Interview with Martyn Shrewsbury, Welsh Labour candidate in Ynyscewdyn, Swansea

 Interview with Martyn Shrewsbury, Welsh Labour candidate in Ynyscewdyn.

• Why a Labour candidate in Ynyscedwyn?

It’s very interesting, the Swansea Valley is an area of post-industrial experience. The Labour Party has been in power in Wales for a hundred years. I am from the left wing of the party and I consider myself to be an ecosocialist. There is a long Welsh tradition that comes from the nature of class, so I am a Corbynite (supporter of Jeremy Corbyn). I consider the Labour Party in Wales to be the better mechanism for change than Plaid Cymru or the Green Party, and I would also tell you that I am a believer in small-scale political authority, and I think that this level of councils is probably the most effective for grassroots campaigning. I am the vice-president of an organisation called Labour for an Independent Wales, we argue for an independent Wales that is both socialist and left wing.

• What are the main issues you want to prioritise in this campaign?

I’m largely campaigning on a town council that informs people. There are two main aspects: 

There is the climate change crisis that we are all facing and there are lots of things that the council can do, so for example it could designate certain key areas as wild, it could encourage the sharing of lifts, it could campaign for green energy, it could also argue that by becoming involved in climate activities it could illustrate climate change and the climate crisis in a way that many people might not see at a macro-scale. 

I am in the old tradition of decentralised power to the people. Perhaps in your own country I would have certain similarities with the old anarcho-syndicalists of the pre-Franco era.

• Why is Labour the best alternative to the other parties in your area?

First of all, we have a Welsh parliament, we have a Welsh First Minister, we have a Welsh Labour Party, and Wales is probably one of the few countries in Western Europe that has a a social-democratic government, therefore it’s a better mechanism. We entered into an agreement with Plaid Cymru to extend the size of the Senedd, we are experimenting with a Universal Basic Income and we are looking at alternatives. We are campaigning for a Welsh Labour Party that has its own destiny and direction, not separate from the UK Labour Party, but a sister party to it. Therefore, while I have many sympathies with aspects of Plaid Cymru my view is that despite they have an ecosocialist and left-wing element they also have within them a socially conservative somewhat reactionary element. The Conservatives have been dragged kicking and screaming into accepting devolution and the Welsh Parliament. They are fundamentally a party of the farmers, of the reactionary elements in Welsh society and therefore, what all progressives and radicals have to do is to decide which party is the best for a particular cause. Gramsci, the Italian philosopher would have said about campaigning to change discourse: “by winning soft power you transform society”.

Interview with John Davies, Plaid Cymru activist in Gower

 Interview with John Davies, Plaid Cymru activist in Gower

• Why have you decided to join Plaid Cymru? 

I decided to join Plaid Cymru as the two major political parties in the UK do not tackle the root cause of a floundering economy in Wales, and all the social distress and poverty that brings. Plaid Cymru is the only party that has the interests of the people of Wales at heart, and the only party that has a clear vision in terms of moving Wales forward to a green prosperous future.

• What are the main campaigns you carry out in Gower with Plaid?

The main campaign is showing people that there is a positive, prosperous, green future allowing our children to have well paid jobs without having to leave Wales.

• What would Welsh independence mean for you?

Independence is a word that needs to be re-defined to suit our modern world. Is Spain an independent country if it is part of the European Union and has in effect given away part of its Sovereignty?

It is the same for Wales we are an outward looking progressive political party that if the European Union did not exist, we would need to invent it. We want the independence to have a government that truly govern for the benefit of its people. This is not the case in the UK, it is too dominated by a small establishment, setting an economic agenda that benefits the few in the South East of England. We in Wales aspire for more. So we want independence withing the confines of a European Union.

This would mean that Wales would flourish economically, socially , and culturally. It would allow the creation of a better balance of society, akin to what would be seen in Denmark or other Northern European countries

• Why is Plaid the best alternative to Labour and the Tories in your area?

This is simple. Wales is the poorest nation in the whole of Europe, and for decades both Labour and the Tories have presided over the increasing economic dysfunctionality, thus the resulting poverty, economically and of the soul.

It is a plain choice. Continue as we are or evolve. Plaid Cymru is the only party that can allow this evolution to happen.

*After the interview, we post a few lines of Davies' economic program for Wales as a Plaid Cymru campaigner

Problems in Wales: Persistent Poverty, increasingly

regionalised, with a feeling of inevitability and acceptance.

The Question: What can Plaid do about this, and where is the opportunity for

Plaid to forge a clear path to power?

In spite of a seemingly endless cycle of half-hearted macro-economic recovery

schemes delivered in various ways (including investment in business ‘Hubs’

across Wales from schemes delivered by both the Welsh and UK

Governments), our urban and rural communities are still gripped by poverty. In

Wales we see levels higher than anywhere else in Western Europe, driving

hard the social deprivation this brings. There is still a feeling of acceptance that

this is our lot. This lack of hope of real opportunity for our young drives down

ambitions and innovation. Brexit, Global warming and COVID-19 just

exacerbate an already dire situation.

It seems an incurable problem. The cards are stacked against us in favour of

Westminster, as sure as any game at a casino.

However, there is always a silver lining if we look hard enough, especially if we

rewrite the rules. Plaid can be the party that enacts real change, creating new

rules and economic growth to sustain an egalitarian society. We do this by

growing our economy organically from the grass-roots up, ensuring that the

wealth creation is focused directly at the source of poverty. This wealth is then

directly passed to the base level economy. If we provide a clear path to

economic growth in Wales, we will end the downward spiral.

Plaid will be seen as the party that delivers economic success for Wales. As we

build our economy, we then build the economic foundation for an egalitarian

and fair society. This Foundation economics with a ‘Welsh twist’ is just the start of this process, but without it, the back of the Welsh economy will always remain broken and dysfunctional. The path to creating functioning and thriving local economies in Wales involves a practical and pragmatic approach we can enact now. This in turn will give us substantial social and financial returns (approx. £4·5billion per annum) with virtually zero cost. If done properly, it would set a new economic and social path for Wales. This is how Plaid can construct a core ‘Social Contract’ within which we will define our future economy and society. It’s a centre radical path, joining business with social well-being, a path that neither Labour nor the Tories can tread. As we achieve social and economic transformation and revitalisation, we also reduce our carbon footprint: this is a truly a green solution.