wales

#WeAreWales #NiYwCymru

/ markjhooper / Leave a comment

The last few days have seen the Country react to the Secretary State of Wales’ obscene and unnecessary attack on Plaid Cymru’s leader, Leanne Wood on the BBC’s Question Time programme. You can watch the clip here.

Just to get the politics out of the way – Alun Cairns has proven himself out of his depth, and shouldn’t be allowed to resign, he should be sacked. This doesn’t surprise me – I wasn’t impressed when I stood against him in 2005, and during his time as an Assembly member he got into hot water regarding his second property & a purchase of an iPod from his office account. Most relevant to his attack on the integrity of members of Plaid Cymru he has form in racist stereotyping (this earned him a suspension as Vale of Glamorgan Parliamentary Candidate at the time).

What has interested me more, is how people have expressed what Wales means to them via the #WeAreWales & #NiYwCymru hashtags. The hashtags trended over the Friday, Saturday and Sunday as people from all parties and none used Twitter to say what they felt about the Country they call home.

I’ve trawled through over a thousand #WeAreWales tweets and I was struck by what they didn’t say, as much as what they did.

What none of them mention is individualism, division or competitiveness. The economic growth at all costs rhetoric isn’t included in how we, as people who live in Wales, want the world to see us. In fact the language we’ve used is softer, more community-centric, and more family orientated. Lots of people are talking of their own personal heritage; others have highlighted the cultural depth, diversity and history of Wales. Some have talked about bi-lingualism and a few have pointed out the physical, natural beauty of our landscape. I even spotted a few tweeters who made reference to our communal struggles against adversity. The best ones for me were the ones that recollected our non-conformist tradition.

Yet our politicians and business leaders don’t seem to think this is that important. I think they’re wrong. The route they’re taking us down, where we attempt to mimic the growth trajectory of others misses the very soul of who we are.

We could chart a different course, where these #WeAreWales values are centre stage, but that would require vision and leadership, instead of following the global crowd.

Poverty, we all know is relative. It’s also multi-dimensional. What #WeAreWales has highlighted for me is the richness of spirit and solidarity we share as a Nation. This is the first building block of nationhood, and the most important one too.

When people say Wales is too poor, point them in the direction of these tweets, and ask them to think again.

#WeAreWales #NiYwCymru

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#indyCURIOUS 

/ markjhooper / 3 Comments

#indyCURIOUS – I’ll be speaking at the Glyndŵr Rally for an independent Wales tomorrow. Here’s the gist of my contribution.

Before I start, I want to thank Sandra Clubb who introduced the word #indyCURIOUS into my vocabulary. It’s a welcome addition, as I hope you’ll find out. There’s more from Sandy in her blog here. Sandy is also another of the speakers at tomorrow’s rally.

A few weeks ago, I explained why I joined Plaid Cymru, and also that I was making a commitment to do my bit to move Wales from dependent status to an independent nation. I wasn’t aware but I went someway to explaining how I moved from a Pro-UK stance on Wales, and eventually on to #indyCONFIDENT (another Sandyism – Diolch). On the way I became #indyCURIOUS, and this was where things began to change for me.

I’d like to explain a little bit more about that journey, and why it’s important that we focus on developing more people into indycurious types rather than simply cajole and embolden those who already stand alongside us.

Firstly though, I want to recognise the role of the 6% (or 8%, or 10%, or whatever it really is) who have shouldered the burden of carrying the flame of independence thus far. They’ve been pilloried over the years, but haven’t lost the faith, despite the knocks. Often ridiculed, they knew this was a long game, and they’ve stuck with it. For that alone, they deserve a massive vote of thanks.

My personal journey to #indyCONFIDENT was pragmatic and considered. It was also, in the scheme of things, pretty quick. Unlike most on this side of the fence, I didn’t start from the ‘heart’ side of the argument. That doesn’t mean I’m not there now, but it wasn’t my starting point.

On Indycube‘s first sortie to the north, Mike Scott and I set off from Swansea, via Aberystwyth, and then onward to Caernarfon. Day 2 involved a trip along the coast – Bangor, Rhyl and briefly into Chester. Just after leaving Aber, Mike asked if I thought Wales was capable of being independent. I trotted out the well rehearsed answers – too small, too poor, too wedded to the England & Wales model that’s kept us for this long…. I believed my answers to be true. At the end of the day, that was the narrative that has been sub-consciously dripped into every Welsh resident for, well, ever!

His reply stuck with me.

He said “I’m really surprised. Whenever we talk about things, you rarely accept the old logic of others; you challenge it. Yet regarding an independent Wales, you’ve just accepted it.”

“If we accept their rules, then perhaps those things you say are true. But if you don’t, and Wales played by its own rules…..”

We didn’t talk about independence for a little while after that. But it got me thinking. I had become, unknowingly, #indyCURIOUS.

