Response to:The left need to realise that just being right won’t win them elections

Interesting article by Ifan Morgan Jones on how the left needs to adapt in order to win elections . I am not a big fan of the left, but I disagree with Ifan from a nationalist perspective. The problem is that the right hasn’t “won” by doing what Ifan suggests, by respecting opponents. The right has won by demonising and othering opponents. We are “traitors”, “Europhobes”, “anti British”, “deserve to be executed for opposing Brexit” etc. The problem is that the left can’t do the same, because of who controls the MSM. Fake Labour “antisemitism” is called out, true Tory blaten racism isn’t!

And the idea that social media can somehow overcome MSM right wing bias is also fake, the Facebooks / Googles / Twitters of social media are bigger right wing corporations than even the Murdoch Empire.

The only chance that the national cause has is to piss off the establishment so much that they start attacking Wales and the Welsh and “othering” us. Neil McEvoy has pissed of the establishment, but pissed off Plaid in the process. And therein lies a major nationalist problem!

Perhaps Plaid should think more about being part of the campaign to piss off the establishment in favour of the Welsh National Cause, like Neil has, and less about being a “nice, let’s not upset anybody” party!

Look back at the period before Plaid won in the same area it has won since the 1960/70’s and never moved out of. It was an antiestablishment party, hated by the English press. Now we are a party that loves an occasional nice but condescending article about our leader in the Guardian! We need to create a backlash!

Congratulations Ben Lake, a step forward to an independent Wales!

I have been updating https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etholaethau_seneddol_Cymru‘s pages on the constituencies of Wales by adding the 2017 General election results. 

Given the comments by media pundits and pissed off Plaid supporters on social media I have been pleasantly surprised by how well Plaid Cymru did in a Presidential election where the others were squeezed dry by the May v Corbyn narrative. 

Plaid only lost 2% of its vote share, kept all its held seats (ok, by the skin of if its teeth in Arfon) and gained another seat. Not bad in the circumstances!

In percentage terms, gaining 1 extra MP, made Plaid the biggest winner in Great Britain in terms of percentage increase of a numbers of a party's MPs.

Ok I’m pissed off too. I wanted Plaid to win between 21 & 40 seats and we fell short. Until we can win a minimum of 21 seats Independence is a pipe dream. But so-called supporters of the Welsh National Cause dismissing Plaid holding on and increasing its representation in the very polarising 2017 General Election are not helping the National Cause.

If we want to win we must celebrate every step on the way. Congratulations Ben Lake, a step forward to an independent Wales!

Right wing blogger becomes "Most Left Wing" shock!

I am a constant critic of the BBC’s bias in favour of the status quo, which tends to be supportive of the government (whichever party is in power); so-called “British” values, which is shorthand for “British Establishment” values and not giving due respect to the fact that the “Celtic fringe” and rural England might not share the same values of the Metropolitan elite in London.

Having, now, watched the debate on TV, I can understand Boris Johnston & The Daily Mail complaint about an apparent left-wing bias of the audience in Wednesday's BBC leaders' debate. I was a member of the audience, and I know for a fact, that there was no bias in the audience selection. The difference in cheering levels was simply because the right wing couldn’t be arsed or enthused to cheer; when we, left wingers, cheered the rightists looked daggers at us, as if cheering was beneath them. When Amber Rudd or Paul Nuttall made a point they agreed with they nodded their heads in agreement rather than clapping or cheering.

The first cheer was given to Angus Robinson, by SNP suporters, who were sitting next to me and told my wife and me off for not cheering Leanne. After that the Plaid / SNP group cheered loud for everything that we agreed with, the Labour, Green and Lib Dem groups eventually joined in. But the Tories and UKIPers, just sat there looking at those of us who were cheering like we were shit and that cheering was beneath them.

The truth is that the audience WAS fairly chosen, was reflective of all opinion, but the right was so wibbly-wobbly, so unsure of its stance that it just couldn’t bring itself to whoop and cheer right wing arguments!!!

