Three candidates. Three choices. One party.
The ballot papers for the Plaid Cymru leadership election have been sent and members are busy voting.
Are you still unsure as to who should get your first and second votes? Plaid Ifanc went and asked three of our members who have all made their decisions - this is what they had to say.
Candidates presented in the order they appear on the official ballot paper.
Rhun ap Iorwerth
Wiliam Jac Rees, Ceredigion
This leadership election has been a great opportunity for us as a party to have a positive but vigorous debate about our future direction and the strategies we will use to win over voters in 2021. Ultimately though, it’s about picking the best candidate for First Minister, who will be able to gain the support of voters from all over Wales and lead us into government, and then onwards to independence.
It’s clear to me that we aren’t doing enough to win the support of a majority of voters that will allow us to form a government in 2021. Despite winning 4 seats at the last Westminster election, it could have so easily been just 2 if a few hundred votes swung another way. In the Assembly, our group has been reduced to 10. Polling shows us lagging behind both labour and the Tories. This isn’t good enough.
We need to win over new voters and to do this we must step up a gear, and in my opinion Rhun ap Iorwerth is the candidate best placed to be able to do this and communicate our ideas to the people of Wales and lead us to independence. Communication is they key here, without it, we will go nowhere. Using his experience as a broadcaster, Rhun has the ability to communicate our ideas in a different way, and with an energy that hasn’t been done before. We also have to expand our base, and Rhun has shown that he understands the need to ensure that everyone who wishes to take part in our programme of building a nation feels like they have a home in Plaid Cymru.
Rhun has put young people at the heart of his vision for Wales. He understands that we are the future of our communities and the future of our nation. His Young Wales Plan would put youth welfare at the heart of Government decision-making and promote good mental and physical health. Additionally, he wants to establish a ‘Young Wales’ information and citizenship service (similar to what the SNP Government have implemented in Scotland).
Unequivocal in his support for an independent Wales within the European Union, Rhun has passionately supported the case for a vote on the deal that Theresa May’s government will get from Brussels. This will give the young people of Wales the opportunity to keep our rights to travel, live and work in Europe.
In order to help boost our economy Rhun has a ‘Bring your Skills Home’ strategy that would give the opportunity to those people who have had to leave Wales for education and training to return home in order to contribute to the future of our nation.
In order to create the socially just independent Wales that we in Plaid Ifanc wish to see, Rhun believes that alongside our promises of what we can and will do in our next manifesto, we should include an ‘I-Plan’ (Independence Plan) to show what more we could achieve if we actually had the power and tools to do so.
We all know in Plaid Ifanc that independence for Wales is the best way forward for our nation, but we can only do that by becoming a party of government. For the reasons outlined above, in my view, Rhun ap Iorwerth is the best placed candidate to be able to do that. That is why I will be giving him my first preference vote.
Adam Price
Liam Bowen, Sir Gâr
When I was in school, the political landscape of Wales was far from my understanding. And to be honest, we I didn’t really care either! I knew I was a nationalist, loved Wales and the Welsh language and hated the concept of Britishness. But beyond that, I had no real interest.
But one day, as I sat in a boring GCSE lesson, everything changed. A Member of Parliament came to the class to discuss the importance of politics and, after half an hour of inspirational speaking by this young MP, I found myself with this new found spirit and passion and in that moment in my life changed.
That Member of Parliament was Adam Price and he persuaded me to join Plaid Cymru, to campaign for Plaid Cymru and eventually stand and become an elected County Councilor for Plaid.
We are very fortunate to have three brilliant candidates in this Plaid leadership contest and Leanne Wood has led us through a turbulent and difficult time with energy, strength and passion.
But Wales is under threat. Our diverse, minority communities are under threat and our language and culture are also under threat. The extreme right is growing and is strengthened by the inability and unwillingness of the Labour Party in Wales to protect Wales.
The only way, in my opinion, to defeat the cruel Conservatives and the weak Labour Party is to have a strong leader who makes them all afraid - and Adam Price is that leader.
From leading the fight against the Iraq War in Westminster to putting Carwyn Jones to shame in our national parliament on a weekly basis, Adam is the principled, charismatic and effective leader that Plaid Cymru needs as we try to dismantle the tight grip the Labour party has over Wales.
The Carmarthen West and Dinefwr Constituency is, by now, a successful electoral force. Adam and his team know exactly how to win elections and I strongly believe that Adam can do for Wales what he has done for Carmarthen West and Dinefwr.
His ability to inspire audiences in Wales (and Harvard!) is as strong as his political vision. His 7 steps to Independence and his 10 points to strengthen the economy are a test of his clear ability to create accessible and inclusive policies that spark the imagination and bring the far away dream of a Free Wales closer everyday.
Adam Price is the reason why I joined Plaid Cymru and I’m convinced that Adam Price has the vision, passion and enthusiasm to persuade Welsh voters that Plaid Cymru is the change needed to build a new Wales.
This is our chance to free Wales from Welsh Labour’s grip.
This is our chance to build a prosperous, free Wales.
This is why I will be giving my first vote to Adam Price.
Leanne Wood
Sioned James, Caerdydd
As a young woman there haven’t been many public figures that I can call inspiring and aspirational, much less a woman in politics. But Leanne Wood has been one of the people who has stepped into that gap. When Leanne speaks I’m not hearing a politicians’ rhetoric, and a dusty, untrustworthy formulaic response. It’s a dialogue, an invitation to a conversation. It’s not from a place of ego nor personal ambition; it’s not from a place of defence nor excuse; it’s not from a place of ignorance nor superficiality. She’s able to communicate our shared values and concerns with confidence and familiarity.
We’re fortunate in Plaid Cymru to have so many talented individuals that contribute to the party, able to bring innovative ideas and stir an audience to envisage our future. Every politician and member is a part of the Plaid Cymru jig-saw but it’s Leanne who walks the talk. She can ignite the fire in the belly and raise an auditorium to its feet, but also her word can be trusted. Ideas are brought to life and aims achieved because she made it so. I’ve had enough of u-turning, reversing, three-point manoeuvring tactics and am choosing Leanne because I trust her to make the right call.
Many of us are too comfortable in ‘not trusting politicians’ or ‘not knowing enough’ and use these as excuses not to be interested in politics or be involved in the growth and development of our communities. This leaves the hard work of building our nation to a small few; small few who are shouldering the work that the many should be undertaking. Leanne is one of these small few who knows this yet has accepted the challenge, stretching her reach as far and wide as possible to support all. She’s used her feet to gather votes, her hands to action real change, and her voice to empower others to do the same.
And she hasn’t had enough, she has more to give. That’s inspiring – tireless energy, through everything. Think of our journey to here, this point. It’s has been a tumultuous one with disappointments and let-downs. Decisions are placed upon Wales without our say-so. We’ve been trampled on and forgotten by two governments and it can be a lonely world in politics when opposing voices make themselves heard so well. But Leanne has steered us through and will continue to do so. Her words are a source of comfort, hope and truth. She will carve our course to a better, equal and freer Wales with resilience, dignity and realism, taking every citizen with her. All, not the small few.
I speak to you from a place of strength, motivation and empowerment. I’ve absorbed this energy from Leanne Wood and am intent on passing the energy on, ensuring it ripples through our members like a current, into our neighbours and through our communities. It’s this energy that will move us to action change and insist on a brighter future for Wales. Let’s not let it slip from our grasp this time.
If you are a member of Plaid Cymru and have received your ballot paper, you have until midnight on Thursday 27 September to send in your vote to Ty Gwynfor, the Plaid Cymru headquarters. Remember you can number your preferred candidates through the STV system.
