Plaid Cymru’s 2024 national conference was held from Friday 11th of October to Saturday 12th of October in the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital city, Cardiff.
Having doubled their total number of seats in the House of Commons and gaining a higher vote share in the General Election back in July 2024; the atmosphere was positive, and optimistic amongst members and politicians for the Senedd elections fast approaching in 2026. Plaid Cymru have always done better in the Senedd elections compared to the UK general elections, so they are expecting a higher vote share and total number of seats in the 2026 Senedd elections compared to the 2024 UK general election. It is expected they will do better than usual, especially with the new PR voting system coming into effect in 2026. This would be the time to start setting the party’s narrative of Wales under their rule should the electorate vote for them.
Although this is positive for Plaid Cymru, very little was done at the conference to set the narrative of their vision for Wales, which should be based on the conversations they have had with the Welsh public on the doors. When looking at the Rhun ap Iorwerth’s (Plaid Cymru’s Leader) speech, the energy of a serious party ready for government did not come across. Spending most of his speech talking about other parties and their politicians rather than presenting policies that mean anything to the Welsh electorate. A leader’s speech especially in the lead up to a big election for the party should install hope with their policies that have been carefully thought through, not virtuous throw away statements with no real vision of how to achieve it.
Rhun stated that Plaid Cymru’s focus for the campaign was to achieve success in the Senedd elections by looking at traditional Labour areas such as the Valleys, to show the people there that Plaid Cymru is the party of a fresh start. Although you wouldn’t be mistaken for thinking this conference was a chance for Plaid Cymru to highlight how their party would look through meaningful, effective and realistic policies; Rhun was too busy beating down other parties. Considering this, it makes Plaid Cymru seem like a protest vote against Labour and they have not thought about their strategy beyond that. The electorate are tired of negative campaigns and feuds between parties, they want hope and positivity for future generations. Fuelling and feeding off people’s desperation and anger for political gain rather than working towards well thought out solutions to the complex issues we face after 14 years of Conservative disrespect for devolution is wrong and benefits no one. The past 14 years shows that if the UK and Welsh government are not able to work together collaboratively then this hinders the growth and opportunities of the Welsh electorate, achieving nothing for the working people.
Now UK Labour is in government there is more of a conscientious effort to having a strong relationship and respect with devolved Wales so that both governments can focus on solving complex issues in Wales that matter to the Welsh public. One of the first things Keir Starmer did as Prime Minister was to meet with devolved nations to show them that they will no longer be ignored and neglected. However, the level of damage of Tory neglect over 14 years will not have an overnight solution, work has already started in ensuring that Wales is respected and nurtured to boost economic growth and stability. Economic growth is needed to ensure that there are foundations for public services to be funded, however very little focus was given on that from Rhun in his speech.
Jo Stevens MP, the Secretary of State for Wales who is fighting for economic growth for Wales; spoke at the International Investment Summit in earlier this week about how recent major investments from global businesses have helped bring forward Labour’s agenda of boosting opportunity and economic growth in Wales, which puts the country on the map for global investment. This comes just after Kellogg’s announced they were investing £75 million in its factory in Wrexham, creating 130 new jobs, and a Turkish firm Eren Holdings in Shotton Mill investing in £1 billion to provide hundreds of new jobs. If three months of a UK Labour government working alongside the Welsh Labour government can secure this level of investment, imagine what can be done in 18 months.
Although the 2026 Senedd elections will be a tough one for Welsh Labour under a new voting system, the next 18 months of Welsh Labour government alongside a UK Labour government will show the benefits of two governments working together to effectively tackle complex issues in Wales. Nothing was mentioned by Rhun in ensuring a good relationship with a UK Labour government would be maintained if Plaid Cymru was to come to power, showing their true colours, that all that matters to them is power not the Welsh people.
If you’d like to read more about the 2024 Party conferences, follow the link here to read our Executive Director Adam Langleben’s rundown of the recent Labour conference.
