Plaid hopelessly overtaken by the Scots

No wonder Plaid didn’t try to present last week’s cabinet briefing to the press in Cardiff, writes Clive Betts from the National Assembly press gallery.

It’s not so much that Labour had to explain away a disaster, Plaid were faced with the same job. And if you’re in the middle of the shit, Rhodri Morgan is far more capable of explaining he is in fact surrounded with the milk of human kindness than Ieuan Wyn Jones could ever attempt.

Mind you, Wigley would have had a good try of proving that dirty brown is really white …

We haven’t yet had a line on who will give the Cabinet press briefing tomorrow. Who they decide to chose will rest an awful lot on what news release the government plans to make in the next few days. And they don’t tell you that sort of thing beforehand.

Mind you, Plaid did a good job of trying to hide the electoral disaster they had just suffered.  Must be something to do with having a former BBC Wales journalist as special adviser to IWJ.

Thus, we had a story about welcoming back Jill Evans to continue her work as an MEP – without saying anything about what had happened to Eurig Wyn, member until 2004 (he disappeared when the number of Welsh seats fell by one).

Plaid, in fact, had a pretty decent story to tell from Europe. Their vote had gone up, particularly in their target areas.

But brazen talk beforehand of a second seat – in the same way as the Tories had spoken of gaining a seat – had been totally falsified.

Ieuan hadn’t wanted to turn up to face the press and explain the gaping difference with Scotland.

Yet again, Wales had been proved to be an offshoot of England where some people speak a non-Germanic language. I suppose the most obvious difference politically was in UKIP’s ability to win a seat.

Previously, I and some others had scorned them as being too-English. In Scotland, that taunt is still flung. But, up there,  their candidates got their balls frozen; their vote fell; and Strasbourg seats were restricted to members of the main parties.

But it isn’t the fate of UKIP which tells you the temper of the frozen north (in winter, that is). It was the way in which the SNP unequivocally gained the peoples’ vote; nationally, they gained 29% to Labour’s 21, with other parties lagging.

More crucially, the SNP came first in every council area bar four (out of 32) – the party even won Edinburgh, although not Glasgow.

In stark contrast, Plaid was fourth third in Wales with 19%. The big parties were only a point or so ahead. But clearly the Welsh Nationalists have a long way to go to win the support of the people of Wales.

Just look at the Westminster constituencies where Plaid did well. There were only seven in which Plaid came first – Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, Llanelli, Ceredigion, Conwy, Caernarfon, Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, and Anglesey.

All are seats which Plaid already hold at one level or other. There’s then the list of where the party came second (which might mean a long way behind the leader). If Plaid had come first in some of these, we could start dreaming of an independent Wales.

But, really, this is a list of the second-hopers – Blaenau Gwent, Ogmore, Caerffili, Islwyn, Clwyd West, Merthyr, Aberavon, Neath, Carmarthen West, Preseli, Rhondda, Cynon, Pontypridd, and Swansea East.

If you’re a politician who happens to dream a lot at night, Plaid Cymru is a party you would be happy with.

All I can say is that, when Scotland wins its freedom, the Welsh will be the first to scream that they are being diddled by the English. But the truth is that Wales usually lags behind the Scottish leaders. And that has been proved once again.