For a long time, I’ve been thinking & talking about a world that is changing dramatically around us. Most of the changes relate to the benefits of automation, artificial intelligence, and the ‘information-age’, but some also relate to a world that is beginning to realise that globalisation isn’t working for the vast majority of people. In fact, the world economic model has been set perversely against the forces of equality and in favour of ‘the 1%’; it’s been set against the natural world resources and in favour of the global corp; and here in Wales it’s been set against those who live in the majority of the Country, in favour of a few who live in the nicest parts of our cities.

I’d come to a point, where not only did I realise that’s just not right or fair; but to the point where I was actually going to do something to change things. I was convinced that the forces of change & chaos about to be unleashed across the world, represented an opportunity for us to build a better Wales. That a chance was emerging for us to redefine the rules by which we play ‘the game’. To change the rules, however, we need all the levers of power in our collective hands.

It was here, at this realisation, that I moved from #indyCURIOUS to #indyCONFIDENT.

The chance for change is here & now. Sadly, the opportunity to tighten the grip on resources to keep them in the hands of the few exists for those on the other side of the argument too. A battle for better awaits.

As things stand, despite the recent poll ratings, an independent Wales isn’t on a lot of minds of people living in Wales, and of those who have been asked whether they’d support the idea, or not, it still remains on the margins. Post Brexit polling did suggest an improvement in support for independence, but Roger Scully’s subsequent analysis is worth reading before planning our post Indy street festivals.

Those of us who find ourselves on the independence frontline, I think, need to find a different way of persuading others to sign up. We need people to be willing to be curious about an independent Wales. And that involves meaningful conversations. If you’re #indyCONFIDENT get your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours engaged. Just a bit, initially. Get them receptive. That’s all of our jobs.

Another job for all of us ‘in the choir’. We need to be confident in our assertions. The consistent narrative that we’ve succumbed to around being too small, too poor etc., are deeply embedded. The worst thing we can do is sit in a corner and bemoan this fact. We need to get out and state confidently that we believe in a better Wales; one that is governed solely by the people who live here, for the people who live here.

Next, we must create a narrative around independence that will make people’s lives better. This won’t be easy. There’s a significant body of evidence that Wales needs the cash resources of its ‘richer’ neighbour in order to exist. But that’s playing by the rules of somebody else’s game. Our rules needn’t be the same. We could, for example, decide that in Wales, we’re going to end inequality in our Country. In a world of effective (or more accurately, ineffective) abundance, this is doable. But there would be consequences. For example, if we led more fulfilling, happier lives would we care if we owned the latest iPhone7?

Finally, let’s try and avoid the anti-colonial narrative. Whilst I’ve moved to a position of understanding the impact of colonisation, we need to remember, if we are to win this battle that’s on our doorstep, we must bring the population with us. They will be turned off by anti-English sentiment. Ultimately, we surely want to live in peace and harmony with our nearest neighbours, we just don’t want to dance to their tune anymore.

The independence movement in Wales is at a sold ground zero, primarily down to the work done by all those who’ve kept the faith. It’s rare that the opportunity for change is so clearly presented, but we’ve got to remember this is a battle, which the other side is prepared to fight hard for.

Let’s start by helping people to engage their curiosity, like I did just past Aberystwyth a few years ago. Let’s create an #indyCURIOUS Wales.

Follow @YesCaerdydd on Twitter for updates & please do start using the hashtags #indyCURIOUS #indyCONFIDENT & #indyWales

I’ve joined Plaid Cymru – here’s why

/ markjhooper / 10 Comments

Last Thursday evening, I joined Plaid Cymru. I’ve voted for them at my last two visits to the polling booth, and I explained why here and here. From the outside it seemed easy, and only cost me £2 per month. From the ‘inside’ however, this has been quite a convoluted struggle, as I tried to work out whether I was better placed to effect change outside of the political process, or from within. I even toyed with the idea of starting something up from scratch…. What I realised, is that I needed to ‘do’, and although my work with Indycube is clearly community-centric, for me, it wasn’t enough.

Over the past few years, I’ve come to the firm conclusion that Wales needs a different road map – we’ve slavishly followed the same plan as everyone else, and consistently failed to address the major issues that are relevant to us, here in Wales. Moreover, in lots of ways, using the plans of others has simply exacerbated some of our own problems – and yet political discourse in Wales is filled with managerialism and incrementalism. There are few radical alternatives being discussed, let alone put into action. For those who the current system benefits, I can understand a willingness to continue with the status quo – but for the vast swathes of Wales where it’s not working, this mustn’t be as good as it gets. The entire Welsh political agenda should be rebalanced to deliver better lives for all, not simply for an already well heeled minority. In simpler terms we need to beat inequality.

