For some weeks I had been planning on going to Caernarfon tomorrow, for the Independence rally organised by All Under One Banner Cymru (AUOB Cymru). I have now decided to give it a miss.
I’ll give you my reasons in a minute.
AUOB Cymru takes the name of its Scottish inspiration but does not emulate that body by welcoming all those who support the cause of independence. Instead, AUOB Cymru has been captured by Plaid Cymru and is now used to serve the interests of that party.
It does this by attracting people who believe in independence but are not supporters of Plaid Cymru, which gives an inflated impression of Plaid Cymru’s level of support. While by refusing to work with other pro-independence parties Plaid Cymru can present itself as the sole voice of Welsh independence.
As I say, despite knowing this, I was still intending to go to Caernarfon, but a few things have changed my mind.
UPDATE: I was under the impression that All Under One Banner in Scotland was run by dedicated people committed to the national cause. But it is alleged that AUOB was run by gangsters. Read Jason Michael McCann.
In the past few weeks The National has carried a number of reports of upheaval as the alleged ‘gangsters’ have either left or been removed. All Under One Banner crunch talks as Manny Singh is suspended and All Under One Banner founder Neil Mackay resigns.
Is All Under One Banner an example worth following in Wales? Come to that, does YesCymru need All Under One Banner Cymru to organise these marches?
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First, was this amazing article by Plaid leader Adam Price on the Nation.Cymru website, entitled The key to our success is unity. Despite calling for unity Price is in fact asking Plaid Cymru members to submit to the yoke of the woke. And although he’s not mentioned by name, the piece is directed at Neil McEvoy.
There are some incredible passages in this article. Here’s one that struck me, Price makes it sound like a full-blown conspiracy.
Tell us, Adam, who compiled this ‘report’? Because I suggest the authorship is critical to its credibility. And who are these shadowy figures trying to take over Plaid Cymru?
(And Plaidistas accuse me of being a ‘conspiracy theorist’!)
Elsewhere he complains, “The regrettable reality is that we live in a time where vitriol and bile are the backdrop to politics globally.” Indeed we do, Adam; so why not have a word with former Plaid Cymru chairman and election candidate Marc Phillips, who earlier this year called me “a neanderthal prick”?
This tweet dates to the exchange I had with your predecessor, Ms Wood, in which she called me “an arsehole”. More recently, I’ve had to put up with slanders I dealt with in this post earlier in the week.
Insults like these will be cheered and retweeted by others in your party, yet you have the gall to write a piece bemoaning vitriol and bile in politics! Clearly, vitriol and bile are just fine – as long as it’s Plaid Cymru dishing it out!
Sheer fucking hypocrisy!
But then, if anyone criticises a female Plaid Cymru politician the party tries to close down debate by shouting ‘misogynist!’ Any criticism of a gay politician is homophobic, etc., etc.
Listen, Adam: Your party is now dominated by back-stabbing, intolerant hypocrites whipped up into a frenzy of self-righteousness; but they are so morally corrupt and intellectually dishonest that it could be only a matter of time before Plaid Cymru self-destructs.
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Any doubts that Adam Price was referring to Neil McEvoy were dispelled when, within hours of Price’s piece appearing, Nation.Cymru’s editor, Ifan Morgan Jones, put out ‘Why Plaid Cymru’s leadership fear a Neil McEvoy takeover bid‘.
It looks increasingly like IMJ is now a mouthpiece for Plaid Cymru. In fact, the two articles look linked, as if they were planned to appear one after the other, with IMJ saying what Adam Price would rather not say.
If Ifan Morgan Jones has become Plaid’s mouthpiece then it probably explains his accusing me of anti-Semitism when I wrote about George Soros in a recent post. The fact that I never mentioned Soros’s Jewishness (because it’s irrelevant), and the fact that I am a lifelong supporter of the state of Israel, troubled him not at all.
(If you’ve a mind to, you can catch up with it here.)
Although disingenuously prefacing the list with, “It is not my place to judge what foundation there is to the accusations against him, and Neil McEvoy has publicly disputed their validity”, Ifan Morgan Jones nevertheless listed the ‘charges’.
It looks damning . . . until you remember that every single one is either politically motivated or else driven by personal animus. There is nothing there that would stand up in a court of law.
