethics and principle.