Welsh independence: Plaid Cymru targets Labour's indy-curious voters

In Wales, independence is still a minority view, but a campaign aimed at making it a reality has gained momentum in the past year

Plaid Cymru have called for Labour supporters who back Welsh independence to back them in the Senedd elections.

Leader Adam Price has pledged his party will deliver a referendum if they form a government by 2026.

One Welsh Labour hopeful, who supports independence, said Plaid's plan would lead to a "divisive referendum".

The Welsh Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have both described the push for independence for Wales as "dangerous" and "uncertain".

Meanwhile, a Welsh Labour spokesperson said the country's future was "best served in a radically reformed and fairer union".

In a first for the party, Plaid Cymru has pledged to offer an independence vote in its first term if it forms a government following the 6 May vote, if it also got a Senedd majority to back it.

However, the power to call any referendum vote to leave the union would ultimately still lie with the UK government.

Mr Price said his party would deliver a vision "that we share" with Labour independence supporters, adding many supporters were "frustrated at their party leadership's reluctance to keep pace with the constitutional debate in Wales".

"Wales needs a pro-independence government, far bolder in its challenge to the UK Government and far better at banging the drum for our nation's best interests," he said.

January's Welsh Political Barometer poll for ITV Wales and Cardiff University, suggested 22% would vote yes if a referendum was held.

Most, 53%, told the poll they would say no, while a quarter of respondents said they did not know.

Meanwhile, the pro-independence campaign Yes Cymru has said its membership has jumped from 2,000 at the start of 2020 to more than 17,000.

• Is Wales becoming indy-curious?

• Are more people in favour of independence?

Three of Welsh Labour's candidates standing at the election openly support independence.

But one, Dylan Lewis-Rowlands, 19, said Plaid had yet to give a clear picture of what independence might look like for Wales.

He said while 51% of Labour supporters in Wales were pro-independence, the majority rejected a "divisive referendum" in the next Senedd term, and instead wanted more powers to be devolved to Wales from the UK government.

"We understand that we need to build wales up, prepare Wales for the future so that we can then get the society that we want," he said.

"What Wales deserves here is stronger powers, so that we can make the changes we want to make in Wales".

'Dangerous distraction'

Leader of the Welsh Conservative group in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies, said a focus on independence was a "dangerous distraction" during a pandemic, where the focus needed to be on rebuilding the health service and economy.

"At the end of the day, the biggest success story coming out of the Covid crisis is the vaccine rollout that's been delivered across the UK by everyone working together in one union," he said.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats said that they would put "recovery first" rather than the "chaos" of independence.

"A vote for independence is a vote for chaos and uncertainty rather than the recovery we desperately need," a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Welsh Labour said it was the "party of devolution", but it was "proudly patriotic".

"We believe Wales' future is best served in a radically reformed and fairer union," a spokesperson said.