But the message seems clear – Neil McEvoy will never be re-admitted to Plaid Cymru. The timing, just two days before the Caernarfon rally was no coincidence. It might even have been a warning to the eleven Plaid Cymru councillors in Gwynedd who signed a letter in support of McEvoy, and might be planning a welcome for him on Saturday.
Perhaps it’s also confirmation that former leader Leanne Wood’s supporters are still calling the shots inside the party despite her humiliation in last year’s leadership contest.
And of course, Plaid Cymru will always do the bidding of the Labour Party. So when the First Minister’s seat is threatened by Neil McEvoy Plaid Cymru is quite happy to inflict further damage on Wales by protecting Mark Drakeford.
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Another reason that the Caernarfon rally comes at a useful time for Plaid Cymru is that the party is not standing a candidate in next week’s Brecon and Radnor by-election, having stood aside as part of an anti-Brexit alliance to give one Unionist party a clear run at another Unionist party, but the plan may backfire because a third Unionist party is standing.
(God! this is worthy of Metternich.)
This noble sacrifice has not been universally welcomed in Plaid ranks. And the obsession with Brexit is testing the patience of many who voted Remain. There is a perception that independence is now low on Plaid Cymru’s ‘to do’ list.
But things could get worse. For former party leader, Lord Wigley, hints at further pacts in the event of an autumn general election.
So marching around Caernarfon tomorrow with the YesCymru banners fluttering will be a great PR coup for a party pissing off supporters for a variety of reasons.
Because in addition to doing deals with the party that was in coalition with David Cameron and now keeps Labour in power down Corruption Bay, Plaid has become a socialist party. But this is not the socialism Welsh people are familiar with, for it owes more to Islington and US campuses than to the Fed or Gwyn Alf.
By which I mean, Plaid Cymru is obsessed with the ‘ishoos’ of the woke; it has little or nothing to offer the working class, or struggling Welsh communities.
Others ask why Plaid Cymru is silent on the colonisation of Wales, and the destruction of Welsh communities. For it seems to many that Plaid Cymru is fighting everybody’s battles but our own. While many wonder why Plaid has become a ‘Cardiff’ party, prepared to see the rest of the country lose out in so many ways.
And why is Plaid Cymru so close to Deryn Consulting, the scheming whisperers that helped Plaid’s Labour mentors hound Carl Sargeant? Is it because that’s what best suits Labour?
And then there’s Neil McEvoy . . .
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for apologies from Plaid Cymru, I’m a big boy, after all. I’m just asking for an end to the ‘vitriol and the bile’ Adam Price condemns. If you don’t agree with what I write then argue your point, or ignore me, but anything more of what we see below and I will take action.
I would still like to attend future independence rallies because I believe in independence today as much as I did back in the 1960s. But for that to happen All Under One Banner must become more broadly based, and it can only do that by ceasing to be Plaid Cymru by another name.
Because as things stand, I’d hate to be mistaken for a Plaid Cymru supporter.
♦ end ♦
I tend to think we should ignore ‘juvenile twerps with stickers’ – it’s what you do with naughty children who are attention seeking. Instead, let’s get on with the job of dealing with responsible adults amongst the public, who actually want independence, and see these marches as an opportunity to display their solidarity, and not some Saturday afternoon trip to the funfair for a few kicks, by acting like yobs.
It’s evident that the last thing they can think of to throw at us – before the kitchen sink – is to try the old ‘fascists’ trick. It doesn’t work, trying to make an impression by lying never has. Guess who becomes the laughing stock of the masses in the end.
On the subject of the AntiFa leaflet. I have met such persons before. Many years ago at an Anti-Nazi League event at a music venue in Neath. It was a time when the National Front were active in South Wales, and I was very supportive of a particular welsh language band at the gig.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1WP6Axf-pY{removetoplay}
Blast from the past.
There was an individual who hated CyI and had the idea that anyone who supported Welsh nationalism or the Welsh language must be fascist and started causing a rumpus. I was not a member of Plaid at the time but very friendly with some on the local activist so we assisted in his removal.