In trying to get a totally fair audience ComRes, a Tory leaning polling company, who chose the audience, also became a victim of the law of unintended consequences. The audience was not just representative of party /non party political leaning, but geographically representative. Which is why my wife and I were invited; not just as Plaid supporters but as people from north Wales. We went to Cambridge on a train and met people on the train from Scotland and the north of England who we discovered were also heading to the same event. Because of security issues, we had to register for the debate up to five hours before the debate began. Many of us from the far flung left had bonded as a group hours before the debate started. Lots of the right were more local to Cambridge.

The debate was held in Cambridge University's Senate-House, registration was in Downing College's Howard Theater. The Audience was bused between the two venues. A short walk, but because of the number of protesters en rout, a long bus journey. The protesters enthused those of us on the so called left, but intimidated and disgusted the rightists.

The audience WAS fairly balanced, there was no BBC bias, it was just that the balance was balanced between an excited and fired up left and a miserable and glumb right.

Those of us from far flung provinces were put up by ComRes in the same hotel. Us, so called lefties, partied into the early hours, the Tories and the Kippers went to bed!

Are PIP forms illegal?

English is my first language but I tend to fill all official forms in Welsh. Welsh is my wife's first language, but she doesn't like using Welsh forms or help lines, because she worries that those reading / translating /answering them might know her personally; she prefers the anonymity of dealing with English officials. (An interesting point; but not the subject of this post). A few years ago I filled in an English application on her behalf for Disability Living Allowance. Recently she has received a claim form for the replacement benefit Personal Independence Payment.

There are some glaring differences between the two forms.

The old DLA forms use to carry the Plain English Crystal Mark. The PIP form doesn't, which isn't surprising because it fails the Plain English test. It is full of yes or no questions that can't be answered by yes or no (commonly referred to in legal cases as a Do you still beat your wife? Questions – a Yes is bad but a No suggests that you use to beat her!)

Trick questions like Do you use a wheelchair to move around safely? Do I answer "YES" I use a wheelchair or "No" I am unable to use my wheelchair to move around safely, but with the No suggesting that I don't use a wheelchair?

Most benefit claim forms have, historically, either on the front page or the back page, a section to declare that Z has filled this form on X's behalf, the PIP form doesn't. There are millions of people living with a disability who can't read or write; so a third party answers the questions "as if" the claimant was answering. 

On page 25 (not page 1) there is a question about reading and writing. How could anybody get to page 25 without the ability to read and write? Panic stations, there must be a section in the front or back of the form to say "I filled in the form on my wife's behalf". NO!!! So she read and wrote 3/4 of the form without difficulty? SHE has to sign the statutory statement, whether she has a clue what "I" have written or not!

Sorry, but this form is bollocks of the umph degree, designed to fail claimants rather than to enable claimants to get their entitlement. Benefits forms are supposed to enable applicants to obtain due legal entitlement to benefit. The PIP form is designed to frustrate legal entitlement, so the form fails in law. If the form fails in law, every rejected claim also fails in law!

If my wife's claim fails I am minded to take her claim to the ECHR and will be asking for crowd funding.

If her claim succeeds, without the need for review or appeal, we will donate her first month's payment to a crowd fund that enables those refused PIP to mount a legal challenge to the whole damned system.

The Problem for Plaid is local government

Ifan Morgan Jones has made an interesting post on his blog on why he thinks  Plaid Cymru should move to the centre-ground, I have left a comment there on why I think he's wrong.

I do however, agree with one of his comments :

"They think: Which of these parties is run by people who are politically and culturally like me? Can I trust them to run the economy - do they understand my aspirations?"

But i don't agree with his attempt at resolution of the problem.

Changing where the party's political rhetoric stands on a left/right spectrum is not how to achieve the goal, the way to achieve it is by electing people "who are politically and culturally like me" at those levels of government that are lower than Europe, Westminster and the Assembly.

In the last round of local elections hundreds of county councillors were elected unopposed, including Labour, Lib Dem & Independent councillors in places like Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire. There were some counties where the BNP had more candidates than Plaid and counties where not a single Plaid candidate stood; many thousands of community councillors were elected unopposed.

