CymruX Chair: Why I support Leanne

My Plaid Cymru ballot paper arrived this morning and I'm proud to report that everyone in the Jones Household has placed Leanne Wood as their first preference as Leader of Plaid Cymru. Personally speaking, Leanne is my first preference, Elin Jones my second, and Lord Elis-Thomas my third.

If I might, I'd like to take a minute or two to tell you why I believe that Leanne is the best choice of the candidates in this race to lead Plaid Cymru.

Leanne is a staunch nationalist, an unwavering republican and a socialist to the bones. But one could also say that of the other woman in this race, so what gives Leanne the edge? For me, what makes Leanne a fantastic candidate is her vision for Wales, the freshness of her campaign, and how exciting a prospect it is to have her as Plaid Cymru's leader.


Masses of experience are not on Leanne's side - at least, not as a Government Minister or a statesman. But despite that, Leanne has managed to inspire people all across Wales more than either of the other campaigns. Some have said that Leanne is too radical or too left-wing to unite the party. But to those people let me ask: are you as excited by the other campaigns as you are with Leanne's? It's a lively campaign, full of new ideas, and I have no doubt that Leanne will be a lively Leader, one who is full of ideas.

Her Greenprint for the Valleys is the basis for Plaid Cymru's local election manifesto this year, and as many - including former Party President and the Welsh legend Dafydd Iwan - have noted, her politics goes back to Plaid Cymru's core, original politics. It's a politics of community and cooperation. But what's special about her campaign is that it combines that element of standing by Plaid Cymru's key principles and indeed its roots, but it is also a modern campaign and a symbol of a woman who will move our party forward and create it as a natural political home for people all across Wales - from our heartlands in the north and the west, to the north-east, and her native industrial south.

Leanne will be an excellent leader of Plaid Cymru and so, I encourage you all to place her as your first preference on your ballot papers. For more information on her campaign, go to her website.

- CERITH RHYS JONES
National Chair of CymruX

P.S. Although it is official CymruX policy to support Leanne, please note that my opinion as portrayed above is my own.

Cadeirydd CymruX: Pam 'dw i'n cefnogi Leanne

Fe gyrhaeddodd fy mhapur pleidleisio Plaid Cymru'r bore 'ma a 'dw i'n falch iawn o allu dweud fod pawb yn fy nhŷ i wedi gosod Leanne Wood fel eu dewis cyntaf ar gyfer Arweinydd y Blaid. Yn bersonol, Leanne yw fy newis cyntaf, Elin Jones fy ail ddewis, a'r Arglwydd Elis-Thomas yn drydydd.

'Dw i am gymryd munud neu ddwy i ddweud wrthych chi pam 'dw i'n credu mai Leanne yw'r dewis gorau allan o'r tri sydd yn y ras hwn, os ga'i.

Y mae Leanne yn genedlaetholwraig i'r carn, yn weriniaethwraig gref ac yn sosialydd ddiamod. Ond mae modd dweud yr holl bethau hyn am y fenyw arall yn y ras hefyd, felly beth sy'n rhoi mantais i Leanne dros yr ymgeisyddion eraill? Imi, yr hyn sy'n gwneud Leanne yn ymgeisydd ffantastig yw ei gweledigaeth i Gymru, ffresni'i hymgyrch hi, a pha mor cyffrous o beth yw'r rhagolwg o'i chael hi'n arweinydd ar Blaid Cymru.


Nid oes profiad helaeth ar ochr Leanne - o leia, nid profiad fel Gweinidog yn y Llywodraeth neu fel gwladweinydd uchel ei fri. Ond eto, y mae ymgyrch Leanne wedi llwyddo i ysbrydoli pobl ledled Cymru'n fwy na'r ymgyrchoedd eraill. Mae 'na rhai sydd wedi dweud bod Leanne yn rhy radical neu'n rhy dryw wrth adain chwith y Blaid i allu ei huno. Ond wrth y bobl hynny, mae'n rhaid imi ofyn - ydych chi'n cael eich cyffroi cymaint gan yr ymgyrchoedd eraill ag ydych chi gan ymgyrch Leanne? Ymgyrch fywiog, llawn syniadau ydyw, a does dim amau mai arweinydd bywiog, llawn syniadau fydd hi.