I met this particular coward on another occasion, a year or so later. It was during a ‘Peoples March for Jobs’, (front for the Communist Party) on a march from Aberdare. The interloper who was living in Merthyr at the time, turned out to be a member of the ‘Workers Revolutionary Party’. He made threats of physical violence towards myself and a good friend of mine just after we’d been speaking with Anne Clwyd. I was much younger and fitter then, and some say foolish. Needless to say the kind offer was accepted and we left him in a ditch near the Tynte, minus a few teeth.
Obviously, I don’t indulge in this type of response anymore. My style is to notice a few motorcyclists smoking weed at Cardiff West Services while on the their way to ‘Soldier F’ and EDL event in Swansea. I just tip off the traffic division of SWP. No doubt they will lose their stash and be sent home to England, or if the intimate body search turns up something more substantial they will be provided with accommodation for their trip to Wales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1ik9Hdw47g{removetoplay}
Also appearing.
A political leaflet or sticker has to have a purpose. Sometimes it to raise awareness, sometimes to communicate a message. Some are general, some are more specific. Those who design the message seek to garner support or change opinion. The sticker claiming to be anti-fascist is none of these. It just says ‘look at me I’m cool’ in a studenty sort of way. It does nothing to combat fascism nor does it present an alternative message. The way it was distributed at the Caernarfon event was not just misplaced, but also cowardly.
That about sums it up, Brychan; these people have the attitudes of the English hard left.
They are more attuned to the English hard left than to the Welsh independence movement. In fact, they are a threat to the Welsh independence movement.
I wouldn’t call them ‘hard’ nor ‘left’. Just poseurs.
However, you are correct in that they almost always are English in the current context. They are an insult to the likes of Tommy Sheridan in Scotland, for example, who can be truly labelled ‘hard left’, and for whom I have deep respect.
More like softinthehead pseudo-left, the “we more left than you, our left is most pure” variety. Fit in well with the “new ishoo every month” wing of Plaid Cymru.
What was stopping anyone who is pro independence but not a Plaid Cymru supporter from turning up in Caernarfon and taking part in the event?
And also making their views known by wearing badges/Tshirts, waving banners/flags and discussing their views with others?
I can’t help thinking that although they may be all consuming for some Plaid and non Plaid nationalists the arguments referred to above are too “subtle” for those who vote for British nationalist parties.
Getting as many out on the streets as possible is obvious and the more there are the more likely those voters become aware that there is an alternative to rule from Westminster.
I shall be at the next march in Merthyr on September 7.
At least there’ll be little risk of being confused for a Plaid supporter if you’re carrying an Ein Gwlad banner. Just look out for juvenile twerps with stickers.
I intend arming myself with a water pistol.
Sure that’s a good idea?
If Plaid Youth are so concerned about Fascism let them spend time in the Ukraine where there are gangs of all loyalties passing the time of day firing at each other. Indeed they could probably find similar crews in England once the football season starts again. Enjoy it babes while there’s no bugger retaliating.
Ref your tweet regarding the issue of the day — If a woman has a big set of balls, she/he should be man enough to wax them her/himself. Nuff said.
I am very concerned about the behaviour of the Plaid Leadership. There we have someone who when he was an MP he was made aware of many problems at Maesybont brought about by the unacceptable behaviour of the Planning department with the full knowledge of the then CEO. After a period in The USA he returned and was elected as AM for Carmarthen East. The problems continued at Maesybont and he was informed all along the way. He is now Leader of Plaid. 9 months ago he made a request to the Council Leader, Emlyn Dole for an independent review of the behaviour of the Council. This was eventually agreed to be undertaken with barristers representing each party. Now there has been a complete turn around and in fact there will be an investigation only involving a barrister representing the Council and their Legal representatives as to a failed report produced without taking into account ALL that had been allowed to happen with the full knowledge of the Council. At best it could be described as a kangaroo court. The newly appointed CEO has been influenced by the leader of the Council.The leader of Plaid says he is now not able to have any influence on this undoubtable miscarriage of any truly transparent and accountable state of affairs. I have always thought that one’s political representatives are duty bound to fight for those that they are there to represent?The culture so long employed by the previous CEO M.V.James was that should anyone question or criticise actions by him or the council in general would be met with threats of litigation! All the Plaid councillors have been made well aware of the facts of this case but for reasons best known to themselves,they don’t want to or indeed have been told ,not to ,get involved. So an elderly couple face losing their home imminently through no fault of their own .All those who have sat on their hands should be truly ashamed of themselves should the action of repossession comes to pass. Utter travesty. I .for one will never vote for Plaid again and there are many more who have the same sentiment
The question is, Andrew, who will you and others who feel let down by Plaid Cymru now vote for? The natural home for such a group would appear to be Ein Gwlad, who may well also attract some support from disgruntled Welsh Labour voters if that party continues to haemorrhage support in its ‘catchment areas’. Once Brexit is resolved one way or another, and UKIP and the Brexit Party have died a death, many of those votes will be up for grabs.
