Digwyddiadau

Ymddiheuriadau am bostio mor fuan! Roeddwn am ddod a dau ddigwyddiad i'ch sylw chi y mae Plaid Cymru Ifanc yn falch o'u cefnogi.

Ddydd Sadwrn yn dod, 26 Mai 2012, mi fydd Plaid Pride yn ail-lansio yng Nghanolfan Celfyddydau Chapter ar Heol y Farchnad, Caerdydd, am 14.00. Sefydlwyd y grwp yn ystod Cynhadledd Wanwyn Caerdydd 2010 a chynhelir digwyddiadau blynyddol ym Mardi Gras Caerdydd Cymru.

Pwrpas y cyfarfod hwn fydd aildrefnu'r grwp cyn digwyddiadau'r haf yn dod a'r Gynhadledd Flynyddol yn yr hydref. Byddwn yn trafod ymgynghoriad Llywodraeth y DG ar briodasau sifil cyfartal, trefniant y group, a digwyddiadau y bydd Plaid Cymru yn ymwneud ag hwy (e.e. Mardi Gras, Pride Abertawe). Mae diwrnod y cyfarfod yn digwydd ar ddiwrnod Eurovision, felly bydd dirprwyaeth yn mynd i ganol y ddinas wedi'r cyfarfod i fwynhau!

Ddydd Gwener 1 Mehefin 2012, byddwn yn cefnogi'r bobl y tu ol i Ddiwrnod Gweriniaethol Bae Caerdydd wrth iddynt lansio deiseb yn erbyn y Lluoedd Arfod yn recriwtio yn ysgolion Cymru. Y Deyrnas Gyfunol yw'r unig wladwriaeth yn yr Undeb Ewropeaidd sy'n caniatau i hwn ddigwydd; dro ar ol tro'r ydym wedi gweld y fyddin yn rhoi cyflwyniadau yn ysgolion er mwyn ceisio recriwtio'n pobl ifainc ni i'r Lluoedd Arfog. Yn aml, mae'r bobl ifainc hynny'n teimlo mai'u hunig opsiwn mewn bywyd yw ymuno a'r Fyddin neu byw ar fudd-daliadau, a chredwn ninnau nid iawn mo hynny. Mi fyddaf i'n rhoi araith fer, felly dewch draw i arwyddo'r ddeiseb a chael trafodaeth am y mater.

Bydd y cyfarfod am 19.00 yn y Deml Heddwch a Iechyd ar Rodfa'r Brenin Edward VII yn ardal Parc Cathays, Caerdydd.

Yna, ddydd Mawrth 5 Mehefin, bydd y grwp yn cwrdd eto yn Mischief's ar James Street ym Mae Caerdydd am 19.00 er mwyn rhoi cyfle arall ichi arwyddo'r ddeiseb ac i glywed pobl arall yn siarad (nid fi'r tro hwn) gan gynnwys Mike Jenkins, tad yr AC Plaid Cymru dros Orllewin De Cymru, Bethan Jenkins.

Am wybodaeth bellach ar ail-lansiad Plaid Pride, wele: https://www.facebook.com/events/223736867741113/

Am wybodaeth bellach ar ddigwyddiad Diwrnod Gweriniaethol Bae Caerdydd yn y Deml heddwch, wele: https://www.facebook.com/events/345406628860121/

Am wybodaeth bellach ar ddigwyddiad Diwrnod Gweriniaethol Bae Caerdydd ym Mischief's, wele: https://www.facebook.com/events/394532667237096/

Y mae Plaid Cymru Ifanc yn falch o allu cefnogi'r holl ddigwyddiadau hyn, a gobeithiwn y byddwch yn gallu ymuno a ni i roi'ch cefnogaeth chithau hefyd.

Cerith Rhys Jones
Cadeirydd Cenedlaethol

Events

Sorry for posting two days in a row! I just wanted to draw your attention to two events coming up, which Plaid Cymru Youth is proud to be supporting.

This Saturday 26 May 2012, Plaid Pride will host its relaunch at the Chapter Arts Centre on Market Road in Cardiff at 14.00. The group was launched at the Cardiff Spring Conference in 2010 and annual events have been held at the Cardiff Wales Mardi Gras.

The purpose of this meeting is to reorganise the group before this summer's events and the annual party conference. Items for discussion will include the UK government's equal civil marriage consultation, group organisation, and activities in which Plaid Pride may be involved in 2012 (e.g. Cardiff Wales Mardi Gras, Swansea Pride). The meeting date coincides with the Eurovision song contest being held that evening - there will be a delegation into the City Centre afterwards!