Alternative models are starting to emerge, and for once this is our time to lead. Not necessarily for others to follow, but for ourselves. To do so effectively, we need all the levers of power in our own hands. Our dependency as a Nation is what holds us back as a Country. It’s what holds back communities and what holds back individuals too. We need to break this damaging cycle, and the opportunity to do just that is here and now.

I’ve not been a fervent ‘Welsh Nat’ all my life. In fact, had you asked me five years ago, I’d probably have described myself as believing Wales is better off within the UK. I now think I was wrong. The main reason I’ve changed my mind, is seeing at close hand, how damaging policies focused (but rarely delivering) on growth alone are to our communities. I also see a global economy that is in the process of slowing to zero or perhaps no growth. Soon the rest of the world will need to get its head around how communities can act as the bond in troubled times. We get that here in Wales – all we need to do is believe in ourselves a little bit more.

I blame all the political parties in Wales for the position we currently find ourselves in. The Brexit referendum highlighted in sharp outline just how out of touch ‘do-good’ politicians and their allies were with disadvantaged communities. Ever since the heavy industries left those areas, politicians of all colours have promised they could make things better, and time and again they simply haven’t. The missing trick, I think is the need to let communities ‘have their head’ – we should seek out and support emergent activities from within communities – often things won’t work, but at least the locals will feel win, lose or draw, the result was down to them, and they own that result, together.

Plaid aren’t getting an easy member in me. I want to influence the Party, and I want to be part of a much changed Wales. I clearly see the need for a radical, progressive Wales, and one where the deeds match the rhetoric. I’ve no intention of swaying from this course, and will push the Party to really believe in Wales, and it’s people. Only then will we start to see a way forward that will collectively be ours to own. I want Plaid to be brave, and to take risks – after all I do wonder what’s to lose if they shy away from this challenge.

I’ve always been engaged in politics, and Plaid isn’t the first party I’ve joined. In the spirit of full disclosure, as a youthful 14 year old I stood and won as the Conservative candidate in our classroom mock election in 1983. More seriously, I was a member of the Lib Dems for a number of years, and stood for election for them in 2005 (Westminster) and 2007 (Assembly), and apart from a brief look at the Greens immediately after leaving the Lib Dems, I’ve remained engaged, but on a non-partisan basis since then. I’d consider my politics to be the result of a political and economic journey, and one I’m glad I’ve taken. I’m therefore no partisan politician – I believe the success of the Nation comes before the needs of the Party, and I’m not one for dogma.

So what does this mean for me? 

  • I’m going to continue to work on the development of an alternative economic model for Wales. I see Indycube as playing a role in that, but I also see the work having a wider reach too. A think/do tank approach seems most appropriate, perhaps not dis-similar to Common Weal in Scotland. This work will be independent of Plaid, and I’d hope the work influences others from differing parties and those outside of party politics.
  • I’m also going to apply to stand as a candidate for Plaid in the upcoming Vale of Glamorgan council elections. If selected, I intend standing in the ward where my family and I live; the Buttrills ward in the centre of Barry. I know how demanding it is to be a good local Councillor, and am up for the challenge and the election.
  • One thing, I’ll be continuing to do is to seek the views of others from around the Country in relation to ways we can improve the lives of all, not just the few. I’m constantly impressed by the ideas and vitality of people who live and work in Wales – I’m just disappointed as to how their opinions and projects are often suppressed by the established norms. Those who’ve been involved in shaping the thinking thus far, I hope will continue to support this work, irrespective of any Party allegiances.

I’ll continue to use this blog to consider concepts as they emerge in Wales. There’s already a few blogs here if you’d like to get a feel as to the ideas that interest me. I’d welcome feedback, and will always respond (to everything but abuse!).

To end, the other day this came through on Twitter, and it made me realise I had to do something. I feel it’s worth sharing. For day to day thoughts of mine, I’m quite active on Twitter as @markjhooper


Well I’ve done it, I’ve made my commitment…… 🙂

I’m voting Plaid Cymru on Thursday – here’s why…

/ markjhooper / 3 Comments

The Welsh General Election – I’ve made my mind up – have you?

I’m voting Plaid Cymru this Thursday in Wales’ General Election, on both the constituency ballot (Vale of Glamorgan) and the regional list (South Wales Central (SWC)), and I wanted to say why. It’s the second time I’ve voted for Plaid; I went through my reasons for giving them my support a year ago at the UK General Election here, and also gave my thoughts on the aftermath here

A canvasser may be putting my name in the ‘Strong PC’ or ‘Solid PC’ tick box, given I’m now a ‘serial’ Plaid voter. As the old saying goes, ‘A swallow does not a summer make’, the same is true for me. I’m not a Plaid member and there were a number of parties who I was keen to look at this time round in addition to Plaid; the Lib Dems, Women’s Equality Party & the Greens. I was also interested to see what sort of programmes for government were put forward by Labour and the Tories – not that I was really considering voting for either; more in hope that they’d really make the case for a transformation in what Wales is, and does. 

