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People around the world are voting for radical visions of change and Plaid Cymru should “let Leanne be Leanne”, according to one of Wales’ highest profile AMs.

Adam Price argues that party leader Leanne Wood represents “authenticity and audacity” and that she can win the trust of people across Wales.

Mr Price says Plaid needs to be party of a bigger movement for change and suggests it could benefit from having a sister party.

'Where change is on the ballot paper, change wins'

The Carmarthen East and Dinefwr AM is fascinated by what he sees as a hunger for change in the UK, France and the United States.

Jeremy Corbyn stunned the political establishment last month by leading Labour to an increase in its number of MPs when just weeks earlier a disaster had been predicted. Emmanuel Macron has won the French presidency and his new party has swept away rivals, and Donald Trump defeated his Republican competitors for the nomination last year and then shocked the world by winning the White House.

Mr Price, a former MP who left Westminster to study at Harvard and entered the Assembly last year, said: “Politics has never been more open and change movements are winning. Where change is on the ballot paper, change wins.

“If you’re in a party like mine – which is about fundamentally a change to the system – then that has to be very encouraging... Insurgent movements that are a challenge to the status quo are winning everywhere.”

'It’s all about authenticity and audacity'

Arguing that voters are looking for something very different to what they backed in the past, he said: “Elections in the 1990s and indeed in the noughties were fought and won on the basis of competence and credibility... That has been turned on its head because now it’s all about authenticity and audacity...

“I think, fundamentally, that is very good news for Plaid potentially because if you then train your lens on Wales, who is the party of the status quo? It is incontestably Labour and not just because they have been in power for [nearly] 20 years but also it’s the manner of their governance, the things that they do...

“They believe that they are the embodiment of common sense. Generally they wouldn’t know a new idea if it came and slapped them in the face.”

'Wow. I believe in this person'

(Image: Matthew Horwood)

Adamant that party leader and Rhondda AM Ms Wood has a key role to play in presenting the party as an agent of change, he said: “I think we should let Leanne be Leanne. Leanne was elected on a wave of popular enthusiasm for making a difference but also doing things differently...

“She represented, of course, for our party a massive new wave of change.”

He continued: “I think maybe there’s been a tendency to try and put Leanne into the mainstream context of modern politics etc and [to] use the language of competence and credibility whereas actually we should be speaking the language of audacity and authenticity – both of which she is incredibly strong on.

“I’ve been with Leanne right around Wales and I’ve seen how she is with people. Everyone who meets Leanne comes away thinking, ‘Wow. I believe in this person.’”

'We need to have a movement alongside us'

Mr Price argues elections are now not won by parties alone but by movements. He acknowledges the role played by Corbyn-supporting group Momentum in helping Labour deliver its better than expected result, and notes how President Trump and Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders each won personal movements of support.

Describing the lessons for Plaid, he said: “We talk about being the Party of Wales. Well, maybe our encapsulation also needs to be about being the movement of the future because that’s the [unique selling point] that Plaid represents.

“Every political party now in Wales claims to be a party of Wales. I think that where we can be radically different is that we represent a different kind of Wales...

“We need to have a movement alongside us which is part of our wider hinterland. I’m not sure that the party as a party can do this all on its own.”

'Could you imagine a sister party which works with Plaid?'

Floating one bold idea, he said: “Could you imagine a situation where there was a sister party which was allied with us in the same way that maybe the Labour party and the Co-operative party are allied...

“[Pro-Welsh independence group] Yes Cymru is a very, very lively political movement which takes a more radical line on the independence issue than Plaid is able to do...

“Could you imagine a sister party which works with Plaid and tries to appeal in those areas where Plaid is currently not breaking through?”

'Knocking on doors has come back into fashion'

Mr Price stressed the importance of personal contact in pursuit of the goal of being the largest party in the 2021 Assembly elections, saying that “knocking on doors has come back into fashion”.

He also noted the power of policies in election campaigns which he believes contributed to the “surge” in support for Mr Corbyn.

“We need a radical platform of ideas that inspire people,” he said. “People used to say that policies don’t win elections.

“Well, actually, that’s not true anymore.”

Mr Price has warm words of respect for one Labour AM

“I’ve had the opportunity [to] work with Mark Drakeford as a Finance Minister,” he said. “I do have some cognitive dissonance because working with Mark, I’ve found that actually a very positive, creative and collaborative experience but he to me represents an oasis of openness to new thinking in a desert of stale and dried up thinking.”