Y mae ei Chynllun Gwyrdd i'r Cymoedd hi'n sylfaen ar gyfer maniffesto etholiadau lleol y Blaid eleni ac fel mae nifer - gan gynnwys cyn-Lywydd y Blaid a'r arwr Cymraeg, Dafydd Iwan - wedi nodi, y mae ei gwleidyddiaeth hi'n mynd yn ôl at graidd gwleidyddiaeth Plaid Cymru. Mae'n wleidyddiaeth o gymuned ac o gyd-weithredu. Ond yr hyn sy'n arbennig - sy'n sbesial - am ei hymgyrch hi, yw ei bod yn cyfuno'r elfen honno o fod yn dryw wrth egwyddorion a gwreiddiau ein Plaid ni, ond y mae hefyd yn ymgyrch fodern ac yn symbol o fenyw y bydd yn symud ein Plaid ymlaen ac yn ei chreu hi'n gartref gwleidyddol naturiol i bobl o bob cwr o Gymru - o'n cadarnleoedd yn y gogledd a'r gorllewin, at y gogledd-ddwyrain, a'i deheubarth diwydiannol brodorol.

Mi fydd Leanne yn arweinydd gwych ar Blaid Cymru ac felly, dwi'n eich hannog chi oll i'w gosod hi'n ddewis cyntaf ar eich papurau pleidleisio. Am fwy o wybodaeth am ymgyrch Leanne, ewch i'w gwefan.

- CERITH RHYS JONES
Cadeirydd Cenedlaethol CymruX

O.N. Er mai polisi swyddogol CymruX yw i gefnogi Leanne Wood, noder mai fy marn i yw'r hyn y sydd uchod.

Cefnogi / Supporting - Leanne Wood

Gyda phapurau pleidleisio Plaid Cymru newydd gael eu danfon at aelodau'r Blaid, mi fydd aelodau o Bwyllgor Gwaith newydd CymruX yn cymryd rhan mewn ymgyrch decstio'r penwythnos hwn, yn annog aelodau o Blaid Cymru i bleidleisio #1 dros Leanne Wood.

Os hoffech chi ymuno ag ymgyrch Leanne, ewch i'w gwefan, yma.

With the ballot papers in the Plaid Cymru leadership election now on their way to party members, members of CymruX's new National Executive Committee will be taking part in a texting campaign this weekend, encouraging Plaid Cymru members to vote #1 for Leanne Wood.

If you'd like to join Leanne, go to her website, here.

Cerith Rhys Jones
Cadeirydd Cenedlaethol / National Chair

Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol / AGM

Cynhaliwyd Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol CymruX yng Nghaerfyrddin heddiw ac mae'n bleser dweud y bu'n gyfarfod llwyddiannus iawn, gyda nifer yn fwy o wynebau na'r arfer. Cafwyd drafodaethau difyr ynghylch dyfodol y drefniadaeth yn ychwanegol at sesiwn hystings gyda Leanne Wood AC a Dafydd Elis-Thomas AC. Yn anffodus, nid oedd modd i Elin Jones AC fynychu'r cyfarfod o achos tostrwydd - dymunwn wellhad buan iddi.

Y mae hefyd yn bleser cyhoeddi y pasiwyd cynnig polisi a oedd yn cynnig fod CymruX yn cefnogi ymgyrch Leanne Wood i olynu Ieuan Wyn-Jones fel Arweinydd Plaid Cymru. Y mae Leanne wedi bod yn ffrind i'n trefniadaeth ers talwm a diolchwn iddi hi am ei chefnogaeth ar hyd y blynyddoedd.

Etholwyd y Pwyllgor Gwaith newydd ar gyfer y flwyddyn 2012-13:

Cadeirydd: Cerith Rhys Jones
Is-gadeirydd: Emyr Gruffydd
Ysgrifennydd: Charlotte Britton
Trysorydd: Gwenno George
Swyddog Polisi: Osian Lewis
Swyddog y Wasg: Glenn Page
Swyddog Di-bortffolio: William Thomas
Swyddog Di-bortffolio: Branwen Alaw Evans
Cynrychiolydd De Ddwyrain Cymru: Dan Lawrence
Cynrychiolydd De Orllewin Cymru: Glesni Morgan

Yr ydym oll yn frwdfrydig dros ail-greu CymruX fel trefniadaeth weithgar a phwysig sy'n rhoi llais gref i fyfyrwyr ac ieuenctid o fewn Plaid Cymru... mwy o fanylion i ddilyn!