The main thing I was looking for, was the absence of something! I didn’t want to hear the managerialism that has sucked the life out of politics. The ‘we can do better than you at running X’ or ‘we can save money, you’ve not been able to’. Even if I believed any of them, we’re entering a period of massive global change, (one day we may look back at the years 2016-2021 with a sense of amazement at all the changes that took hold in those years) and rearranging the Titanic’s deck chairs isn’t what Wales needs. Wales needs transformational change – the sort that transcends generations; the sort that enables communities to re-assert their confidence; the sort we haven’t heard from Welsh (or UK) politicians for ages. Instead we hear sanitised, media friendly, triangulated babble, that can mean one thing to one person, and the exact opposite to someone else. Because that’s how elections are won. How terribly sad, and complete bunkum. The Welsh public are craving vision and belief.

So why am I voting Plaid? Are they offering this vision? Did they come close to matching what I was hoping for when I wrote this blog nine months ago? Here’s my take on the offerings from the parties.

UKIP – I need to be upfront on this one; even if they’d promised everything I’d wanted, I would’ve found a way not to vote for UKIP. However much they deny it, their narrative is divisive and almost anti-Welsh. The manner of the parachuting in of candidates from outside of Wales in search of relatively easy electoral picking is evidence, that they really don’t care much for what goes on this side of Offa’s Dyke. I’ve been watching their attendance at hustings events over the course of the last few weeks, and for too many times for it to be a mistake, they’ve failed to turn up to put their case to the electorate. That shows contempt for the electoral process, the Welsh Assembly and the Welsh electorate. Fortunately, their manifesto is, with a few exceptions, written for an audience of those disillusioned by politics. It’s easy to see why they’re expecting to make inroads this time round, and the responsibility for that lies with all of the other parties.

Lib Dems – as a former member of the Lib Dems, I often find that I’m tougher on them than is perhaps fair. At last May’s UK General Election, I was concerned they had become a political irrelevance, despite an active and often positive contribution to the 2010-15 Coalition Government. I’ve been impressed by Kirsty Williams’ performance over the course of this campaign, to date, and their manifesto is competent and managerial. It was described in its forward as being part of a revolution. There’s some good stuff in there, but revolutionary it isn’t. I hope Brecon and Radnor’s electorate re-elect Kirsty, but I fear she’s going to be treading a lonely furrow in the new Assembly, as she may well be the only Lib Dem still standing on May 6th. 

Greens – the Green Party of England & Wales (yep, now there’s something they need to change before 2021!!) really have nothing to lose, and quite a bit to gain. They’re probably hoping for a breakthrough on the South Wales Central regional list, but seemed constrained by current norms. This is a shame – I like the Greens. But for them to really achieve anything in the short term in Cardiff Bay they need to be the voice of radicalism, and they’ve unfortunately failed to live up to that billing. Perhaps the tantalising opportunity to get a Welsh AM has neutered their revolutionary zeal. In the first Leaders’ Debate, Alice Hooker-Stroud, I thought did really well; the second one she was often drowned out by more experienced political players.

Women’s Equality Party – here’s a thing – you don’t have to be a woman to be a member of, or vote for WEP. Surely everyone’s realises equality is good for everyone? Given indicators such as participation in public life, business and the media, it seems not. Equality has been paid lip service by the other Parties up to this point, and I for one (as a stepfather to 3 daughters), am grateful that they’ve appeared on the political scene to challenge the very unlevelled playing field. I fear their input will be needed for some time to come.

Conservatives & Labour – I’m going to lump these two together, not because their policies overlap significantly (or at all) or because I see them coming to some sort of political stitch up come May 6th. More because I think both parties have treated this election with complacency. Neither manifesto has any costings published, even top level stuff, but both say they have been fully costed. Prove it, I say. Given the parlous state of the Welsh economy, we should expect nothing less. Both manifestos were aimed directly at their own base. 

In the Tories case, they’ve obviously come to the conclusion that if they can bring out the self-same voters who drove them to victory a year ago, they’d be happy. And if they could do that, the likelihood is they’d grow their Assembly seats. This resulted in a very narrow set of proposals that pleased the troops (M4 Relief Road, speed limits raising, WDA 2.0, income tax reduction (but who knows when?)), but had very limited appeal beyond their core voters. But who cares, they don’t. If their base comes out, they’ll be a couple of more on their benches from May 6th, and that’s all that matters. Thing is, events have contrived to go against them, and I think they underestimated that Andrew RT Davies isn’t as well liked as they thought. 

