Ieuan refuses to shift for Price

I FORECAST A leadership change within Plaid Cymru, Clive Betts writes from the Assembly press gallery.

And that Ieuan Wyn Jones won’t go easily.

Asked by Cambria at the new term’s first political conference whether he might give way to the likely newcomer to the Assembly’s Plaid group, he gave an answer which I read as meaning, bluntly No.

The newcomer will be Adam Price, currently MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr. For a number of years, he has recognised that his future lies within the Assembly, rather than at Westminster.

Very quietly, he has also thought of gaining the party’s leadership. Which means, leadership of the group in the Assembly.

For long, he had mused as to how to execute that switch from London to Cardiff. At the end of  last week, he finally announced his plan for the future.

He would stand down from Westminster at the next election (expected next spring); he would then fly to the United States for the year’s study involved as a Fulbright Scholar.

At the election which follows for the National Assembly in May 2011, he would stand for an Assembly seat. In his press release, he said, “My aim will be to seek nomination and stand for election in 2011 as part of Ieuan Wyn Jones’s Assembly team.”

All sweet and above board. Except if you read between the lines (and have read also some of the replies to past Cambria postings).

So, Cambria suggested to Mr Jones that he read between the lines. Cambria presented the Plaid leader with  its own between-the-lines reading.

Mr Jones is now 60 years old; perhaps he might be willing to call it a day in view of his hard work within the party group which had led it to its present position, were Mr Price to indicate a challenge for the leadership.

The First Minister himself at this point butted in; Cambria had voiced the possibility of any press release containing “hidden and unvoiced” paragraphs. So, Mr Morgan supplied that “unvoiced” paragraph … that Mr Price would join the Labour Party.  The response was jovial laughter all round.

Mr Jones could have taken a number of lines to talk of a possible leadership challenge.

However, he preferred to dead-bat. He said simply, “There will be no announcement from me.” And that was that.

Which means, knowing the Plaid leader, that I will stay on.  Doggedly, he will NOT give way.

Mr Jones sees himself as forming the next Welsh government. As First Minister.

Asked about the challenge which is coming from the resurgent Welsh Tories, he calmly dismissed them.  Mr Bourne’s chances of winning a leading position in the Assembly at the 2011 election, he bluntly rejected.

The argument that the Tory group in Wales is so centre-ground and one-nation was dismissed. Mr Bourne’s leadership – as well as the other members of his group – stands far to the left of Mr Cameron’s Tories in England.

Mr Jones seems too confident of the likelihood of successes for Plaid in 2011.

If that challenge falls short, Plaid would indeed be in sore need of a new leader, with Mr Price the only candidate clearly with the all-round ability.

Some journalists – to the point, one who works in television – says that plotting was under way in the recent Plaid conference for a challenge from one of the party’s current clutch of AMs.

That journalist has an even sharper imagination than mine.  He refused to say who the person was. As any challenge so short a period before an election would be folly – the same as Mr Brown is now safe as Labour leader into the Westminster election – one can safely assume that the next challenge for the Plaid leadership will be by Mr Price a year or so after May 2011.

Or in  autumn 2011, if Plaid happens to perform more poorly than expected in that election. I can’t see anyone else standing as there’s no-one who can match Mr Price’s superb clutch of capabilities – unless someone puts up with the intention of forcing a purely formal contest.