This is an area that the party needs to look at with urgency, and should contact all members with details of what standing / being elected involves before the next round of local elections in May 2017.

Getting members elected at the lowest level will also help with the other perennial Plaid problem, press coverage. Most Welsh people read London daily papers, but they also read local weekly papers. My local weekly is unlikely to report on what Leanne said in Cardiff, but it will report on how John Jones, the Plaid councillor for Llanbethma ward agreed with her call for "yyy policy".

Every ward with at least one Plaid Candidate at community and county level, would be a huge boost to the party, especially if the party could agree to one strap-line slogan that all candidates had to use on all publicity such as "Wales needs independence" (example only better slogans may be available) .

Nationalist Internet Incest

One of the fallacies of the internet is that social media is able to beat main stream media at its own game. The Western Mail, the Daily Post, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror etc can publish shit, but we have this free on-line  media that can counteract their lies, but this is a very partial truth.

The fact is that Social Media gives us a rose tinted glass that we see our own world through. I follow people I agree with on Twitter I friend people I agree with on Facebook. I block and unfriend people, and create my own little bubble of social media followers who agree 100% with me!

The racists have also created their own little internet spaces that convince them that they are the voice of the people.

My social media profile tells me that there are lots and lots of people that agree with me that the best answer to Brexit is Welsh Independence, they are correct. But to make that point on Social media we have to un block and re friend our opponents in order to persuade them to support our cause, because nationalist internet incest isn't going to move the cause forward at all!

We have to confront the trolls, not ignore them, we have to make the case for independence to those who currently oppose it, not just revel in those who support it! 

Vote Labour List = Vote UKIP

As we have seen, during the last three Assembly Elections, it is almost impossible for the Labour Party to gain a List AM. Voting Labour on the list has been a wasted vote for the past 17 years.

With the fascist party UKIP standing on the list in this year's elections, wasting a list vote on Labour could make a difference, it could let the fascists into our National Assembly by default.

I understand party loyalty, I know why you want to give both votes to Labour, but you must consider the consequences of doing so. By lending your second vote to Plaid Cymru, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party even the Monster Raving Loony Party you reduce the value of the UKIP list vote, you make it less likely that the fascists can gain a foothold in Our Assembly.

A wasted list vote for Labour is a defacto vote for UKIP!

Nevada or Nan Conwy, BBC?

I'm sure that few will be shocked at the revelation that I am not a great fan of the Labour Party, but having said that the Welsh branch of the Labour Party held its pre Assembly Election Conference in Llandudno this weekend. If Labour win the next Assembly Election (of course I hope they don't, but IF) a lot of aspects of my life will be influenced by Welsh Labour.

I am forced to buy a BBC TV licence in order to view BBC broadcast news, so I know what's occurring, I don't think I got my money's worth this weekend as a Welsh viewer. 100% of the sparse coverage of the Welsh Labour Conference was about the EU referendum 0% was about the Welsh General Election.

I saw more coverage of the US Democrat / Republican elections on the BBC than I saw of coverage of the National Assembly Elections; I saw more coverage of the US Caucuses than I saw of the Welsh Labour Conference.

The BBC has a legal remit to Educate and Inform; it is failing in that duty when it ignores Wales in favour of a foreign election!

I know what Trump, Clinton, Saunders, Cruze etc had to say in Nevada, but I don't know what Carwyn said in Llandudno – that isn't Welsh News that isn't coverage of Welsh Democracy it is an unequivical fail by the BBC to respect Welsh politics!

Yes Cymru

One of the bugbears that I have had with Plaid Cymru is that its main aim is winning votes rather than making the case for Welsh Nationalism, the formation of The Welsh Language Society in the 1960s helped Plaid because it took campaigning for the language out of Plaid's main remit. I have noted in many posts on this bolg that I believe that there is a need for a "campaign for Welsh independence" outwith the party political sphere; it appears that my wish might be granted in the formation of a new organisation YES WALES which is launching it's campaign on Saturday.

