We hear a lot of chat about “a new kind of
politics”, usually from hardcore tribalists who have absolutely no intention of
doing it. But if we are to tackle the
escalating disengagement of millions from the democratic process, we have to try
things differently.
This thought has been uppermost in my mind
in the last few days, as people have been discussing the informal collaboration
between Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Green party. This has resulted in Plaid officially
exhorting people in England to vote Green, even though it is a competitor party
in Wales. Some people are questioning
the wisdom of this as a strategy.
I fully understand people’s doubts, and as
the Plaid candidate in Ceredigion, I’ve got more cause to think about it than
most! After all, Ceredigion was where,
in 1992, the pioneering alliance between Plaid and the Greens vaulted what had
been the 4th and 5th place parties at the previous poll
into first place, and Cynog Dafis’ historical win. Less joyously, once the alliance had ended,
it was notable that the Green vote in 2005 (846 votes) was considerably larger
than the majority (219) that the LibDems squeaked in gaining the seat from
Plaid (and thus knocking out Simon Thomas, widely acknowledged as one of the
greenest MPs we’ve ever had).
There had been some hope last year that a
similar electoral arrangement could be reached for the forthcoming Westminster
election in Ceredigion, but it was not to be.
While many Green party members in Wales wanted to unite behind me as the
Plaid candidate, more did not, and so a candidate of their own has now been
selected. I’ve not met him yet, but I
look forward to it. Although there are
elements of the Green party in Wales (such as their apparent blind spots towards our cultural and linguistic sustainability) that cause concern, we have much in
common and, now more than ever, need to co-operate.
So yes, I’m in the strange position of
encouraging people across the border to vote for the very same party that is my
direct competition in Ceredigion. It’s
not ideal, but that, I believe, is the price to be paid for being sincere about
wanting “a new kind of politics”. It is
a leap of faith.
The 3 Plaid, 6 SNP and 1 Green MP in this
parliament have worked together brilliantly, and have provided more effective opposition
to this miserable government than hordes of Labour and LibDem backbenchers
combined. Our three parties are clearly
fighting this election on a common platform of saying no to continued austerity
measures, for serious infrastructure investment and the scrapping of the
Trident replacement, and for an absolute moratorium on fracking. Polls suggest that the Plaid-SNP-Green bloc
will be both considerably larger in the next parliament and potentially holding
the balance of power.
If that can happen, then we might begin to
see some real change in the clapped out politics of the UK. If we can harness some of the energy and
engagement of the Scottish referendum campaign and the anti-austerity forces of
Greece, Spain and elsewhere, then anything is possible. Rest assured that we in Ceredigion Plaid will
be going all out to capture every vote, and explaining to Green-inclined voters
that I am the candidate they need to back as by far the best chance we have of
turning the tide.