And Labour’s uncosted manifesto was even worse. Despite there being some good ideas snuggled away in amongst some great photos, the plans for Wales lacked any detail. It read as if, we know we’ll be running the show after the election so why should we put too much effort into telling you what we’ll be doing? Utter contempt is how I think they’ve treated Wales with this plan – and that is reason enough to hope they get an absolute shoeing at the polls.

Plaid – first out of the blocks with their manifesto, and you get the sense that this had been some time in the planning. Again, there was a strong adjective associated with the plans. In Plaid’s case, the policies were described as transformational. There’s a lot to be applauded from Plaid – and whilst I’m not sure policies like reinventing the WDA are anything close to transformational, they’ve put together a suite of policies that are focused solely on doing the best for Wales. 

The other parties have been very critical of Plaid’s plans for the NHS, but anyone who thinks the current state of play is acceptable isn’t being honest with themselves. Given the health issues on our horizon (age profile, increasing number of people with cancer etc), I support a radical overhaul today, before the whole system breaks down.

Wales’ education system under-performs others badly, and continues to slip backwards. One key policy for me, is the incentive for Welsh students to come back and work in Wales, and we’ll pick up the fees they owe. Clearly this is a policy that focuses on Wales, and Wales alone. That’s exactly what I want the Welsh Assembly to do – make Wales a better country.

With the exception of the WDA 2.0 policy I’ve also been encouraged by the economic plans put forward by Plaid. One of the most overlooked could be the most important. At the moment it’s very difficult to understand just how well Wales is doing economically. With the introduction of Government Expenditure & Revenue reporting, we could start to see what works and what doesn’t. Simple stuff you’d think, but not if you’re from another party.

I’ve watched Leanne Wood’s performance closely over the campaign, as there are lots of rumours circulating of a coup d’état immediately post May 5th. I’d urge caution. Leanne has proven herself to be really likeable, and is considered trustworthy. Perhaps these aren’t criteria the UK media would consider important, but here in Wales, they are. The less scripted Leanne’s answers, the better I thought she did. Da iawn, Leanne!

So, they’ve not ticked all my boxes, but Plaid have shown they are the Party of Wales. They’re serious about their plan for the Country, and whether that plan is transformational or not, only time will tell – but at least the path they’re mapping out isn’t business as usual. For that, they’ve got my vote.

The Regional List ballot & using your vote to put the brakes on UKIP.

It looks likely that UKIP could get a fair few seats come the night of May 5th. They won’t win any constituency seats, but will pick up list or regional seats via the added proportionality of the D’Hondt electoral system. The system benefits those parties, such as UKIP, who get a large enough share of the vote, but under first past the post (FPTP) don’t win many/any constituency seats. Across Wales the regional lists have slightly different scenarios, and if you’re interested enough in keeping the number of UKIP members to a min, you’ll really have to do a bit of investigative work yourself, coupled with a bit of educated guesswork.

So, based on last week’s poll I’d suggest the following;

South Wales Central – this region all depends on how well the Tories do. If they win a FPTP seat (Cardiff North or the Vale of Glamorgan), then the fourth regional seat could be a close run thing between Plaid and UKIP. It could amount to a couple of hundred votes, so every vote would count. If the Tories win both their SWC targets, then both Plaid & the Greens would be chasing the 3rd and 4th seat, alongside UKIP. So the best bet in SWC to defeat the second ukipper would be to vote Plaid on the regional ballot. Given all Labour regional votes are effectively wasted (they get their allocation via FPTP), if they all voted Plaid with this vote, they could stop UKIP in SWC completely. A group of Labour supporting academics said the same on Friday.

In the SWC region I’ve been quite taken by the limited campaign run by the Women’s Equality Party (WEP), and they were close to getting my second vote, with the Greens slightly behind them. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to feel confident voting for either, whilst the spectre of UKIP hangs heavily over the region. Sincere apologies WEP!

The same is not the case for other regions. 
A cursory view would suggest that in South Wales West (SWW) & South Wales East (SWE) the most effective challenger to UKIP is Plaid. Again if a big enough chunk of Labour’s regional votes were ‘lent’ to Plaid, UKIP could lose out on both seats.

North – as it stands, this region has a number of difficult to predict constituency votes, but given the projected vote share for the three main parties is similar, this is looking as a straight fight for 4th spot (& therefore UKIP) between the 3 big parties. I’d encourage Plaid voters to keep their nerve here, and persuade their friends to add to their votes.

Mid & West – this is Plaid’s strongest region, and UKIP’s weakest, which somewhat counter intuitively makes this race to keep UKIP out here likely to be between everyone other than Plaid. If the Lib Dem resurgence proves to be true, this is one region where a regional vote for them may well mean no ukippers are returned for the region.

These regional predictions are notoriously difficult to get right, which is why I’d encourage you to do your own guesswork. UKIP having any sort of power base in the Senedd post May 5th is something worth stopping, if we can.

