Why I’m standing for re-election as Chair of Plaid Cymru

*English version follows below*

Alun Ffred Jones, Cadeirydd Plaid Cymru a chyn-AS Arfon

“Roedd hi’r cyfnod gorau. Roedd hi’r cyfnod gwaethaf...Roedd hi’n wanwyn gobaith. Roedd hi’n aeaf anobaith.”

Fe fyddwch chi’n cofio’r brawddegau hynny o agoriad nofel Dickens A Tale of Two Cities ac mae’n crynhoi teimladau llawer ohonom wrth ystyried ein byd heddiw. Ble bynnag yr edrychwch chi mae grymoedd adweithiol o bob arlliw gwleidyddol yn bygwth hawliau a gwerthoedd sylfaenol  ar hyd ac ar led, ac yn Ynysoedd Prydain mae galanastr Brexit wedi creu awyrgylch gwenwynig all arwain at dranc cymunedau yng Nghymru benbaladr, a thu hwnt.

Ac eto, er gwaethaf hyn, yng Nghymru mae rhywbeth cyffrous ar droed. Mae dwy orymdaith YesCymru yn tystio bod swn ym mrig y morwydd. Mae’n amser da i fod yn Gymro neu Gymraes. Mae’n amser da i fod yn genedlaetholwr cynhwysol Cymreig ac mae’n amser da i fod yn aelod neu yn gefnogwr i Blaid Cymru.

Heb adain wleidyddol ni ellir gwireddu dyhead y miloedd gerddodd trwy Gaerdydd a Chaernarfon ond, bellach, nid breuddwyd gwrach ydi nod Adam Price i ddod yn Brif Weinidog Cymru. Gall ddigwydd. Rydym fel Plaid wedi ennill nifer o is etholiadau lleol yn ddiweddar ar draws y wlad. Rydym ar dir cadarn yn ariannol ac yn drefniadol ac er y bydd angen arian sylweddol eto i wireddu ein hamcanion mae ysbryd newydd yn y rhengoedd.

Dyna pam mod i’n awyddus iawn i fod yn Gadeirydd, er mwyn cynnig sefydlogrwydd i’r Pwyllgor Gwaith, y staff diwyd a’r aelodau am y ddwy flynedd nesaf. Rydw i wedi cael y fraint o fod yn Gadeirydd i ddau Arweinydd, Leanne Wood ac Adam Price; cymeriadau gwahanol iawn ar lawer ystyr ond dau sydd ar dan dros Gymru a dau sydd wedi chwarae rhan allweddol yn ehangu apel y Blaid o fewn a’r tu allan i Gymru.

Ond nid Arweinydd ychwanegol ydi Cadeirydd. Na, ar lawer ystyr, gwas ydi o /hi sy’n atebol i’r Pwyllgor Gwaith ac i’r Gynhadledd Flynyddol ac mae yno i sicrhau ein bod yn parchu y drefn briodol ym mhob agwedd ar ein gwaith a bod ein peirianwaith yn cefnogi dyhead y tim Arweinyddol.

A’n gwaith ni yw rhoi llais i ddyheadau gorau ein cyd Gymry. Ac mae ein haeddfedrwydd cynyddol wedi talu ar ei ganfed yn is etholiad Brycheiniog Maesyfed ac yn yr ymateb cadarnhaol roedd y cyfryngau yn cydnabod bod y Blaid wedi arwain y ffordd i weddill Prydain.

Gadewch i ni ganolbwyntio ein hymdrechion a’n hegni i gydweithio i sicrhau bod y blagur hyn o obaith yn troi yn Wanwyn go iawn yn ein gwlad. Ac mi hoffwn fod a rhan fechan yn y gwaith o wireddu’r gobaith hwnnw.

Bydd y bleidlais i ethol Cadeirydd y blaid yn cael ei chynnal yng nghynhadledd Plaid Cymru ar Hydref 4ydd-5ed yn Theatr y Grand, Abertawe.

Alun Ffred Jones, Plaid Cymru Chair and former Arfon Assembly Member

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times…..It was the spring of hope. It was the winter of despair.”

Most of you will recognise the quotations from the opening paragraph of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities which express how many of us feel as we observe our world today.

Wherever we look reactionary forces of all political hues threaten basic human rights and values and in Britain, the Brexit mayhem has spawned a toxic debate which threatens to engulf communities across the country and beyond.

And yet, despite this or because of it, something exciting is afoot. Two YesCymru rallies suggest that a gentle wind of change is blowing. It is a good time to be Welsh. It is a good time to be an inclusive Welsh patriot and a good time to be a member and supporter of Plaid Cymru.

Without a political wing, the aspirations of the thousands who marched in Cardiff and Caernarfon can not be achieved. And Adam Price’s aim to become First Minister of Wales is no longer a pipe dream. It can happen.

The party has won numerous local by-elections across Wales recently. We are financially solvent, though we need to attract substantial funds to realise our aims, and a new can-do spirit is afoot in our ranks.

That is why I am keen to become Chair; to provide stability and continuity to the National Executive, to our tireless staff and to our members for the next two crucial years. I have had the privilege of serving under two leaders, Leanne and Adam; two very different characters but both totally committed to Wales and two who have widened the appeal of Plaid inside and outside Wales.

But the Chair is not an extra Leader. No, in many ways, the Chair is a servant of the National Executive and the National Conference and answerable to them. The Chair also ensures that due process is followed in all aspects of our work and that the party machine supports the aims of the Leadership team.

Our task is to give voice to the highest aspirations of our fellow citizens in Wales. Our growing maturity was apparent in the recent Brecon & Radnor by-election where our actions received a positive media response and showed the way to the rest of Britain.

We need to concentrate our efforts and energies to ensure that the buds of hope blossom into a true spring in our country and I want to play a small part in achieving that aim.

The election of the party chair will be held at Plaid Cymru’s conference on October 4th-5th at Swansea Grand Theatre.