On Friday 1 June 2012, we will be supporting the people behind Cardiff Bay Republican Day as they launch a petition against military recruitment in schools in Wales. The United Kingdom is the only country in the European Union that allows this to happen, and time and again, we have seen the military giving presentations in schools to recruit our young people into the Armed Forces. Often, those young people feel that their only option in life is to join the Forces or live on the dole, and we believe that is wrong. I will be giving a short speech at the event, so come along to sign the petition and have a frank discussion about this issue.

The meeting's at 19.00 at the Temple of Peace and Health on King Edward VII Avenue in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff.

Then on Tuesday 5 June 2012, the group will meet again in Mischief's Café Bar on James Street in Cardiff Bay at 19.00 to give you another opportunity to sign the petition and to hear some different people speaking (not me, this time) including Mike Jenkins, father of Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, Bethan Jenkins.

For more information on the Plaid Pride relaunch, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/223736867741113/

For more information on the Cardiff Bay Republican Day event at the Temple of Peace, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/345406628860121/

For more information on the Cardiff Bay Republican Day event at Mischief's, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/394532667237096/

Plaid Cymru Youth is proud to be supporting all of these events, and we hope that you'll be able to join us to give your support too.

Cerith Rhys Jones
National Chair

To be or not to be - The President's Club

I was recently asked my view on an institution of Plaid Cymru's which has existed for a good number of years now, The President's Club.

It is possible that many party members and readers of this blog will have no idea of what the President's Club is; in essence, it is the status given to party members who pay a monthly membership fee of £20 or more. Members of the club enjoy a special reception at the Eisteddfod and at Annual Conference, an opportunity to attend a special event with a guest speaker, and a personal Christmas card from the President of Plaid Cymru.

I admit that the President's Club isn't something to which I've given much thought. Personally, I am not a member of the club, and never have been. As a student, I simply can't afford to give the party £20 a month but I hope that my contribution to the party in terms of the work I do for it, not only as Chair of Plaid Cymru Youth, but also on various campaigns and at election time, makes up for what I cannot give financially.

It was put to me that the President's Club isn't fair, as it excludes those who cannot afford to give much to the party financially, and I accept that. The person with whom I was speaking suggested that if we want to build a society of equals, why do we need a special club like this in the first place, because surely it goes against all our principles? After all, our party's constitution states that one of our core aims as a national movement is

to build a national community based on equal citizenship, respect for different traditions and cultures and the equal worth of all individuals, whatever their race, nationality, gender, colour, creed, sexuality, age, ability or social background.

I'd like to briefly set out my view on the President's Club. I do find myself feeling slightly uncomfortable that there should be some sort of 'special club' for those in Plaid Cymru who can afford to give more money to the party than others; I find that to be something rather more suited to the unionist parties which we so vehemently oppose.

Having said that, Plaid Cymru is extremely fortunate in that we have hundreds, if not thousands, of committed activists all across Wales who play such a vital role in the development and promotion of the national movement, and it is only right that the party appreciates them, even if it is only with a couple of receptions and a Christmas card. Plaid Cymru activists are by no means half-hearted in their work for our party, so they deserve our thanks.

The problem is that the President's Club does not recognise their contribution - it only recognises those who give in financial terms.

Having said all of that, I am lucky to be in a position to know how the party works, to know the challenges that it faces, and the difficulties involved in running a national movement such as ours with only a limited number of staff at HQ, who, I have to say, work extremely hard for the cause. I imagine that it would be terribly difficult for the party to keep a record of all those who give so much to this party in non-financial terms, and it would be costly to thank them with three such events every year.

Of course, Dr Eurfyl ap Gwilym's internal review made reference to getting closer to party members - for there to be a better connection and relationship between party officials and staff in HQ and our activists on the ground - but I would suggest that it would be beneficial for the party to find a mechanism for officially appreciating hard-working party activists. I think the internal report by Dr ap Gwilym goes a long way in doing this, by raising the possibility of party members being invited to HQ to see how the party works, and of course, all party members are allowed to attend conference.

So, being that the party is working with a view to developing and strengthening the relationship between the party in central office and the activists at grassroots level, and also the fact that it would be very difficult to include hard-working party activists in some sort of club, I am not of the view that the President's Club ought to be scrapped.

I know this blog has been a bit dry, but I thought that I'd better clarify my position on it, as I'd been asked by a party member.

Cerith Rhys Jones
National Chair

For more information: http://www.english.plaidcymru.org/presidents-club-1/

Homelessness In Wales

On a slightly different note this week, I would like to focus on the issue of Homelessness in Wales.