Unless Plaid can bring itself to drop its check-list of ishoos and focus on bread-and-butter issues, while at the same time being more proactive in tapping into the increasing goodwill towards the Welsh language, in the post-industrial communities, it’s unlikely to grab many of those spare votes in the Valleys and the North East.
“Wrexhamian” My late father in law was a born and bred proud Welshman and he would be ashamed of the way that his daughter and I have been treated by Carmarthen County Council and the pretty meaningless support from our Plaid representatives. Across the border our MP (27 years in Parliament) was a very effective spokesperson when his constituents.were having problems. That has not been the case we have found to our cost here. So in a word ,apart from Labour I would vote for whoever truly represented his or her constituents,even when it might conflict with the ideals of their political party.In the case I mention above it would seem that there is a strong desire to NOT “cause waves” for the party. That is a situation beyond contempt when two elderly people are hung out to dry on their own all because those whose support is so desperately needed, want to protect their own positions for the sake of the Party.
The problem is an obvious one. ALL current parties that represent the electorate put their ideology, doctrines and dogmas before their country and her citizens.
That is Ein Gwlad’s strongest and biggest asset. As a SYNCRETIC PARTY, we do NOT fixate on specific ideology, more especially the ideology of the progressive liberal socialist variety – that is eating away at us like a cancerous tumour.
Our ABSOLUTE focus is on what is best for our country and our people. The old fashioned, single dimension right/ left paradigm is dead. Old fashioned 19th century politics and political parties are dead, but still standing. We will adopt, and have already created policies from across the political spectrum, with zero ideology and a clean slate.
It’s time to stop the tail wagging the dog with current political parties totally committed to their own ideologies, that they try and stuff down the throats of the people. When the problems arise, their first priority is loyalty to party ideology – instead of the problems they encounter .
It is time for people to realise that there is an alternative, all they need to do is put the right party in power – then the dog can control it’s tail once again. These present establishment aligned parties need to be taught that they are the slaves of the people and not their masters.
You have my sympathy, Andrew. Many stories of what goes on in Carmarthenshire County Council have emerged in the last few years, including on this blog.
Until there’s a new voice in Carmarthen to appeal to for help (Ein Gwlad?), I’d consider going over the heads of the local party and writing directly to Adam Price, mentioning the reluctance of local Plaid to fight your corner. If that doesn’t work, then that’s probably the time to cross out voting for Plaid Cymru from your to-do list for 2021.
I have met him with my friend on two occasions and he has known about their situation for 15 years! He says he is unable to bring the matter to the attention of the Welsh Government and would NOT have serious words with the Plaid leader of the Council. Make of that what you will.It seem that he has”Thousands of cases requiring his attention” How many of these are facing imminent repossession of their houses I wonder.Many people had hoped that the newly appointed CEO would introduce a complete change of the culture that has been in place during the reign of M.V.James who would never accept criticism however justified. There is a serious can of worms that need to be opened and exposed for ALL to see.
The new CEO in County Hall is taking her orders from Mark James.
Your tweet column is so informative these days. Among other things it identifies clearly some of the defectives out there who you would not choose to live anywhere near them if given any kind of early warning.
Aled Gwyn Williams is latest of the turds spouting out of the Plaid Double Standards machine. Where does this cnut get the notion that it’s O.K for him to unfairly brand someone as mysoginist one day and shortly after sets upon some unsuspecting female in an unambiguous hate message. At least, he’s out, a woman hater, and has he got any more crap he wants to share with us – like he doesn’t much like people of colour ( that’s easy to guess) and maybe he wouldn’t want any queers up his street although he’ll wave a rainbow banner if Santes Leanne is about. All in all this man is a pretty shabby low grade piece of work.
