I’m not into memes, so I’ve never done any where where I tell readers things they don’t know about me.
But high on the list would certainly be my support for Welsh independence.
This support doesn’t amount to much. My Welsh pronunciation is probably better than yours, but it’s not good. I would know less than fifty welsh words, and could probably only produce one sentence: Nos da, cariad bach.1 Now I live on the other side of the world. While I could probably get together a Welsh solidarity group in Wellington, I don’t think it’s on anyone’s priority list.
I care because of my family. Mum’s cousins fought for Welsh hard. Back when Welsh street signs were only in English one of Mum’s cousins was part of a group that spray-painted Welsh language everywhere. My grandmother compared me to her; Welsh language and Welsh independence are part of a much wider set of values within my family. It’s the Welsh side of my family who have resisted every war since World War 1.
So I checked the UK elections today, I wanted to know how the Plaid had done. The Plaid is the party of Wales – whose basic principles include Welsh independence, support for the Welsh language and socialism. The elections that were held yesterday in the UK included voting on a new Welsh Assembly, and the Plaid gained seats. While I’m not particularly into elections I was glad, and I’d have probably voted for them.2
What I thought was particularly awesome was that Mohammad Ashgar, the first Assembly Member from an ethnic minority (obviously that’s a whole ‘nother problem) was from the Plaid.
It’s really awful that the fascist BNP gained so many votes in North Wales. So awful that I have to take a moment to make fun of the whole thing. Nationalism makes limited sense at the best of times, but even less sense when you’re not sure what language to be nationalist in. I’m fairly sure no-one has ever translated ‘Rule Britannia’ into Welsh
The support for the BNP is what makes it so important that the Plaid is not just a party for white people. Combining anti-racism, welsh independence and socialism3 seems the best way of offering a real alternative to the BNP.
I don’t know enough about Welsh politics to know what relationship there is between the Plaid and out of parliament activism. If winning those seats was the focus of Welsh progressive activism then it probably won’t achieve anything, but if it’s a demonstration of the level of support and activism for those goals then the land of my mothers might be in pretty good stead.
- Night night love [↩]
- I am planning to write a post on my position on elections. The fact that I think the Democrats suck seems confusing to some people [↩]
- a basic plank of the Plaid, although they’re not necessarily very good at it, since they wanted to cut business rates by 50%. Which is why you should never trust electoral parties [↩]
My daughter lives in Scotland, but I don’t know too much about the politics up there. I do know that there is a move for Scottish independence too.
The English really did some serious injustices to their closest neighbors, and don’t even get started on Ireland.
Hadn’t heard about the BNP’s gains in Wales. Unfortunate. I’m tempted to raise the question of Nationalism’s affinity for xenophobia but it would be difficult to reconcile British Nationalism and the Welsh variety wouldn’t it? I’m ignorant of the character of the population in North Wales so I really can’t even guess what BNP success there signifies. Disconcerting though, that the main thrust of the campaign was reportedly aimed at Poles, Rumanians, et al. That has a particularly nasty atavistic stench. Color prejudice is bad enough but are we going to see a further relapse into old style euro-racialism? Of course, as far as the BNP is concerned, they’d just be staying true to their ideological roots.
I’m half Welsh and 100% behind this. Preserving the language, at least, is so important. It would just be sad to see it waste away.
It’s nice to see someone other than a handful of Welsh people actually rooting for Wales for a change. But it’s too bad that apparently most people here have taken one look at the subject line and decided it doesn’t belong in the American-progressive-designated “important shit.”
I voted for Plaid last week, even though in my constituency they didn’t have a chance of winning, and although I don’t agree with every single stand they take. However, they’re the only party I can see that gives a damn about the language, so they get my vote.
Independence would be a great thing, ultimately. However, the problem right now is that Wales simply doesn’t have money. Outside of Cardiff, there’s not a whole lot going on. Of course, this is due to the history. Wales in the 19th Century was the source of immense weath due to its mineral resources (coal, zinc, slate), but most of the money generated went out of the country. All you have to do is look at the map: all the roads lead out. And that’s because they were constructed for the convenience of the English (to get to the mines, etc in the South, and to the holiday spots in the North). Wales at this point in time is simply not strong enough economically to stand on its own.
Also, I haven’t seen any analyses on the phenomenon yet, but I’m betting that a big reason the BNP got as many votes as it did in the North is because that’s where all the English are moving in, driving housing prices out of the reach of locals and killing Welsh-speaking communities. They’ve stated that a big reason they’re attracted to North Wales is that there are virtually no ethnic minority people there. Of course there aren’t: there are no jobs and tons of small communities that have been left to rot for ages, but just happen to be located in areas of outstanding natural beauty.
I suppose some North Walians, sick of being sold out by Labour and feeling that Plaid is getting them nowhere, also may have voted BNP, but I still bet the majority were actually English. Myddyffycys yn bob man.