Because we’re worth it…… Stop the Welsh Jobs Dowry

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In times gone by, a bride-to-be’s family would negotiate a dowry, so that the husband would agree to marry their daughter. It was an important consideration as to which woman the groom would marry. I wonder how these women felt – arguably their future life was as much to do with the amount of money her father was prepared to give, as it was the person she was, and was becoming. For me, I would find that deeply hurtful. It seems the same thing is happening to us as a Country today. Welsh Government Ministers from Carwyn Jones down are falling over themselves to pay foreign companies to take us on. These ministers are paying big foreign companies a dowry for our workers.

Every single time we pay somebody to set up in Wales, a little more of our pride gets wiped away. Because unless we pay them, they won’t come here and employ us; because they don’t actually think we’re better than someone else, somewhere else. Well I think we’re better than that, and I’m also completely unconvinced by the economic argument behind doing it too.

Here’s why…

First off, they don’t need the money. Loads of these foreign companies can afford to make these investments from their current resources – they don’t need our money. If they think our workforce is good enough for their investment, they’ll invest in us. If they need a massive (in terms of our meagre cash resources) financial incentive to come here do we really want them here? Are they after us, or just our money?

The Welsh Government have recently announced the following four Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) agreements, and they exemplify the point perfectly:

We (I use ‘we’ as ultimately it’s our money, spent on our behalf, by those we elect, for our collective benefit) have just invested £14.7M in Ford so that they’ll build their new engines in Bridgend. Ford’s latest market cap stands at $61BN. They’ve been in Wales for a while, I accept, but why do they need our money to ensure the overall investment went ahead?

On the 6th of October Edwina Hart announced we were investing £1.4M to support CapGemini (a consulting firm) in creating of 100 jobs in Treforest. The company’s latest net worth is €13.9BN. They too don’t need our money to make this investment.

Here’s a biggy! On September 10th, Sony, with a market capitalisation of ¥4.3TN (yep that’s Trillions of Yen), announced that we had just lent it £1.1M for a new addition to their Pencoed facilities, just outside Bridgend. This one is a loan, but surely there’s no case that Sony needs our money more than hard pressed public services, or even owner managed businesses across the Country.

And then this week, First Source Solutions, an Indian company (capitalised at 22BN Rupees) were given more of our limited cash to add call centre staff to its Cardiff operation. We don’t know how much we gave them, as neither the Company or the government were prepared to say – I wonder, are they running scared of justifiable criticism? Hiding the facts is poor government, as it suggests the officers and ministers don’t have full confidence in the decisions they have made. Perhaps they’re right not to be confident.

There have been others, and there will be more.

Secondly, we need to find wealth creators rather than job creators. Simply put, wealth creators will also create jobs (often higher value jobs too). On the other hand, job creators will never create wealth. Any wealth created on the backs of these Welsh workers doesn’t stay here – it travels straight over the Severn Bridge, on to Heathrow and onwards to a far flung part of the world. I’d call this exploitation – and the fact we encourage and fund it ourselves would be laughable, if it wasn’t so tragic.

Lastly, these huge businesses are highly susceptible to world market movements, and will, with limited warning simply up-sticks and go. The recent FSB Wales report ‘What Wales Could Be’ called for support to be focused on grounded, rooted, local businesses, to encourage them to grow to be the mid-cap businesses of tomorrow. I absolutely agree.

The politicians who take these decisions need to be held accountable. The officials who negotiate the deals too. Their focus on FDI is keeping Wales poor, and is wrong minded. Worse still, it shows they don’t believe we’re good enough to succeed without this ‘dowry’. That diminishes self-belief and hurts our collective confidence.

Some of us believe we’re worth it.

Welsh Assembly Elections 2016 – a nine month alarm call

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It’s just gone 10pm on the 5th August 2015, and I’ve just finished listening to an excerpt of an interview with Michael Sheen on BBC Wales, in which he challenged us, in Wales, to believe in ourselves.

In exactly nine months time, the ballot boxes will have been taken from polling stations across Wales, and counting will have begun, in what I think, is Wales’ most important election since devolution.

The world is in a state of flux; changes are happening around us that only history will recognise as being so volatile, and in the new world that emerges, I’m convinced that the nimbler will come out on the winning side. Arguably small is the new big – and we’re small, so here’s our opportunity.

Here’s a first stab at my manifesto wish-list – admittedly it’s really only a list of questions, but a list that I think is important:

Education – how can we truly help our children thrive in a world where jobs as we know them are likely not to exist. The Donaldson report merely scratches the surface. Take a listen to Sir Ken Robinson’s view on the matter in his TED talk – there really is another way, and we in Wales, could be pioneers. Education fails too many at the moment – if things don’t change dramatically, it’ll fail a whole lot more.

