BREXIT, TORIES, WALES AND PLAID CYMRU

So there’s an unexpected election coming up on June 8th. Despite her assurances and promises that she had no intention of going against the Fixed Term Parliament Act of 2011, Theresa May just couldn’t stay true to her word. You know what they say about a person’s word being their bond and all….well we all now know that her word is worth pretty much nothing, really, and as such, any future promise that she makes should be taken with a more than hefty pinch of salt.

Much as she did when she backtracked on her commitment that the UK is better off within the EU and then proceeded to pursue the most damaging of Brexits, she has shown that she is a person of little integrity, minimal substance and is, to my mind, a controlling and confused coward who is willing to put party above principle at every last turn. Worse, she has stood up in Westminster and said that she supports every last one of the 30 Tory MPs who are being investigated for electoral fraud. Well she would, I suppose – it’s our money and our future that she’s playing fast and loose with. However, by doing this, she has proven to have little respect for and a whole lot of contempt for the UK electorate. She’s actually taking the piss and laughing in our faces.

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Somebody told me that, although they don’t like May or her party, they kind of appreciate how canny she has been in seizing the moment in order to prolong their role in government. I suppose they are right in that she has played us all like cheap fiddles but surely the better option, the one which said ‘I want the best for the four countries of the UK’ would have been to work hard for the people of this island and be re-elected on a mandate of respect and confidence rather than sneaking an extra couple of years in by being a devious power grabber. Yes yes, I know the election hasn’t been yet and that all things are possible but I’m pretty sure that when she called it, the possibility of losing it was the very last thing on her mind.

So it kind of looks as if we are destined to be controlled by another Tory government because if there was any chance of failure, I wouldn’t be writing this blog article. With that, I hope that her and her party have five years maximum because at the end of this time, the UK will have gone to Hell in a hand basket and people, those who are not broken, should, God willing, be desperate for change. Oh, unless she chooses another opportune moment in a couple of years, of course, and abandons the  Fixed Term Parliament Act of 2011 once again. Who knows what she’s capable of? Between power grabs and forging a path to  make Wales just another English region, Mrs May is playing us for a load of fools. Forget turkeys voting for Christmas, if we opt for this team of cruel dictators, we become the pigs in blankets too.

Now what do we make of it from a Welsh perspective and where will it lead us?

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There are, inevitably, an abundance of opinion polls doing the rounds. There are also a variety of lists showing which Welsh seats the Tories intend to target. And why wouldn’t they? Labour are not doing well in the polls, Wales narrowly voted to be taken out of the EU and the Tories surely see us as a country so gullible, so desperate and out of touch, we’ll vote for pretty much anything. And they’re right.

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What worries me, as it always worries me, is how this is going to pan out in the longer term, both from the viewpoint of a person who yearns for independence from Westminster and from the viewpoint of a person who despises the punitive, cruel, sneaky, nasty party with an almost obsessive contempt. Wales is poor. We are one of the poorest countries in Europe. Our people suffer because there is a lack of investment made, a lack of training, a lack of well paid jobs. Some areas of Wales are now so desperately poverty stricken, it is enough to break a heart.

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The Tories won’t address this, you know. Theirs is a long and proud record of punishing poorer people, or those with health issues who are unable to work, or families with children who they struggle to feed. There are a lot of people like this in Wales and they are all being neglected by this Conservative government just as, once Brexit has been implemented, we will continue to be further abused.

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FULLY 1/3 OF WELSH CHILDREN LIVE IN POVERTY

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Did you know that children in poverty are more likely to be emotionally, physically or sexually abused? Did you know that the statistics show that children raised in poverty have a higher chance of dying before reaching adulthood? Did you also know that the Tories don’t actually care about this? Believe me, they don’t and if you need confirmation, you need look no further than the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which has expressed very serious concerns that the UK government has breached their own international human rights obligations. Give them carte blanche to keep governing with impunity and things like this will only become worse as more and more people are affected.  Wales is already poor, our children and already suffering, parents are stressed, adults are struggling. Five more years of a hard nosed Conservative government will do nothing to alleviate this.

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So how do we deal with this in Wales? Well we can start by acknowledging that this election isn’t necessarily a two horse race. If you used to vote Labour and find that they’ve done nothing for you, the answer really isn’t going to lie in voting Tory. If you have always voted Labour and now find yourself even more disadvantaged or disaffected, then don’t think for a minute that the road to improvement lies in voting for a party whose primary interest is a failed austerity plan and playing suckie-suckie to Donald Trump. This won’t make things better. It can’t do because if they had ever wanted your life to improve, they would have started making that difference once they were elected to government. Cast your mind back and tell me, are you really better off today than you were then? I know I’m not and I don’t just mean financially.

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So what should we do in Wales? Well I will be voting for Plaid Cymru because I really do believe with every inch of my being that if any party out there wants our lives to be better, it’s them. Raising the living standard for the people of Wales is their raison d’etre and despite the rubbish that some continue to espouse about Leanne Wood and the rest of the party defying the cliched ‘will of the people’ by trying to minimise a potentially ravaging hard Brexit, the fact is that they withstand these attacks and insults because what motivates them is you. They care that your life improves. They take a beating from people who tell them to go away and shut up because despite everything, they are committed to making Wales a happier, healthier, wealthier place for all of us. The Tories, no. The Tories don’t care one iota about you, me, our friends or our families. They don’t actually care about Wales.

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Plaid Cymru – while the Tories were riding roughshod over electoral rules and buying their way into government, Plaid Cymru MPs were acknowledged as the most committed and hard working in Westminster. They do that because they want to make a difference. While the Tories were lying and cheating and while Labour are in meltdown mode, Plaid Cymru are solid, dependable, honest and dedicated to us, the people in Wales.

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I’ve seen people say that they won’t vote Plaid Cymru because they don’t want Wales to be independent but this isn’t about independence; this is about our survival. I would urge every last one of you to please consider lending Plaid your vote this time. I don’t think I’m scaremongering when I say that you give that disaffected Labour vote to the Tories, in a year or two you are going to be desperately sorry.

Economists assess that Brexit is going to really take a terrible toll on everybody’s livelihoods. This worries me, a lot. I’m not so scared for myself because I’m not struggling financially or health wise, although I know that I’m only one illness, accident or redundancy cheque from becoming a person who will struggle – we almost all are – but I am desperately anxious for the people in Wales and the UK who are already on the brink. What will become of them? There are two ways of approaching the impending disaster. The first is by ignoring the experts, economists and ethical observers and clinging vainly to the hope that Brexit will make a positive difference to your life. The second is by looking at people who want to ensure that Brexit doesn’t negatively affect your life. We are all looking for solutions. Some find it in the guise of Theresa May and her broken promises; I find it in a party that works diligently and with integrity to help all of us who have chosen to live in Wales.

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I feel like we are at a crucial crossroads – we take the wrong route and we go down. You know how we all pull together and are 100% Welsh when Wales play football or rugby, or how people argue to the death in defence of Gareth Bale and Warburton – this is the kind of fight we should be applying now. If we can support Wales on the pitch, we can certainly support it off the pitch. If Wales was a political football team, it would be Plaid Cymru. If England was a political football team, it would be the Tories. You would never cheer the opposition in a match so why cheer them with your life?

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Let’s fight together, please, because if we don’t, Wales is going to be the loser. I don’t want that. Do you?