I am unable to attend Saturday's event, but I wish it every success. If a local branch is formed in the Conwy Valley after the National launch - I will do all I can to support it!

Wales in Europe

A message from Plaid Cymru supporting a vote for the UK to remain in the European Union

Wales benefits from being part of the EU, economically, socially and culturally.

The EU helped to establish peace and keeps the peace in Europe: a role that should never be underestimated and which we value.

Nearly 200,000 jobs in Wales are linked to our access to the Single Market and its half a billion people. Thousands of students and young people benefit from EU programmes enabling them to
study and work in other countries and learn new languages.

These are just some of the advantages to Wales.
And thanks to the EU we have laws on equality, on the environment, on workers' and consumers' rights, on farming and food quality, to tackle climate change and much more.

The United Kingdom already opts out of the Schengen travel area, which is why we still have passport control at the UK's external borders. And of course we never joined the single currency.

There is a lot we would like to change about the EU, but we can only do that from within. There's no point shouting from the sidelines. We choose instead to work with our sister parties in the
European Free Alliance and progressive colleagues across the EU. That is how we will get a more open, democratic and effective Europe within which Wales will play its full part.

The Third Sector!

There is something that smells about the omnipresent "third sector" in Wales, they seem to be consulted on every issue, receive huge amounts of public money, but who they actually represent is clouded in mystery!

I have lived with Epilepsy since 1982, epilepsy is a familial condition so lots of my cousins also live with epilepsy, but as far as I know none of us are members of Epilepsy Wales, we have never been approached to join Epilepsy Wales, it is not a body that represents us. I am not criticising Epilepsy Wales, I'm sure that it does great work, I'm just saying that it isn't an organisation that I am associated with so it doesn't represent my epilepsy!

One of the things that has peeved me about S4C, since its creation, is that it's subtitling service hasn't been aimed at Welsh speaking people who are hard of hearing but at non Welsh speakers. I have complained many times to S4C about this and the response has always been that this was the recommendation of the "Welsh Council of the Deaf" – again an organisation that claims to speak for me but has never bothered to ask my opinion!

The Welsh Assembly Government LOVES these "third sector" organisations, as representatives of public opinion, but never ever questions their actual mandate! As a Deaf Epileptic Welsh Speaker I am not represented by the so-called third sector in Wales, or a Labour Government which claims that these unrepresentative organisation's opinions are sacrosanct!

UKIP and Immigration into Wales

I had a YouGov survey today that asked about voting intentions and issues that would affect my vote. One of the questions caused me some difficulty, a question about whether "immigration" is an important factor in the way I vote; it is, but not in the way that a British polling company like YouGov could appreciate.

Immigration is a huge factor in my political outlook, the immigration of English people into Wales; many of whom import their racist policies with them, and make UKIP and its intolerance of indigenous Welsh people and our acceptance of others into part of their political diatribe.

There are so many of these White Flight English Racists living in Wales now, that they may get a foothold in the Senedd. They already represent English intolerance, on behalf of Wales, in the European Parliament.

English racism colonising Wales is an issue that no party is willing to tackle, despite the fact that it is a major problem and one that Labour the Lib Dems and Plaid, if they had any conscious, should attack head on; it's a sad fact of modern Welsh political cowardice that none of these parties will make the case for Wales, until it is too late!

Plaid, Nationalism and Corbyn

I can understand why the left wing supporters of Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party are cock a hoop by his victory in the Labour leadership election, it is a victory for the left, without a shadow of doubt, but I can't understand why Plaid Cymru members are hailing his victory!

For the past 30 years Plaid has had a failed policy of trying to attract votes from the left of Blairist Labour, a policy that has failed miserably, and is now in tatters with a Labour leader who can give Leanne Wood a run for her money on Socialist Policy.

Jeremy Corbin is no fan of Welsh Nationalism, he is an opponent of Devolution, and his attitude to Wales is on a par with George Thomas' fastest run over the Severn Bridge comment and Blairs Fuck the Welsh comment; his, so called, left wing is as indifferent to Wales as his predecessor's right wing was. For the National Cause, nothing has changed by Corbyn's election; right, centre, left - Labour is as opposed to Welsh self determination as ever!