Health – much of the debate around the NHS at the General Election in May centred on the differentials between Welsh & English management of the service. Why on earth are we concerned with what happens over the border. If they’re different it’s because their health priorities are different to ours. Let’s build the best NHS for the Nation of Wales, and let’s start by concerning ourselves with improving health at the community level, and focusing as much with the social causes of health problems, as we do the medical interventions that are unfortunately often too late, and therefore hugely expensive. Remember, small is the new big…

Government – how can the role of government be simplified. This will take a brave politician or two to deliver, but it needs to do much, much more with less, much less. This debate is often characterised as taking tough choices – but I’m less convinced. For example, as a civil society it is wrong that so many Welsh people live in abject poverty – poverty blights communities, it curtails futures, and it kills. Our social safety net must catch people, and at a level that doesn’t make them feel worthless. This must be our priority, but many of the answers lie in strengthening our communities – and you know what; we in Wales get this. We may have hidden it a little bit in recent years, but scratch the surface and it’s there. From a cost perspective government is often delivered cheaper, when it’s delivered locally. We can do more, with less, and we, I think, can do more with less better than anyone else.

Economy & Enterprise – Wales’ economy has bumbled along at the bottom of the UK (& European) economic league tables for far too long, and yet we still continue to do the same old, same old, and expect a different result. There’s a highly developed echo chamber in Cardiff Bay & Cathays Park that believes the PRollocks they themselves are spouting. This is an area, Governments should simply jump on their horse and get out of Dodge… Businesses don’t need to be ‘Mamby-Pambied’, they need to be able to fail if they’re not good enough, get finance when they convince the financier, engage the professional help they believe they need, and employ the people they think are right for the business. Also, let’s back ourselves. Let’s not focus on bringing inward investors in to the Country to the detriment of local businesses – because the local businesses will keep the wealth they create local. Inward investors will grab their money, travel over the Severn Bridge, jump on a plane in Heathrow and count the spoils in some far flung tax haven.

Community & Hiraeth – instead of championing the community values that exist within our tight-knit communities, we seem hell-bent of trying to be something else. Those readers with children are likely to be familiar with this refrain “be the best YOU; because you’ll never be the best someone else.” So if we hold the values of family, community, social cohesion in high regard, let’s make them the central part of our Country. Silicon Valley already exists; putting an ‘s’ on the end of Valley won’t make it so. Let’s be the best Wales. Nobody can beat us at that.

Sustainability – the Earth’s resources continue to be under pressure, so let’s be bold and develop ways to be the World Leaders in Water, Food Education & Renewable Energy.

Nation-building – whilst we rely on the Barnett formula to keep the Welsh economy alive, we’ll stay poor. This payment mechanism was always meant to be transitory, but instead of devising a replacement, let’s start a medium term conversation about how we end our dependency. A healthy relationship can’t survive when one party relies on the other so completely, surely?

This wish-list isn’t exhaustive – and I accept its not policy prescriptive, but I think it goes some way to answering Michael’s challenge, whilst also recognising the changing world we live in.

If no political party is capable of believing in us; the people of Wales, they’re not worthy of our votes. They’ve got nine months to convince us otherwise. Or more accurately, they’ve got until the close of nominations…….

#BarryIs part 2

/ markjhooper / 1 Comment

Places in Wales – They used to be something – they used to mean something – they were where they were for a reason – they mattered more than just a place where you lived. We didn’t really care if they were a village, a town or a city; we cared that they were a community that sustained families, economy, work, education, recreation, wellbeing (in its broadest context) & spirit.

Each place had its individual spirit.

Big places were split into smaller bits. Each of those smaller bits had their own spirit too. A sort of sub-spirit.

And that spirit was clear. For some it was a genteel spirit; for others a harder edged working spirit; and for some towns it was something much more distinct.

If you were to ask someone from a place to articulate its spirit 150 years ago, that would have been easy – many of those places were just emerging at the time, they were full of pioneers; the people who created these places. They knew what the spirit was, they were it.

As the places grew, the spirit changed slightly; it grew with it. The pioneers were being replaced by people who rooted these places (let’s call them the rooters). These were second and third generation ‘locals’ who came from those places. They added history, folklore & their own family and community values. They developed the civic infrastructure: the schools, the churches, the welfare halls. They built on what the pioneers started. They knew what the spirit was, they were it.

Then something happened.

It wasn’t intentionally bad.

But it definitely wasn’t good either.

Something happened that stopped the spirit of the place developing – we allowed bureaucracy to get its cloying hands on the development of our places. Locals let the bureaucrats take decisions on their behalf, whether they were local politicians, council officers, or those with some sort of civic authority. The locals abdicated their responsibilities for developing their own village or town, and left it to others. This coincided with a sense of self, over community.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a point where systems and rules ensure civic life works, and works safely and to the average benefit of all… The thing is, when it comes to spirit of a place, to its generative ability, bureaucracy has no place.