Unable to get to Caernarfon. Massive car crash up in Pontyates.
See it on video.
https://vimeo.com/346837477{removetoplay}
“It’s not my role to be out and about everyday in the constituency because unfortunately I’m not paid to do that” – Mari Arthur.
Was she on the bus from Cardiff?
She looked very uncomfortable. When asked what good EU funding had brought to Carmarthenshire, she answered (3:57), “more third sector funding”. She actually said it!
The saddest part of the video was that I think she genuinely believes what she’s saying. Comes across as a nice person on a personal level but she hasn’t seen the woods for the trees. Nice people like her sadly won’t ever see the woods for the trees.
Pity – she seems a genuinely nice and mild mannered lady – but totally sucked in hook, line & sinker to that age old Plaid rhetoric that has no substance. In a way I feel really sorry for her and others like her – I genuinely do. They are not natural deep thinkers, that’s not an insult, not many are.
Consequently, they depend on being spoon fed the mantras, but don’t stop to question anything, nor do they analyse what they are being fed.
Her views on the EU are extremely naive – again just an echo chamber of what she’s been told, and sadly, naive enough to believe the shallow reasons for EU inclusion. Shame. She even believes that Plaid could form the government in 2021 – perhaps she believes in fairies as well, but she believes that, because she trusts her party’s myth tellers. She’s a classic case of what is probably a genuine patriot, who loves her country, but is led up the garden path like so manyt others, because she’s too trusting of the wrong people who lead her party. She needs to take off the blinkers and look around her.
It would be an eye opener for her to sit in on the discussions of a party that thinks outside of the box and believes that doing and saying the same old things over and over again and expecting a different result, is a sign of insanity.
After 90 years Plaid has failed the test – of that there’s no argument – they have been reduced to just copying others (unionist Labour as a rule – because they themselves are bankrupt in their own ideas depart) and accept the way 19th century politics work – not realising the political earthquake that’s taking form across the western hemisphere. The people are totally disillusioned with old fashioned, tired and defunct politics, of parties that have lied to, and deceived the general public, and poor innocent little things within their own ranks – like Mari Arthur.
In Ein Gwlad we have a job to do – that is to open the eyes of these poor victims. It’s like watching an abused child sticking up for the abuser, because she doesn’t know any better or different. It’s heart breaking.
There’s a whole new way of looking at things out there Mari – seek it out – or else, get stuck in the cobwebs of the past. Good hearted Welsh men and women who love their country and want it’s freedom are too precious to be cast into that ‘yesterday’ place.
“Nice” doesn’t cut it especially when you are up against duplicious people in Plaid and a whole raft of them in Labour’s Welsh Government. You are very generous there Gee, you starting to sound like you think it’s possible to polish a turd !
Earlier today I mentioned a visit to nation.cymru and being unable to access or read any comments. Later in the day I was advised of unusual suspicious activity on the Facebook account, which I never use other than to access sites like nation.cymru. After resetting Password etc I was able to access comments to discover that any comments made by me over recent days had been erased from nation cymru comments. Seems like 21st century progressives can’t stomach input from non conforming types. Happily I can do without it in the knowledge that it is descending into a yet another echo chamber insulated from dissenting voices. Mustn’t let the little dears be disturbed by some evil bastard feeding home truths. Might damage their self adoration when doing seriously rebellious stuff like sticking labels on cars belonging to dissenting patriots in Caernarfon.
I’m off now to polish my hammer and sharpen some stakes !
You know me Dafis – they don’t call me the Ceredigion Marmite Kid for nothing!
I can be quite hateful to some – but I’m also a dab hand at charming the birds from the trees – when I want to – and don’t tell anyone, but I can be quite sarcastic and tongue in cheek at times too!
I’ve been hammering Plaid with some home truths on our NEWS PORTAL of late, so much so that some in our own ranks have accused be of being ‘bitter’ – who moi?! I fear that bad associations spoil useful habits for some, and they shouldn’t listen to nasty gossip amongst their old Plaid mates at their drinking holes up north!
