A prominent Plaid Cymru politician said the party faces division over allegations of a toxic culture. In an interview with BBC Radio Cymru’s Bore Sulu on Sunday morning, Hyvel Williams MP said he had praised leader Adam Price but said the party needed to be run by a team, not just one person.
This comes after significant discontent emerged within the political party with the culture that critics say emerged under Adam Price. WalesOnline spoke to several people at the match last November who described an increasingly toxic atmosphere. You can read more about it here.
In an interview with the BBC, Williams, who will step down as MP for Arfon in the next election, said the differences were distracting from the party’s main objective, which is the independence of Wales. He said: “Leading a party that is successful and achieves its objective requires discipline, individually and as a party as a whole.”
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He added, “I have to say that it bothers me that there has been some controversy recently… I think the differences that have come out, and they are real differences, are people of conviction on both sides.”
Plaid Cymru said he was focused on “building” the party. Plaid formed a task force last December to define its values after its chief executive, Carl Harris, resigned after less than a year and a half in charge.
Williams said the party needed to constantly review its structures and would release a new political strategy in a few weeks. “There are real things to discuss, and the issues that have been somewhat divisive recently are not secondary,” he said. Plaid Cymru said his “new political strategy” was nearing completion.
A party spokesman told the BBC: “Plaid Cymru is completely focused on the future and building our party in the best possible way. We have already shown that we can provide assistance to a foreign government through a cooperative agreement.”
Source: Wales Online
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.