One of the criticisms of Y Senedd in Wales is its vanilla-like flavour, its county-council like appearance and the lack of real vitality, creativity and vision in its work. .

The two main parties, Labour and Plaid have been described as the “bland leading the bland”- and it’s little wonder in effect that the Welsh population in general are so disengaged from the whole process.

That blandness was interrupted for a while with the election of Neil McEvoy for Plaid, who could never for one moment be described as bland. A passionate, campaigning politician rooted in his own community in a working-class area of Cardiff, he proved a breath of fresh air for Y Senedd when he was elected in 2016.

But his style didn’t suit the cosy establishment in Cardiff Bay, and he was eventually expelled from Plaid.

Neil McEvoy then went on to set up a new pro-independence party Propel in 2021.

This week A Letter From Wales has an interview with the man himself.

 

1. Tell us why you decided to form Propel in the first place? Can you explain the choice of name?

After our experience in Corruption Bay and seeing how it all really works, we felt we had a duty to offer an alternative to the status quo. We will not move Wales forward until we move Labour out of the way. All the current Senedd parties enable the increasingly deep one-party state here. We set up to change that.

Our name debacle showed the lack of democracy we have now. I naively thought that we could choose a name, set up an official party and start campaigning. We were originally called and accepted as the Welsh National Party on 15th January 2020. What followed showed how connections control UK democracy, especially in our own little Banana Republic.

We were getting our brand out there, getting traction and making the Establishment Senedd politicians feel uncomfortable and then on 19th May 2020 we were cancelled by the Electoral Commission.

This had never happened before in UK political history.

Plaid Cymru had spent money on London lawyers and threatened the Electoral Commission who then acted on their orders to stamp out democratic opposition to the wealthy complainant. The only recourse was judicial review and we did not have £100,000 to spend.

We changed the name to Welsh Nation Party and applied for that soon after being cancelled. We chased and chased and not until the 15th January 2021 were we told that in Wales we could not used the term “Party”. So a political party in Wales is not allowed to called itself a party, because the term in Welsh “Plaid” is effectively owned by Plaid Cymru. The decision flew in the face of logic: Labour PARTY, Conservative PARTY and so on.

We had already registered Propel as a limited company, so knew that nobody could legally stop us calling ourselves that, so we had no choice.

On the 2nd March 2021 Propel was officially born. We were left with just 65 days to launch a new brand, get it recognised by people and win an election. We had little money and the task was impossible. Just in case there was any danger of us doing the above, the BBC excluded us from all TV Election debates, despite Propel having more elected politicians in Wales than two of the participants put together.

 

2. Can you tell the readers a little about yourself as Party Leader and your background in general?

I was born on the Fairwater Council estate in Cardiff. My family background is mixed, with my maternal grandfather coming from Yemen. He came to Wales and fell in love with my late grandmother. I share his skin colour, which I have been made aware of my entire life. My mother cleaned schools and was a home help when I was growing up. My father was born in the north of England, but with a mainly Irish background and he was a welder. I am blessed to be married to Ceri with a 3 year old son Elis, and I also have a daughter who is 16. We are a close family and I am also blessed to have wonderful in laws from Pen Llyn up North. Our family life is the most important thing I have.

I went to my local Catholic schools and studied politics, economics and law amongst other things through the mediums of French and Spanish at university. I lived in Spain and France and became a modern languages teacher.

I was elected to Cardiff Council in 1999 for the Labour Party and had a lot to do with setting up Riverside Market. The Council said such a farmer’s market would be illegal due to the Cardiff Markets Act, so I then went to work and got it sorted out. Sick of New Labour I joined Welsh speaking New Labour, otherwise known as Plaid Cymru in 2003.

I was Deputy Leader of Cardiff 2008 – 12. During that time we saw the biggest ever expansion of the Welsh language in our capital city. We also slashed the salaries at the top of the Council to protect the front line. I was a Senedd Member 2016 to 2021.

 

3.You have been a long-time campaigner against corruption, both on a local level and a national level in Wales. Why do you think corruption is such a big problem in Wales?

Labour has run Wales at a local authority level for one hundred years.
Wales has only had Labour First Ministers since 1999. The iron control of one party leads to innate and widespread corruption on many levels.

Certainly brown envelopes are passed around, but also the control of patronage, opportunity and crucially of information is a form of corruption; nepotism is rife.

A devolutionary class of sneering, superior parasites has grown: a new bureaucracy whose economic well being depends on retaining the status quo. Devolution has led to a conservative Wales lacking innovation, where compliance and careerism are rewarded. The future we dreamed of with a Welsh Parliament has been stolen by a minority who have done very well.

How can we best tackle this problem?

Lobbyists run Welsh politics. They buy drinks for politicians and openly run training sessions on who to befriend in Welsh politics. I put the control of lobbying to the vote in the Senedd. Labour and Plaid Cymru voted down my proposals.

Just look at political events since 2016, the Chief Executive of the then Official opposition took a job with lobbying firm Deryn. She then moved to the BBC as an editor. A former staff member of Plaid Deryn now works for ITV Wales. Former politicians are now lobbyists. . Children of politicians are employed as lobbyists and also work in our Senedd. The revolving doors spin so fast that I am dizzy, but also sick at the state of what we have.

Plaid Cymru instructed me not to ask questions about Deryn’s dodgy contract with Ofcom or “face the consequences.”