The last few years of recession have had a serious impact on the lives of so many people, across Wales and further afield, and this impact can be seen vividly in the rise of homelessness. In 2011 figures suggest that Homelessness in Wales rose 11% on the previous year.

In Swansea, the number of people “seeking help” with regards to homelessness was 2,945. Since these figures only contain those who sought help we must assume that the real figures for homelessness are indeed higher still.

While The Times Rich List reports record earnings for the 1%, people in Wales are being forced from their homes and onto the streets, all the while the Con-Dem government asks us to believe that we are all in this together.

The BBC recently aired a documentary that followed the lives of a number of homeless men and women on the streets of Swansea. I would recommend it to anyone. Making people aware of this issue is a necessity. However, awareness alone will not solve our concerns.

We need to call on the government in Westminster and in the Bay to do more, to do much more! To help and support our nation’s most vulnerable. There are plenty of charities in Wales that do excellent work to help those most in need, for example The Wallich and Shelter Cymru.

However, with such a dramatic increase in homelessness and less money being raised through donations in these tough times, such charities find themselves swimming against the tide. It is with this in mind that Zachary Ripley, Rhodri Schelewa-Davies, and I decided to walk the 177 mile Offa’s dyke national trail, which runs along the border of Wales and England.

We will be camping along the way for 14 days and nights and we are doing so to raise money for 'The Wallich.' So please check out our page, share it with friends and donate.

Any contributions will be greatly appreciated.

Glenn Page
Press and Communications Officer

To donate, please go here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=RhodriZacharyGlenn&isTeam=true

Figures obtained from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-17303892

You can watch Swansea living on the streets here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01db84y

The Wallich:
www.thewallich.com

Shelter Cymru:
http://www.sheltercymru.org.uk

Better luck next time!

We didn’t win in Cathays but I am happy to say that we beat the Conservatives.

I didn’t manage to get down the votes per candidate in Cathays last night but I’ve tallied up the votes per party:

1. Labour - 3345 - 3 Lab elected
2. Liberal Democrats - 3087 - 1 LD elected
3. Green Party - 2221
4. Plaid Cymru - 950
5. Conservatives - 835
6. Independent - 139

As for the national result for Plaid Cymru, there’s no escaping the fact that it’s disappointing. Plaid Cymru lost some fantastic councillors and it’s disappointing that in some places, there were hard-working local champions from Plaid Cymru barely holding onto their seats, or not getting elected. It really does make you wonder how that can be, when the people they’re up against do nothing for their communities.

There is a possible answer to be had in that Plaid Cymru was the only party that ran this local election campaign in the way that local election campaigns ought to be run. The clue’s in the title - it ought to be about LOCAL issues. Unfortunately, the British parties decided to use this LOCAL election to fight WESTMINSTER battles. Couple that with the influence of the British press and hey presto, what have you got? People up and down the country wanting to use this vote - which ought to be a vote on local issues - as a protest vote.

Perhaps Plaid Cymru was silly not to join in with the extreme coalition-bashing. Perhaps we ought to have set ourselves up as the real alternative to the Con Dems, and asked the people to vote for us in order to send a message to David Cameron and Nick Clegg.

Politically speaking, that would probably have been the right thing to do. But we can take pride in the fact that we were the only party to run this campaign properly. Even if that means that Plaid Cymru had a disappointing night, I’m glad that that’s how we did it. We were fair and honest.

I really am desperately sorry for the Plaid Cymru councillors across Wales who lost their seats, and for the candidates who didn’t get elected. I know that they won’t give up though, because despite how cheesy it may sound, in Plaid Cymru, you don’t get politicians. You get real, local champions, and one disappointing evening won’t stop those people from showing Labour up over the next five years.

On the flip side, there are some positives. I’m pleased that Plaid Cymru has retained two councillors in Cardiff, and I know that Neil McEvoy and Lisa Ford will continue to do a fantastic job in Fairwater.

And then of course, as Chair of Plaid Cymru Youth, I am over the moon that two of my members have been elected as Councillors. Mair Rowlands will do a brilliant job in Bangor, and of course my good friend and colleague Rebeca Lewis won fantastically against the Labour incumbent in Trebanos, Neath Port Talbot.

I am tremendously proud of you both and want to wish you the best of luck for your five years as councillors. I know you’ll do a brilliant job representing your constituents, and will show Labour up for who they really are.

Overall, it’s a dim picture, but having said that, there’s a silver lining to every cloud. Our task for the next five years is to hold Labour to account and show the people of Wales that Plaid Cymru is the only real party of Wales and the only party that really cares about local communities up and down our country.

In the words of a wise woman - YMLAEN!

Cerith Rhys Jones
National Chair, Plaid Cymru Youth