No Welshing

I have a soft, but not too soft, spot for Plaid Cymru.

It is an important vehicle for the rural Radicalism that was such a feature of the nineteenth century, but which was allowed to die of neglect in most of Scotland and almost all of England after the First World War. It is the principal voice of the great Welsh peace tradition. Unlike the SNP, it has been consistent in its opposition to European federalism; not all of its members sound that way, but from the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Lisbon, its parliamentary votes speak for themselves. Unlike the SNP, it voted to save the Callaghan Government in 1979. However, it is also the party of separatism and of a fascistic hostility towards the language of 80 per cent of the Welsh. And it disappointed bitterly when it failed to oppose the war in Libya.

Rumour has it that the Old Labour people behind True Wales may be sufficiently organised to field a candidate at the next European Election. That sounds much more promising. In the meantime, Plaid Cymru is encouraging its supporters to seek appointment to the House of Lords, and I suggest that True Wales ought to do the same. The more voices of rural Radicalism and of the Welsh peace tradition in the parliamentary process, the better. But preferably not those whose witness is compromised by separatism, or by language-fascism, or by a failure to oppose the war in Libya, or in Syria, or in Iran.