I genuinely think that some of these silly young people within Plaid are breathtakingly gullible and hoodwinked. Mari Arthur strikes me as being one of those (correct me if I’m wrong), besides it was an opportunity to be a little kinder to those whom I pity in Plaid’s ranks.
There are other older generation ones that I have sympathy for as well. They are there purely based on emotion and sentimentality – you can hear the gnashing of their teeth, but they stay put because of misplaced loyalty based on nostalgia.
Not all Plaid members are bad – the rot is in the progressive liberal cabal at their Sanhedrin. The sheep will drift, as many already have, and our door is always open to genuine patriots with healthy hearts & minds.
Plaid may have lost it’s way – Ein Gwlad won’t.
Visited IMJ’s nation.cymru this morning, read 2 articles, LSR and a Marc Jones, went to make comments (broadly positive) and found no access to readers’ comments at all. Is this the general situation for others on here or have I alone been shut out because of something I wrote ( or didn’t write !). This is NOT making me depressed or paranoid but it would be nice to know w.t.f is happening. Any similar experiences out there ?
I find the whole Comments arrangements on NationCymru very confusing. I can call the site up and read people’s thoughts on an article. Yet go on it an hour later and half the stuff has vanished. Why? Computer gremlins, censorship, or am I going crazy.
You’re not the only one to experience this sort of thing, Dafis & Perplexed. Big Gee has had many many comments removed from the site, myself included. I don’t bother anymore, they’re not interested in hearing other perspectives. Echo chamber is the right description, just like their FB pages and twitter accounts.
Nation.cymru is nothing more than a Plaid mouthpiece, at least Ein Gwlad, who have a news portal, make it clear that it’s there to enable the party to air their views freely. Nation on the other hand is a bit coy with where it really stands in regards to it’s impartiality and unbiased stance. But just looking at who is chief editor of Nation, Ifan Morgan Jones and its pro Plaid articles, makes it all the more clearer. Expect more of the same if you dare ruffle any feathers on nation.cymru.
I’m not convinced that IMJ is engaging in comment-censorship, Lee et al. His article of the other day on an alleged power-grap by the pro-McEvoy wing (couched as objectively as possible, but in effect a warning of a threatened seizure of power in the Plaid hierarchy and a subsequent change of direction) has received nothing but pro-McEvoy comments, including one from the dreaded Jac, and with no anti-Neil comments. They’re all still there, and there’s a new one today. On the strength of what you said, I’m monitoring it.
That said, IMJ’s incorrect and slanderous remarks about Jac in the Soros article shine a light on which faction he belongs to. Unfortunately, a number of people who have generally been critical of Plaid’s priorities since Ieuan Wyn Jones are not on Facebook and can no longer contribute comments since Nation.Cymru went ‘Facebook-only’, and this probably suits IMJ very well.
I think another problem might be the difficulty of following comments on Facebook. I get e-mail notifications of new comments, but I can’t always find them on my FB page!
He’s wiped a pile of mine off, or someone else has. I checked back over the last few days and it’s all rubbed out. Doesn’t bother me really as it serves to show that he or a colleague is being “selective”. Happy to say Jac hasn’t banned me, yet!
I can’t see that happening, Dafis.
Glad to see you’ve picked up on the McKay AUOB business. It was AUOB Scotland which actually was the “front” for the AUOB marches in Wales at the beginning. I’ve been trying to refer people to Jeggit (Jason Michael) and the concerns over AUOB “up there” for a time. Certainly my impressions of the “gangsters” when they popped up on Yes Cymru Abertawe Facebook pages when I questioned the situation was not a good one.
This is how you opened your piece, Jac,
‘ AUOB Cymru takes the name of its Scottish inspiration but does not emulate that body by welcoming all those who support the cause of independence. ‘
As a matter of fact our independence movement , including AUOB Cymru seem to have been blighted by similar divisions to those affecting Scotland, where issues have been bubbling beneath the surface for quite sometime.
https://randompublicjournal.com/2018/10/16/something-stinks/
https://www.thenational.scot/news/17795935.one-banner-founder-neil-mackay-resigns/
I like to think there is more that unites us than divides us, but then again maybe not. We Celts are frequently our own worst enemies and have often made life easy for our Anglo- Saxon “lords and masters”. While I agree with you on subjects such as NM and the Deryn lobbyists, it pales into insignificance in the context of the bigger picture. Growing grass roots support for independence must be our focus. Because the sycophants in the Senedd along with their lobbyist cronies will eventually destroy themselves without our help, their arrogance, devious and manipulative personalities make it inevitable.
