CYNOG DAFIS was elected to the British parliament in April 1992. A member of the radical nationalist Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales), the former school teacher ran in alliance with the Green Party. Dafis spoke recently with Green Left Weekly's FRANK NOAKES.
Since Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 to fight for Welsh statehood, it has attracted many radical political activists and intellectuals. The late Marxist professor, Raymond Williams, was a member. Traditionally, Plaid Cymru has been strongest in Welsh-speaking communities and among young people.
While the 1536 Act of Incorporation of Wales with England undoubtedly brought many advantages for the Welsh and British states, these came at a cost to the Welsh language and culture. The Welsh have been subjected to an active policy of assimilation, which many would describe as attempted cultural genocide.
The latest recession has hit Wales particularly hard. After the north of Ireland, it is the most economically depressed part of Britain. Its environment has borne a heavy burden, often without even the cold comfort of any local economic benefit.
Dafis says these and other factors explain his election. "There was a very strong basic Welsh nationalist vote. I think we'd have done very well simply standing on a Plaid Cymru ticket. Support for Welsh self-government is increasing, and my constituency is very Welsh (around 60% Welsh-speaking, against a national average of 20%).
"It's an area where we've gradually built support and real enthusiasm for Welsh nationalist politics. And, of course, there's a strong cultural dimension in the area."
The agreement with the local Greens was also important. "First of all it added credibility. We were able to point out that we were in a position to win the seat. Secondly, there's no doubt at all that people have become very, very concerned about the environmental crisis.
"In Ceredigion and Pembroke North we have a section of the population that's very well informed. There are two university colleges, and they were delighted to be able to vote for a Green candidate who seemed to have a chance of winning", says Dafis.
Big swing
The alliance wrested the Cardiganshire seat from the Liberal Democrats with a swing of 13%. Dafis readily agrees a substantial part of the vote was for the Greens: "We were able to interpret Green policies in relation to the needs of the constituency and the opportunities within the constituency; things like alternative energy and coastal pollution.
"We tried to develop policy recommendations on alternative energy for instance, on woodland products and things of that kind. We were able to convey to people that there was substance in what we were saying.
"As well, the Green agenda enabled us to attract support from the large English immigrant population in the constituency. In the past Plaid Cymru has really only been able to get the vote from native Welsh people, and specifically Welsh-speaking people."
The party has been looking to break out of that limited, though crucial, constituency, and its success in doing so came as a psychological shock for the Labour Party.
Dafis thinks the alliance will be extended to other parts of Wales. "It worked in our constituency because people wanted it to work on both sides. Personally, I've been following the green movement for 20 years, and I'm sure this combination of ideals is the future political agenda for Wales. Of course, Plaid Cymru itself is adopting a radical green policy profile. That, together with agreements with local green parties, offers scope for considerable political growth."
Youth
At a recent 5000-strong Welsh Language Act demonstration in Cardiff, it was noticeable that many of the activists were young. Is this reflected in Plaid Cymru's membership?
"Yes. Some people would say Plaid Cymru has always attracted the young and that it tends to lose them when they get older", Dafis responds with a laugh.
"There was a time in the early '80s when Plaid Cymru could be seen as an ageing party, but it went through a tremendous revival in the last 7-8 years. Now, young people are very enthusiastic about green politics, and the combination of the two is very attractive and very relevant."
The party has a vigorous youth section with its own paper. "That's one of the most encouraging aspects of Plaid Cymru." Many of the young members are in higher education, but the party also strikes a chord among young workers. "You
even find young Welsh residents of English extraction wanting to identify themselves with Welshness."
The Welsh cultural identity is under attack economically. It might make economic sense to government and business to concentrate industry in a narrow band between London and Manchester, but such policies are disastrous for Wales. People are forced to leave to find work, breaking up traditional communities. Many government authorities see Wales as nothing more than western England, and the Welsh language as an anachronism.
Plaid Cymru believes Wales needs its own elected government, and Dafis sees the Tories as the main stumbling block to this. They have taken an "obdurate stand in relationship to decentralising power in Britain. Their approach is to concentrate power, rather than decentralise and they've set their face against discussing the issue at all."
In April, the Welsh electorate overwhelming voted for parties supporting some form of Welsh self-government, and in fact Wales has never given a majority to the Tories. Paradoxically, Dafis believes, it is Thatcherism that has raised the call for democratic self-government to a high pitch once again by exacerbating the economic crisis and debilitating local government in favour of unelected central government committees.
Europe
Added to this is the European context, which purports to offer a greater role to small nations and regions. "We are very strongly pro-European in Plaid Cymru because we're attracted by the concept of a Europe of the peoples, a Europe that has at the same time unity and stability and that recognises cultural diversity and political decentralisation.
"We're attracted by the federal ideal, rather than the kind of thing the British government stands for these days, the inter-governmental approach enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty. We prefer the preamble of the Maastricht Treaty to a lot of the content.
"We prefer to use the word decentralisation rather than devolution. We'd like to see devolution working the other way around. We should devolve power upwards: with sovereignty residing with the people, then they devolve a degree of it to local government and a further degree to their national government, and whatever is necessary to the European level.
"Britain has a unity, and that will always require some kind of institutional framework, and it will always be convenient to
have a special relationship between nations or countries that are on the same island with each other. But we do see the really significant level being the European one."
Plaid Cymru argues that the ratification of the imperfect Maastricht Treaty is necessary to further the European agenda, "but it's what happens afterwards that really counts".
At home, Plaid Cymru's growth is challenging the Labour Party in its former strongholds in the south. The party has won numerous local government positions since the April general election.
As in Scotland, Welsh people are increasingly not prepared to wait for Labour. A strong progressive nationalist vote is an attractive alternative, and many are beginning to put their confidence in Plaid Cymru.
And where does Plaid Cymru fit into the political spectrum?
"Well it's certainly to the left, there's no doubt about that. We believe strongly in democratic participation, but also we believe in a far more egalitarian society. That's a Welsh tradition. And increasingly we are adopting a green agenda, again with a left interpretation."