I do however, welcome Corbyn's election; because it might persuade Plaid to realise that its USP is the National Cause rather than a filler for Welsh Labour's historic socialist vacuum!

Superfast Rip-off!

I was excited by the Welsh Government / EU proposal to give Superfast Broadband to Welsh Rural Communities.

Superfast Cymru will transform the broadband landscape in Wales and promote economic growth and sustainable jobs in Wales. It's been estimated that up to 2,500 further full times jobs could be created throughout the Welsh economy over time. The project will ensure Wales is at the forefront of the global digital economy and will help to champion Wales as a great place to live, work, invest and visit.

When I heard that Llansanffraid Glan Conwy would be connected to the superfast network this week I was overjoyed, so I asked, SKY, my internet provider, to sign me up. I was shocked to find that a service promoted as one subsidised by the EU, Westminster and the Government of Wales would cost me £2 a month more, but I bit the bullet and signed up anyway. My superfast broadband was activated at 3pm on 27th May 2015 .

On 28th May at 11:48 PM I had a message from Sky:

You've gone over your Sky broadband usage allowance
We're just letting you know that you've gone over your Sky Fibre 25GB monthly usage allowance.
The good news is that we won't do anything this time as it may be a one off. However, if you go over your allowance again in the next five months, we'll automatically switch you to Sky Fibre Unlimited, as it has an unlimited usage allowance.
Sky Fibre Unlimited is just £20 a month and gives you the same great speed, but with the added peace of mind of totally unlimited usage.

In a period of 36 hours, when I have only been online for about 4 hours, read my e-mails, looked at my Twitter and Facebook pages, watched a few "Maiden Speeches" on YouTube (in low definition) I have exceeded my monthly allowance and have to pay an extra £22 more to access the internet over a connection provided by taxpayers' money!

I feel ripped off, I can't afford the extra payment!

This is absolutely disgusting, a rip off on the back of public money by a private company. Rather than enabling internet access, SKY's abuse of the service and the fact that I can't afford a locked in contract for £22 a month means that I will probably be forced to abandon the internet for the next 18 months.

This might be the last post on this site for some time; but before I am forced to log off I hope that AM's MP's MEPs and journalists question this abuse of a public funded project and make the abusers account for their rip off.

Miserable Old Fart: 2016 - The Very Last chance to Vote for Wales!

Miserable Old Fart: 2016 - The Very Last chance to Vote for Wales!: The main story of the UK General Election 2015 is that Britain elected an English Nationalist Government out of fear of what the SNP could...

2016 - The Very Last chance to Vote for Wales!

The main story of the UK General Election 2015 is that Britain elected an English Nationalist Government out of fear of what the SNP could do to Britain if it had the balance of power.

A couple of Welsh seats fell to the Tories because of the same narrative; this worries me, why should Wales fear the SNP?

Because of demographic change the 2016 Assembly elections could be the very last in which the majority of voters in Wales are Welsh people rather than "the people of Wales".

We can accept, what appears to be the inevitable, that despite 1000+ years of resistance to being assimilated into England, that the battle is now lost; by continuing to vote for what have become the English Nationalist Labour party or English Nationalist Tory Party, or we can make, (what might be the very last stand for the future existence of Wales) and vote en-mass for Plaid Cymru in 2016 to secure a future for our Nation by having a government that puts Wales First!

If we vote English Nationalist Labour or English Nationalist Tory or Ultra English Nationalist UKIP in 2016, or even decide not to vote at all we may as well accept that Wales has ceased to exist and get use to the revival of the old adage For Wales - see England

Plaid 2016 Election

It is interesting that the Conservatives have won the GE on less than 37% of those registered to vote and fewer than 25% of those entitled to vote, but yet the Campaign seemed to be one of trying to swing voters from one party to another, whilst the "spare vote" was obviously elsewhere! With both Labour and Tories being advised by US "election gurus" who believe in both restricting the vote and making policy on what focus groups believe and becoming a choice of two sames, neither turnout nor result is surprising.