Hell of a place to hold any kind of rally, you’ll have to drive like rally-driver to get there from Cardiff Bay, or hire a plane and get taxied from Ynys Mon ! After all the really clever and influential people hang out in the Bay and to expect them to give up a whole weekend to visit that place up north is a bit much. Does it have any decent dining with a range of exotica anywhere near the standard of H.Q ? Can one even get a decent coffee and minerals ? Has anyone even considered these issues ? It will be horrific.
Caernarfon will also be full of tourists.
Even better,! so they can see what is happening in Wales
Jac, I agree with your concerns regarding AUOB Cymru and its strong connection with Plaid Cymru. It is, for this reason, I didn’t attend the Cardiff indy rally and won’t be attending Caernarfon on Saturday. However, being a nationalist, I will continue with my support for the local ‘Yes Cymru’ branch and will help whenever I can, providing there is no evidence of a Plaid Cymru takeover.
Plaid Cymru must learn that it does not own the template for Welsh independence and AUOB must change its socialist course, by demonstrating that the movement is welcoming to all Welsh nationalists, if it wishes to grow.
But why does YesCymru need AUOB? Why doesn’t YesCymru organise these rallies and make it clear that they are open to all? AUOB seems superfluous when YesCymru is more open, but of course it exposes the true purpose of AUOB.
Well, we organised a rally in Swansea a couple of years ago. It was open to all, and to people from outside of Swansea. We are having a rally in Swansea next September, it will be open to all, and to people from outside Swansea, and we will definitely be making it clear it is so. All our events have been and are open to all – we are having a beach party next Saturday in Swansea by the “Cofiwch Dryweryn” mural/Slip Bridge – that’s open to all by the way! Should Yes Cymru central push things organised by Yes Cymru rather than things organised by AUOB? Yes, of curse they should. Should central take a hand in organising rallies/events themselves rather than – well, not organising things along those lines? Well, I’m for central not existing at all, but as long as it exists, yes, you would think that “doing stuff like this” was something they could do. But again, Yes Cymru does not “need” AUOB. Yes Cymru does not say it needs AUOB. Yes Cymru can not organise these rallies. Because these rallies are organised by AUOB. Yes Cymru could organise other rallies. Yes Cymru local groups are organising other rallies. Other events. But yes, the main aim of Yes Cymru Central does seem to be to push AUOB and local council declarations. That’s not good. But it does not take away from the fact that if you support your local Yes Cymru group, you will be helping with stuff other than that.
Just to elucidate (possibly!) on my last point. Plaid previously (under Leanne) mooted the idea of Yes Cymru joining an “Umbrella Indy” movement under Plaid Cymru. This was not surprisingly not successful. So Paid couldn’t control the “Umbrella indy movement”. If, however, you have a movement such as “AUOB”, stress it as being the “Umbrella movement”, then in a rather secretive way, Plaid can actually have more say over the thing without frightening off people who would fight against them doing it officially. In other words, AUOB was set up secretly, and pushed as “the umbrella movement” by people (and yes, including people within Yes Cymru who should know better) because Yes Cymru itself wasn’t able to be controlled/taken over. (Not that, as I have said before, it was only official members of Plaid Cymru who were, in my experience, eager to have more than their fair share in saying what went on in Yes Cymru.)
That’s exactly what I’m saying. YesCymru is open to everybody, whereas AUOB is a Plaid Cymru front. So YesCymru doesn’t really need AUOB.
Oh, I see- I agree fully with that!
Though I ultimately think your view is understandable, you don’t actually say in this piece why you believe that AUOB is linked to Plaid Cymru.
In Cardiff, some of the speakers were certainly linked – Sandra Clubb the wife of the CEO of Plaid Cymru from Undod, Adam Price. Labour for Indy was there (gamely turning up only to be booed, for goodness sakes.)