Carem ddiolch Lleu Williams a'i Bwyllgor Gwaith 2011-12 ef am eu gwaith hwy a dymuno'n dda iddynt oll.


Our AGM was held in Carmarthen today, and it's a pleasure to be able to report that it was indeed a very successful meeting, with many more faces than usual. We had a range of interesting discussions about the future of our organisation, as well as an hustings session with Leanne Wood AM and Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM. Unfortunately, Elin Jones AM was not able to attend the meeting due to illness - we wish her a swift recovery.

It is also a pleasure to report that a policy motion was passed stating that CymruX supports Leanne Wood's campaign to succeed Ieuan Wyn Jones as Leader of Plaid Cymru. Leanne has long since been a friend of our organisation and we thank her for her support throughout the years.

The new National Executive Committee for the 2012-13 year was elected:

Chair: Cerith Rhys Jones
Vice-chair: Emyr Gruffydd
Secretary: Charlotte Britton
Treasurer: Gwenno George
Policy Officer: Osian Lewis
Press Officer: Glenn Page
Non-portfolio Officer: William Thomas
Non-portfolio Officer: Branwen Alaw Evans
South East Wales Representative: Dan Lawrence
South West Wales Representative: Glesni Morgan

We are all enthusiastic about recreating CymruX as an effective and important organisation which gives students and youth a strong voice within Plaid Cymru... more details to follow!

We wish to thank Lleu Williams and his 2011-12 NEC for their hard work and wish them all the very best.

Cerith Rhys Jones
Cadeirydd CymruX / CymruX Chair

Noson codi arian i'r ysgolion Diwan / Diwan Schools Fundraiser

Ar nos Sadwrn yr 11eg o Chwefror, cynhaliwyd noson hynod lwyddiannus, llawn ffroes/crempog/pancos/crêpes (!!) a seidr gan gangen Caerdydd i godi arian at weithgarwch ysgolion Diwan yn Llydaw. Cafodd pawb lond eu boliau o fwyd a seidr a llond eu clustiau o gerddoriaeth draddodiadol drwy'r nos! Ysgolion sydd yn dysgu trwy gyfrwng yr iaith Lydaweg yw'r Diwan, a thrwy Lydaw, amcangyfrifir bod tua 14,000o blant yn derbyn addysg trwy gyfrwng yr iaith. Canran fychan iawn o blant a phobl ifanc Llydaw yw hyn, fodd bynnag, wrth ystyried bod nifer tebyg yn derbyn eu haddysg drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg yn Rhondda-Cynon-Taf, Pen-y-bont a Merthyr yn unig. Ni dderbynia'r ysgolion fawr ddim cymorth ariannol oddi wrth y wladwriaeth Ffrengig, felly maent yn dibynnu ar roddion a charedigion yr iaith. Er ein bod yn dal i boeni am sefyllfa'r Gymraeg, i raddau, pwysig iawn ydy cyfrif ein bendithion trwy ystyried pa mor anodd ydy hi ar nifer i iaith leiafrifol arall yn Ewrop. Codwyd dros £65. Trugarez mat/ Diolch yn fawr i bwyllgor y gangen am drefnu.

On Saturday the 11th of February, a very successful evening, full of pancakes and cider, was held by Caerdydd branch in aid of the Diwan schools in Britanny. Everybody had a great time eating Breton crêpes and drinking (cheap) cider to the accompaniment of folk music all night! The Diwan are schools that provide education through the medium of the Breton language to around 14,000 children throughout Britanny. However, this is a very small percentage, considering that the same amount of children receive their education in Welsh in Rhondda-Cynon-Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr alone. Hardly any support is given to them by the French state, so the schools depend heavily on donations by people who are supportive of the language. Although we still worry about the situation of our own language, it's important to count our blessings on ocassions like these and stand in solidarity with minority languages in Europe who are in a far worse situation. Over £65 was raised. Trugarez mat / Diolch to the Branch committee for organizing the event.