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/