In this one though, they seem to have cut back on the political party speakers (to nothing).
There is a remarkable lack of openness about who is running it, certainly, but why do you think that anyone turning up is marking themselves out as a supporter of Plaid?
I don’t disagree with there being connections, with there being bias. I saw the march in Cardiff being started to be pushed, gradually (with great difficulty) found out who was running it, had concerns about the secrecy, about the connection to various people in AUOB Scotland who are not universally loved, not to mention connections with Plaid (the main thing being there was no openness about this.) I was against there being speakers at all (an unnecessary thing at a march) as I knew it would simply be an opportunity for bias. I was against a list of “official group supporters of AUOB”, as I knew it would be used as an opportunity for bias. I was for openness about who was running it, as I knew that a lack of it would be an opportunity for bias. I saw the bias come about in each and every one of those things. But as far as I can tell, this march has reigned back on those things rather than pushed forward?
Oh, the implication that Yes Cymru is similarly controlled as one of these “pro-indy organisations”, is something I don’t agree with. Very different to the situation with AUOB. (And I have more than half a brain, too. Three quarters at the last count.) In fact, I have a feeling that AUOB is being targeted (even was created in the way it was – relatively secretly) by a certain type of people precisely because they haven’t managed to get the situation they wanted in Yes Cymru.
I did not criticise YesCymru in my piece. I merely mentioned how useful it was to Plaid Cymru, seen to be backtracking on independence, to be able to use YesCymru as a fig leaf. As for AUOB, the Plaid leadership bias was obvious in Cardiff with the speakers invited. Plaid’s rank and file, and YesCymru members would not have invited a Labour spokesman, but Plaid’s leadership would.
Come to that, why does YesCymru need AUOB if AUOB doesn’t live up to its name?
The Yes Cymru comment was in response to Lee Felton’s reply, my fault for not making that clear! “Yes Cymru’s membership would not have invited a Labour spokesman”- Yes they would. Yes they have! Labour for Indy have worked with Yes Cymru groups and been at events organised by members. Yes, as I say, the bias was obvious in Cardiff – but as I say, it seems to have reigned back rather than increased for the one in Caernarfon, thankfully. I’m still concerned about them though. Yes Cymru doesn’t need AUOB – it’s not set up by Yes Cymru or run by them – not sure what you mean by that? My fault I’m sure. [And personally I’ve condemned Yes Cymru for pushing AUOB in such a fashion as they are.]
Irrespective of AUOB’s overarching influence as Plaid Cymru’s frontman on the marches, the Caernarfon event seems to have been quite different to its Cardiff predecessor in terms of who was invited to speak, perhaps reflecting the difference between the two places. The ishoo-driven interest groups that hogged the microphone in ‘Metropolitan’ Cardiff may have concluded that they had little of relevance to say to your average Cofi or to North Walians in general.
The bias (Remain, Feminist Republic, etc, the ban on Ein Gwlad) seen in Cardiff does indeed seem to have been reined back this time. My other guess is that, with Aled Gwyn Job having a leading local position in YesCymru, they could hardly ban Ein Gwlad and invite the others, and so no party or interest group got an invite. And a good thing, too, perhaps, because the only issue should have been independence.
Jac, I had also been planning on going to the march tomorrow, however as it turns out, family commitments have stepped in and the decision for me on whether to attend or not has been taken for me. But I think I’ve dodged a bullet with this march to be honest, i agree with you entirely when you say AUOB has become Plaid Cymru in all but name. The thought of being associated with that party leaves a sour taste. Prices article in nation and IMJ’ which followed were quite bizarre but in an oxy-moronic sense, unsurprising as it is typical of the socialist, liberal lefties, to be hypocritical. They denounce something in one paragraph, only to do or support what had been denounced in another. But the premeditated slyness and control freakish nature of these pro indy organisations, which are the stingy entrails of the slippery, jellyfish-like creature that is the Plaid Cymru party, should be visible to anyone with half a brain by now. I only hope the indy-curious amongst the people of Wales will also see them for what they are and realise there is an alternative to vote for.
The “stingy entrails”! I wish I’d thought of that. I think we both see how useful AUOB and YesCymru are to Plaid Cymru more focused on other issues.