If I was a party advisor I would charge Billions of pounds for this simple advice to any party, forget gaining votes from other parties, I'm voting Plaid and nothing will change my mind, chase the disaffected, register the unregistered, that nonvoting part of the electorate is what will give you a solid majority.

And therein lies a problem, Plaid does better in Assembly Elections because fewer vote.

In 2003 I was asked, by Plaid, to take down a Plaid supporting poster from my window because it might alert others to the election and my wife and I were the only committed Plaid voters on our estate. Since adopting that strategy Plaid's share of the vote has declined year after year. The ONLY way #Plaid16 can win is by going out to gain votes, getting non voters TO vote and registering potential voters. The policy of shushing and hoping for a low turnout is past its sell by date.

Plaid got a fair vote in many constituencies in the Westminster GE, hoping it turns out in secret next year is not an electoral strategy! Plaid really needs to persuade non voters, and as yet unregistered voters, to vote Plaid in 2016 and make a song and dance about how fantastic it's campaign is, rather than hoping that only committed nashies vote in a pathetically low turnout!

Disappointed with Plaid

I am very disappointed with Plaid Cymru's lack of success tonight, I was quietly confident that Plaid would have won 5, 6, even 7 seats in this election scarping to keep 3 out of 40 seats is bitterly disappointing, especially whilst the English nationalist Conservatives made gains in Wales and ultra English nationalist UKIP gained more votes than Plaid.

That UKIP can argue about "Immigration" in constituencies with fewer than 5% non British born residents like Aberconwy, but Plaid is too frightened to mention the 30% English Immigrants is counter-productive.

I Read Mike Parker's Comments and Hugh Thomas comments when they were first made – I agreed with both, there is a problem with English Immigrants invading Wales – Plaid must accept this fact –or accept that the future is that so many English move into Wales that Wales becomes an White Flight English county.

Leanne mentioned during the campaign that Plaid needs to be more "naughty" – that naughtiness must include being much more fundamentally nationalist and opposing the colonisation of Wales!

Election Launch Site?

Whatever you think about the party, its policies or it's personalities, hardly anyone can disagree that the SNP is the winner of the battle to make a manifesto launch in the most stunning location.

The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, has had millions of pounds worth of free publicity by the world's media gathering there to report on what's included in the SNP Manifesto. That makes me wonder why the Welsh parties didn't have a similar vision?

Think of the impact that Leanne could have had by publishing her policies at 100 MPH in Zip World, imagine Carwyn bouncing Labour policies in Bounce Below, or Andrew RT publishing his policies in the fitting setting of the Dinosaurs of Tan yr Ogof, or Nick Clegg launching his party's manifesto in an iconic Welsh venue that might be big enough to hold next year's LibDem conference:

Mud Slinging Labour Hypocrits

The information I gain from Social Media is biased, about 80% of the people I follow on Twitter are members / supporters of Plaid Cymru , the SNP or Mebyon Kernow. I have a bias towards family and "real" friends on Facebook but many of those are political too.

When the Daily Mail made it's disgusting slur about Ed Miliband, his father and his wider family in 2013, most of my nationalist friends / followers supported Miliband and expressed their revulsion at the way he had been unfairly treated by the extreme right wing press.

On Wednesday, when a very dodgy report about a Plaid Cymru Candidate, who is an English born and bred incomer to Wales was stigmatised for opposing BNP white flight incomers to Wales as "calling all English in Wales Nazis" Labour members and supporters jumped on the bandwagon to vilify him.

Today's very odd slur against Mr Miliband in the Daily Mail which seems to amount to an accusation that "a young man had many girlfriends – shock horror" has been almost universally condemned on my social media timelines by nationalist friends.

That is an important difference between Plaid Cymru and Labour - Plaid is opposed to mudslinging in any direction

Labour just opposes mud thrown in it's direction but is always happy to throw it back!

Hypocrits!