Leanne walks the walk, inspiring Wales amid political confusion
Polly Manning, women’s officer of Plaid Youth, argues that the calls for Leanne Wood to step aside ignore the impact that the party leader has had on Welsh politics and society...
SINCE the announcement of the Plaid Cymru leadership election two weeks ago, there has been much debate as to who should lead the party going forwards.
Most of the arguments have amounted to vague questions of whether the party is in need of a breath of fresh air, a new beginning, a change of direction.
These phrases, while emotionally engaging, betray an implicit ignorance of the true impact of Leanne Wood on Welsh politics, and Welsh society in general.
Ms Wood was elected leader of Plaid Cymru back in 2012 with over 57% of the vote, following the resignation of Ieuan Wyn Jones from the role. She was the first woman ever to lead the party, and promised to do so on an anti-austerity platform and a record of social activism in republican and peace movements.
Since then, the changes I have witnessed as a member at the grassroots level of the party have indicated just how much of a revolution Ms Wood has inspired within Plaid.
It is easy to forget sometimes that a political party is only as effective, driven, and open-minded as its membership.
A membership itself can only function to its best ability if all the individuals which belong to it feel engaged and welcome. Under Ms Wood’s leadership we have seen people who swore they had no interest in Welsh politics join the party, campaign on the streets – and even stand for election.
As a second-language Welshspeaker, as someone from a working-class background, and in particular, as a woman, Ms Wood has brought to the fore a kind of representation almost entirely absent from Plaid’s history.
I have seen first hand the energy to become involved which she has inspired in people from all areas of Welsh society – and in young people in particular.
When Plaid Ifanc campaigned against the Welsh Government’s plans to introduce university top-up fees last year, Leanne Wood supported our indignant voice in the Welsh Assembly.
The result? The Welsh Labour Government made a U-turn on the plans just three months after they were announced.
For me, the most striking feature of this leadership contest so far has been its latent sexism. Many of the challenges directed to Ms Wood have taken the form of personal interventions, which in turn have criticised qualities ranging from her ability in public speaking to her competence in presenting a radical alternative to the stagnant world of Welsh politics.
In particular, her supposed lack of a “visionary” quality has been pushed to the press and the public. The truth is that Leanne Wood presents the greatest vision of any Welsh political leader today.
Her recent political leaflet, The Change We Need, spoke of the need to move power directly into the hands of local communities, and detailed practical steps to achieve this shift. The leaflet was a reflection of her record throughout her time in Plaid: realistic, thoughtful, and hugely ambitious, and interweaving all those philosophies which we in Plaid hold so dear – environmentalism, internationalism, and equality.
Throughout the leadership campaigns so far, the stale binary of men as dynamic and inventive, and women as reactionary and narrowly focused, has been peddled to an alarming extent.
Adam Price launched his leadership bid by publishing an article in which he essentially suggested that a woman cannot lead or govern without the support of a man. Another article published recently praised Price’s bilingualism, his prestigious education, and his ability to enthral a crowd with his speeches.
In times of political instability it is not unusual for people to adopt a knee-jerk reaction for sudden change, in the hopes of a quick fix.
As leader of Plaid Cymru, Ms Wood has proved time and again that she possesses an ambitious vision for Wales rooted in practical change. Whereas other politicians can talk the talk, Ms Wood can walk the walk – her political stature not clouded by grand statements which lack real substance.
The reality is that, aside from internal party structures, the electorate has failed to rush to Plaid out of a lack of interest in Welsh politics in general.
And yet you can ask anyone on the street and the only Welsh political leader they’re likely to be able to name is Leanne Wood. She is a recognisable face in an era of political confusion.
For decades men in suits have led the party, and now that a woman is in charge her way of speaking and intellectual capacity are questioned – and we’re expected to believe that the criticisms have nothing to do with her gender.
Arguments once made by imperialist centralisers about the trivial and ineffective “Celtic fringe” (itself a revealingly gendered term) are now being directed by nationalists at Leanne’s leadership and her “fringe” issues.
Social inequality, peace, women’s and trans rights are not “fringe issues” for my generation of activists.
The intersection of these issues with minority nationalism is precisely what brought us into the party in the first place.
There are claims that Ms Wood’s leadership has run stagnant.
But what is stagnant in Welsh politics? To most of the voting public, it is the tired image of well-spoken men with sums in their pockets.
Leanne Wood represents a shining light in the darkness of old politics, and her political presence as leader has drawn into the party people from every section of Welsh society – a reflection of the united Wales we hope to see.
Plaid already has a competent and admirable leader – let her get on with the job.
■ Polly Manning is studying for a BA in English Literature and Politics at Swansea University