Campaign for Rhodri statue at the Senedd
POLITICAL friends of Rhodri Morgan have launched a fundraising campaign with the aim of erecting a statue to the late First Minister close to the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.
Mr Morgan, who was 77, died in June 2017 while cycling in lanes near his home in the Vale of Glamorgan.
He stepped down as First Minister in 2009 after nearly 10 years in the role. First elected as MP for Cardiff West in 1987, he switched to the National Assembly when it was set up in 1999.
The statue appeal committee is being led by Cardiff Labour councillor Dilwar Ali, who aims to raise £100,000.
He said: “I am pleased to be leading the Rhodri Morgan Statue project and I would like to thank everyone who has already given their support for this. I will be urging everyone right across Wales to take part in this appeal, either via individual donations or by sponsorships.
Former AM Sue Essex, who was a friend of Mr Morgan’s for decades, said: “Rhodri Morgan is rightly referred to as the Father of the Welsh Assembly. A statue would give a permanent reminder of his magnificent legacy for devolution in Wales in the critical early years.”
Mr Morgan’s widow Julie, the AM for Cardiff North, said: “A statue is certainly something that Rhodri would not have wanted. He didn’t like anything that made him out to be important.
“So when the idea was put forward, I was unsure. Then there was a meeting to discuss the idea, and Kevin Brennan [Rhodri Morgan’s successor as MP for Cardiff West] made a very eloquent speech in which he argued that the statue should go ahead for the very reason that Rhodri wouldn’t have wanted it! That convinced me that it was a good idea.
Ms Morgan, the AM for Cardiff North, said she liked the idea of locating the statue close to the Senedd: “It could become a focus for protest, like the Aneurin Bevan statue in Queen Street, in the city centre. Some people might even want to spit at it!”
She said she understood why people were organising an appeal fund: “Not a day goes by when I don’t meet someone who speaks about him. He died very suddenly and I think a lot of people still find it strange that he’s not around. Dilwar is a great organiser who is very energetic. He’s very confident that enough money will be raised to commission the statue. I don’t know how long it will take – a couple of years, or maybe longer. A model of what the statue could look like has been made. I like it: it shows Rhodri with his hands outstretched as he is speaking.”
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