STOPPING THE ROT : PLAIDS ELECTORAL PACT Siân Caiach, writing as the elections co-ordinator for Gwlad.

We now know that Plaid Cymru has decided not to field a candidate in  the Brecon and Radnor, Westminster By Election, being held on August 1st, urging their supporters to vote instead for the Liberal Democrats. 

This state of affairs, with Plaid withdrawing and advising its members to vote for a Unionist Party, is not acceptable - either to ourselves or to the many ordinary Welsh voters for which the health and independence of our nation is their prime political desire. Plaid's Leader, Adam Price, has already stated that he is a Socialist First and Nationalist second, Now his deal with the the Liberal Democrats, His pact with a Unionist Party supposedly to stop Brexit, suggests that Nationalism is now firmly in 3rd place. I'm sure that Plaid,,s Leader has weighed the pros and cons of  stopping Brexit in a Country where most people voted to Leave, including 37% of his own supporters. In Adams constituency of Carmarthen East, Leave won by a good margin 53.7% vs 46.3%.

 The number of Plaid voters in the Brecon and Radnorshire Constituency is small, only  1,299, 3,7% of the vote in 2017.  Whether the Plaid  constituency party were consulted is unclear.  Plaid's local following seem to have been expendable.

                                      Adam Price, Plaid's leader. A Remainer, a socialist and Nationalist 

Whether the E.U. or the Lib Dems have promised any goodies to Plaid is unknown.

Our current Gwlad Gwlad policy is to not stand in Westminster elections, but had we known that this was about to happen in Brecon and Radnorshire then we would have gladly put our hat in the ring to represent the Welsh patriots in that area, in Plaid Cymru’s absence. We will not allow, in future. Plaid to unilaterally withdraw from seats in this way, leaving no Nationalist candidate to vote for.

Nevertheless, their decision was announced last minute and therefore even if we had wished to stand, it would have been impossible to do so with no time for formal candidate selection and submission of the application.

In order that this never happens again we will look again at our policy to not stand for Westminster seats, and may well decide to stand in every parliamentary by-election in Wales in the near future to prevent similar events. We are determined that voters who wish to express their support for a pro-independence party shall not be denied the opportunity to do so. I doubt that Plaid will wish to gift  Gwlad the votes of their members who cannot stomach voting Liberal Democrat.

Our steering committee, which holds executive power over policy will meet in Llanelli on August 3rd to make a formal decision on the matter. It is expected the policy of not standing for Westminster seats will be revised, We will not allow the people of Wales to be denied their democratic right to vote for a Welsh Nationalist Party.

The Monster Raving Loony Party is standing in  Brecon and Radnorshire in the guise of Lady Lilly the Pink.  The Party of Wales is not.

 GWLAD, GWLAD was officially registered as a new political party for
 Wales with the Electoral Commission earlier this year.
It is an umbrella group for all Welsh Nationalists favouring Independence.

 Although the party has not adopted a Brexit policy as such,  they believe that 'the Welsh vote in 2016 should be respected.

Gwlad policies include a Basic Welsh Citizens Income, Fairer and simpler taxation, Expansion of Welsh Language Education,  the preservation of our traditional landscapes, favouring offshore rather than onshore wind power, and the creation of transport infrastructure to make North-South  Links in Wales'a reality.

Siân Caiach, .