As a solution Propel would introduce a Public Services Accountability Act. Lobbyists would be regulated and we would know who they meet, for what reason, who had paid them and how much. There is so much to do as Propel outlines in its contract with Wales.

 

3. Having been a Plaid AM in the Senedd for a few years, what kind of experience was that, and what’s your assessment of Plaid right now?

My Senedd experience was truly vile. I have always had many friends in school, college, university, everywhere really. I love talking and socialising. In the Senedd though, I was completely isolated.

I remember Plaid Cymru insisting I was banished to the other side of the Chamber. On the other side I was sat next to UKIP’s Nathan Gill. You could say we had little in common politically.Anyway, despite that Nathan spoke to me more in the Chamber during the first session sat next to him more than the whole of the Plaid Cymru Group in the Chamber over the previous 15 months. Need I say more?

I found most front line staff in the Senedd great to get on with and I probably spoke more to them than anyone else, other than my staff. On occasion people left a lift if I walked in (not often, but it happened,) doors were shut in my face, people swore in my face and shouted at me. Of course to treat me in such a way was totally acceptable.

After a load of abuse I lost my temper once and got banned. The allegations were fabricated, as the cctv showed, but the Standards Committee refused to watch the footage and found me guilty. All I actually did was called Mick Antoniw a “spineless Red Tory.” I stand by that assessment. It was weak of me to snap and mouth off though. I learnt that lesson.

I was the first in many things in the Senedd. I was Wales first Member of Senedd of colour born in Wales; the Senedd was the most classist and racist environment I have ever worked in.

I was the first politician in the Welsh Parliament to table a debate on Welsh sovereignty. I was the first politician to put it to a vote. It is extraordinary that this did not happen until the Fifth Senedd.

Well let’s now talk about Plaid Cymru shall we?

The function of Plaid whether they know it or not is to lead Welsh nationalism down a blind alley so nothing changes. It is an integral part of the UK state.

The Party is compromised, bought and paid for. Sadly the activists do not realise that. It is effectively a ponsi scheme getting money and time out of people under false pretences.

5. How would you like Propel to be different to the established parties in Wales?

We are different, because we rejected well paid careers to stick to the ideals which got us into politics in the first place. We are not afraid to be honest. It is not question of right of left, but a question of what is right or wrong.

 

7. Do Propel wish to co-operate with other parties leading up to next Senedd Election at all?

Yes. Propel owns the Free Wales Cymru Rydd description. I propose a common platform in 2026 for those of us wanting a free Wales in every sense.

8. How do you see the independence question panning out for Wales, especially in view of the goings-on with the SNP in Scotland right now?

We desperately need a non-sectarian, multiparty movement. We do not have one right now. We need to set up a People’s Convention to draft a discuss and draft a constitution. That is fundamental.

Transparency is so important, as we see in Scotland. We have to accept that power also corrupts, which is why a strong, written constitution is so important. Right now in Wales, Yes Cymru cannot even organise a list of speakers openly and democratically.

There is a lot of work to do.

 

THE CONTRACT WITH WALES

Here are some of the headline policies in Propel’s contract with the people of Wales.

1. THE WELSH ENERGY INDEPENDENCE ACT

Establish a Welsh national energy company, majority owned by the Welsh Government and local authorities, for conventional extraction of Wales’ known gas reserves in former coal fields in order to replace use of foreign, imported gas. Cheaper energy supply will be used to support local employment in our key strategic industries, including steel and manufacturing. The billions of pounds of revenue generated will be used to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund and to achieve long-term energy independence through investment in renewable energy.

2. THE MODERN DIRECT DEMOCRACY ACT

A revolutionary package of democratic measures to create a Welsh constitution and bill of rights. The constitution will enact the principle of ‘modern direct democracy’, meaning the public will have the right to bring about national and local referenda by collecting signatures. Wales’ twenty-two local authorities will be replaced with eight counties, largely based on Wales’ preserved county borders. The Welsh First Minister will be directly elected.

3. THE PLANNING FOR WALES ACT

Reform Local Development Plans to deliver affordable local housing based on local need as well as protection of green fields. Introduce a right of appeal for residents against disputed developments. Establish Rural Development Boards for each of the Welsh counties. Upgrade Wales’ strategic road network to expressway standard, including a North-South National Expressway.

4. THE NEW WELSH ECONOMY ACT

Establish a Stock Exchange Cymru for listing Welsh companies who wish to publicly trade company shares. A Welsh Sovereign Wealth Fund to develop a long-term, sustainable portfolio of investments, under the Santiago Principles. Create eight co-operative community banks, with a primary focus on investing in existing and new small and medium-sized local businesses. Reindustrialise Wales for the 21st Century through emphasis on developing high-tech, sustainable manufacturing for export.

5. THE GROWING FOR WALES ACT

Establish an Agriculture Commission to consult with the farming and fishing communities on the best way to ensure more quality Welsh food is grown, caught and consumed in Wales. Environmental improvements will be led by the farming community and not imposed on them from afar. Farmers’ knowledge and expertise, as stewards of Welsh land, will be respected, retained and utilised.

6.THE HOUSING JUSTICE ACT

A package of measures to end injustices in Welsh housing. We will commit to a ‘housing first’ policy to end Welsh homelessness and close the second homes loophole, whereby second homes are reclassified as businesses to avoid local taxation.

DIOLCH YN FAWR IAWN NEIL MCEVOY.

NEXT TIME- Gruff Meredith of the Sovereign Wales Party