“A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017
The narrow win after two recounts of Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake in the Ceredigion constituency at the June 8th General Election could be seen as heralding a new dawn in the fortunes of the Party of Wales. Ceredigion itself stood out in the UK as the most pro-EU region in the country in a poll taken befo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2219 |
| _version_ | 1817991915934580736 |
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| author | Carys Lewis |
| author_facet | Carys Lewis |
| author_sort | Carys Lewis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The narrow win after two recounts of Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake in the Ceredigion constituency at the June 8th General Election could be seen as heralding a new dawn in the fortunes of the Party of Wales. Ceredigion itself stood out in the UK as the most pro-EU region in the country in a poll taken before the EU referendum, a trait that was borne out by the county’s 54.63% vote for Remain. This is therefore a part of the world that is something of a paradox: this extremely rural constituency – some of the least densely-populated parts of the UK are to be found within its boundaries – melds together a variety of co-existing communities: old and new, tourist-orientated coast and agricultural hinterland, low-wage labourers and high-earning university staff. It is home to some of the strongest Welsh-speaking areas in Wales whilst witnessing an exodus of its young people and in-migration from beyond its borders. The present paper will seek to examine what the Ceredigion result may indicate by focusing on the question of the youth vote and the possible spearheading of a change in Plaid tactics regarding the question of independence for Wales, a position that has rarely found any support among core Plaid voters in rural Welsh-speaking Wales. We will also seek to zoom in on the ‘Arfor’ plan, a Plaid-backed vision of new regional governance for the West of Wales, in which language planning and economic development go hand in hand. Could this new polity stave off the worst effects of Brexit in Ceredigion and enable the county to put an end to “this steady, silent haemorrhage” that “saps the life of nearly every town and village the length and breadth of the county”, as reflected in the words of Ben Lake’s maiden speech in Westminster? |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T01:19:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-515107fb98bf4c59be01869d567e10c7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0248-9015 2429-4373 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T01:19:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | Centre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique |
| spelling | doaj.art-515107fb98bf4c59be01869d567e10c72022-12-22T02:20:43ZengCentre de Recherche et d'Etudes en Civilisation BritanniqueRevue Française de Civilisation Britannique0248-90152429-43732018-09-0123210.4000/rfcb.2219“A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017Carys LewisThe narrow win after two recounts of Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake in the Ceredigion constituency at the June 8th General Election could be seen as heralding a new dawn in the fortunes of the Party of Wales. Ceredigion itself stood out in the UK as the most pro-EU region in the country in a poll taken before the EU referendum, a trait that was borne out by the county’s 54.63% vote for Remain. This is therefore a part of the world that is something of a paradox: this extremely rural constituency – some of the least densely-populated parts of the UK are to be found within its boundaries – melds together a variety of co-existing communities: old and new, tourist-orientated coast and agricultural hinterland, low-wage labourers and high-earning university staff. It is home to some of the strongest Welsh-speaking areas in Wales whilst witnessing an exodus of its young people and in-migration from beyond its borders. The present paper will seek to examine what the Ceredigion result may indicate by focusing on the question of the youth vote and the possible spearheading of a change in Plaid tactics regarding the question of independence for Wales, a position that has rarely found any support among core Plaid voters in rural Welsh-speaking Wales. We will also seek to zoom in on the ‘Arfor’ plan, a Plaid-backed vision of new regional governance for the West of Wales, in which language planning and economic development go hand in hand. Could this new polity stave off the worst effects of Brexit in Ceredigion and enable the county to put an end to “this steady, silent haemorrhage” that “saps the life of nearly every town and village the length and breadth of the county”, as reflected in the words of Ben Lake’s maiden speech in Westminster?http://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2219WalesPlaid CymruCeredigionWelsh independenceBrexit |
| spellingShingle | Carys Lewis “A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017 Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique Wales Plaid Cymru Ceredigion Welsh independence Brexit |
| title | “A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017 |
| title_full | “A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017 |
| title_fullStr | “A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017 |
| title_full_unstemmed | “A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017 |
| title_short | “A fo Ben bid bont”: New Directions for Plaid Cymru? The Ceredigion Result in the UK General Election of 2017 |
| title_sort | a fo ben bid bont new directions for plaid cymru the ceredigion result in the uk general election of 2017 |
| topic | Wales Plaid Cymru Ceredigion Welsh independence Brexit |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/2219 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT caryslewis afobenbidbontnewdirectionsforplaidcymrutheceredigionresultintheukgeneralelectionof2017 |