Having been out almost every weekend since August I’m going to have to get used to having Saturdays to myself again after campaigning for Plaid Cymru.
I joined Plaid Cymru in the run up to the General Election in 2015 and I was eager to help out in whatever way I could in this year’s Assembly Election.
The Plaid Ifanc Neath crew!
My first real taste of campaigning was in Glynneath. It was about 12 degrees, pouring with rain and blowing a gale - so a typical Welsh summer’s day! The day got off to a rocky start as Beth strutted out of her house dressed in her UKIP colours, and then the heavens opened while I was in my shorts and t-shirt. A lesson learned for next week that I’m in Neath and not Nice…
Instructed by Philippa shouting ‘KNOCK, KNOCK, LEAFLET, KNOCK, LABOUR COUNCILLOR IGNORE THAT ONE, LEAFLET, KNOCK’ Beth and myself strategically avoided the ‘knocks’ for as long as we could, and when we had to, knocked together… we didn’t feel very confident and didn’t have much of a clue!
Fast-forward four weeks and four canvassing sessions and we’ve picked up in Trebanos, in the depths of the Swansea Valley. From this session, and with the help of Dan Thomas, who was the General Election candidate, we set up the Neath branch of Plaid Ifanc.
We campaigned with Alun Llewelyn and the fantastic Plaid Cymru Neath team week in week out - come rain or shine. One thing that never ceased to amaze me was the reaction of people on the doorstep when me and my ‘baby face’ knocked on the door and started talking to them about Plaid Cymru’s vison for Neath, for our Valleys and for Wales. I honestly think the phrase I heard most was ‘It’s nice to see young people out canvassing’.
A beautiful day campaigning
When most people think of politics, they think it’s a load of old posh white men in suits talking gibberish. But I believe that Plaid Cymru, and in particular Plaid Ifanc, are helping to show that politics isn’t just a load of old posh white men talking gibberish.
During the campaign in Neath we had our branch launch in the back room of a pub in town, the majority of those who attended were female, one of whom voted Plaid Cymru (by proxy) when she was studying in Hong Kong, another was thinking of supporting UKIP but after seeing the passion with which Charlotte Ford, our youngest councillor, spoke with is now a Plaid Cymru supporter.
We knocked doors and spoke to people in every ward of the Neath constituency from Cimla to Cwmllynfell, Brynamman to Bryncoch, Glynneath to Godre’r Graig. We attracted new supporters from each and every one of these wards, from first time voters to lifelong Labour supporters wanting change from 17 years of mediocrity - we even came across Tories wanting to put up Plaid Cymru posters and placards!
It’s been a long, tiring, but extremely enjoyable and rewarding experience and I for one can’t wait until local elections next year so we can build upon the 7% swing from Labour that we’ve seen in the constituency.
But, until then, I’m not going to have an excuse not to get back on my bike!
Plaid Ifanc Neath launch!
