Plaid Cymru has always said that Wales is a community of communities. It is our communities that give us character, soul and strength as a nation. As someone who represents the whole of Wales in the European Parliament I am fully aware of this.
What is the essence of a community? Homes, work, facilities such as shops and post offices, schools, health service, transport. But more than all of this - people. As I travel around Wales I meet people fighting to keep services in order to save their communities. People campaigning to keep schools and hospitals open; to have local jobs and housing for their children; to stop landfill sites; to get investment to strengthen the local economy. People living in rural areas, in the valleys, in the towns and cities fighting against the Labour government's policies that want to centralise everything - and centralise services more than anything. Under Labour's centralisation plans post offices, schools, magistrates courts, tax offices, ambulance stations, fire stations...and much much more is taken away.
People in the valleys and in the countryside have experienced the same - deterioration. It's the same story, whether you live a stone's throw from Cardiff or the other side of the country.
It's a very negative picture. Labour says that we talk Wales down. No, we don't. We talk their government down. There's a world of difference. Millions of pounds have come to Wales because we have some of the poorest communities in the whole of Europe. And what happened after six years? The level of poverty had increased! And who is responsible for this? Labour. And the criticism is well deserved. The people of Wales have had enough of the same old tired Labour.
The purpose of government is to ensure high quality essential services for people. Ensuring successful communities. Enabling people to reach their full potential. That is why Plaid Cymru's focus is on our communities. And that will be the focus of a Plaid Cymru government as well. We have a Wales wide vision. A vision created by working with people throughout Wales and being inspired by the people of Wales. We see beyond the walls of the Assembly in Cardiff Bay.
Devolution did not mean devolving power to Cardiff but devolving power to people. Plaid Cymru members speak on behalf of their electorate - they are the voice of people in the Assembly - not the voice of the Assembly in Wales.
We stand side by side with people who are campaigning to keep local services. We have the same priorities. And in government we will work hand in hand with those people to develop our vision, to achieve our policies, to make a difference.
It’s time to make a difference! It’s not just us saying that. It’s people in communities up and down the country. They are tired of the spin, tired of the broken promises, tired of tired old Labour – and New Labour.
I’ve seen the disappointment and the heartbreak that comes with a school closure. When Blaenclydach Infants School in the Rhondda closed it left a huge gap in the community. The parents and children who had put everything into campaigning to keep the school and youth centre open were left desolate that the government hadn’t listened. Because when Labour makes these decisions they have a huge effect on peoples’ lives. It wasn’t just a building, it was a community in itself – a happy thriving community. Now it’s gone and the school sold off by RCT council at auction in a 4 star London hotel, with lots of other Rhondda land, to make a bigger profit than selling it locally at local prices.
And of course, the Burberry factory in Treorci which is about to close with the loss of over three hundred jobs. There has been a huge campaign, but those jobs will go to Asia where they can manufacture for a fraction of the price. We have seen this happen so many times and it will go on happening under this government We’re given the impression that somehow the Labour government has no control over events like this. We see the crocodile tears of lots of Labour politicians. But why don’t we have the laws protecting workers that they have in other parts of Europe – laws which would prevent companies just announcing that they are moving out? Because the Labour government watered them down so we have only token consultation with workers – it’s not real consultation at all. Why don’t we have legally binding social responsibility policies which would make companies responsible to the communities in which they work? Because the Labour government is against it. They have promoted and supported globalisation and all that goes with it. They have not protected our communities.
I have lived in the Rhondda all my life and I have seen at first hand the haemorrhage of jobs and services from the valleys and what that does to our communities. When the National Assembly was set up I would never have believed that I would hear so many people saying that they feel they don’t count, that they aren’t important, that they are forgotten. No wonder so many say that the Assembly hasn’t made a difference for them. Of course, it’s not the Assembly, it’s the government that runs it. The same government that we have in London, that – with Tory support - took us to war in Iraq and is spending billions of pounds on new nuclear weapons. Whatever they say, they demonstrate their priorities by their actions.
We have different priorities. And we are showing that by our actions and our policies. I think the word “exciting” will be used a lot during this conference. It reflects how we feel about the challenge facing us in the coming months and years. We can be confident that what we are saying is what the people of Wales have said to us because we have listened to them and are listening to them. Plaid Cymru is a party of the community, not a party of Cardiff Bay. We work for you, your community and for Wales.
We want people to be excited about a new government in the Assembly. We want to create a new, confident, vibrant Wales where every single person matters and every single person can make a difference. Because it’s time.