The place you were from helped to describe you; it helped to ground you, and whether you ran away at the first opportunity or stayed there for a lifetime, the spirit stayed with you.

In Wales, these separately identifiable places weren’t isolationist – far from it. People from one place knew people from other places, and if they didn’t know them, they certainly knew someone who did. The concept of six degrees of separation just doesn’t translate to Wales; in Wales it’s one or two – sometimes you need to look a bit harder to see it, than would have been the case a hundred or even fifty years ago, but those strong linkages between places are there, and therein lies one of Wales’ greatest untapped assets.

Which brings me on to the reason behind this blog, and perhaps even some action. I feel like it’s action on a guerrilla scale, so that’s kinda cool 🙂

This constant onslaught regarding the power of cities, and City Regions (we have two or maybe three here in Wales, and some are hoping North East Wales will hang on the shirt-tails of the Northern Powerhouse too) misses the point – it ignores this massive asset we have here in Wales that we’re connected. I think there’s an alternative, and it lies within our communities – it’s emerging, and there’s little officialdom can do about it.

When I recently visited Ebbw Vale (Ebbw Vale Institute to be precise), I met the former MP for the area, Dai Davies. I started my Indycube spiel…. change the way Wales does business; too fond of government handouts; blah; blah, and he stopped me.. He said “Let me tell you, Ebbw Vale built the world! We produced the steel that built the ships, the bridges, many of the world’s fixed assets.” Our towns evoked a sense of pride. People like Dai still have that pride for their place, but as those old stories fade, if we’re not careful so with that, will go that sense of pride.

Barry is an interesting place… In 1881 the ‘beautiful little country village of Barry’ had 85 residents living there. More surprisingly, they lived in 17 dwellings. Today – there’s close to 50,000 residents living here, and the house count continues to climb.

Barry grew very quickly – when David Davies got fed up with the Marquis of Bute overcharging for poor service to the Coal Barons at Cardiff Docks, he did something about it – he built his own (I’m riding fast and furious over history here, but hey feel free to add in the comments). The building of the docks was the building of Barry – the town exploded into vibrant life – by 1913 it was the biggest coal exporting dock in the world – I wonder how it must have felt to have been part of those pioneering years? I wonder

Many of our Welsh towns/cities are in the process of regeneration. Some are seemingly further ahead than others, but the underlying focus of their Renaissance seems to be flats, shops, and the occasional ummm, unmmm….. no I can’t think of anything else. It’s all flats and shops. The upshot is we’re ending up in places that are indistinguishable from the place up the road – they’re bland and uninspiring. Worse still, they do very little (read nothing) to change the economic well being of the area. It’s not regeneration at all. It’s degeneration.

Why is that? My view is we’ve lost that pioneering spirit – we’re caught up in claptrap and ‘echo chamber’ speak, and very few people are shouting out.

What if we took the ‘re’ out of regeneration, and instead of using the current everyday levers of change to make things happen, we just started with an engaged conversation or two?

So here’s the rub. If you want to improve a place, there are things you can do…

1- lobby for a solution. There are lots of very well meaning folk who put a lot of energy into trying to persuade and lobby the powers that be, that their idea is worth pursuing.

2- become a local politician – and get lobbied by those well meaning folk, and if you agree (or find it politically expedient) pass it on to the officers of the local authority.

3- become an officer in a local authority – you could really make a difference here – but the local authority is the last place to take risks & be brave. You manage the risks into mediocrity and ultimate failure. You say ‘No’ far, far too often.

4- JFDI (however small the ‘it’ might be) – you just never know. There’s a good chance some things will fail…. Lots probably, but the few things that succeed could well be the pioneering changes that’ll last generations. Or if you don’t feel like pioneering, what things need ‘rooting’ in?

So, what is the great idea, that’s so easy to implement, and could re-instil a sense of pride back into Barry in the first instance? I’ve got some ideas to share, but more importantly, I’d really like to hear other people’s ideas too.

So, if you’re a 2015 pioneer, or a rooter, and are interested in true regeneration in Barry, come & join us for a couple of hours

What we’d like you to bring…

something to sit on
a flask of your favourite hot beverage
something to eat, that ideally you’d like to share between the group
your passion & your ideas

I can’t promise that it’ll turn into anything. I don’t for one moment pretend that this is a democratic meeting. But Barry needs to regain its pioneering spirit. Are you in?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/barryis-tickets-18000475908

#BarryIs

/ markjhooper / 1 Comment

Emergence, regeneration, conversation & Barry

Barry is….. what?

It’s easier to say what Barry was….

In 1881, Barry was a ‘beautiful country village’ consisting of 85 residents living in 17 dwellings; 32 years later it was the world’s biggest coal exporting dock, and the town supporting that industry ballooned massively. Barry was also a vibrant seaside resort – it had roller coasters, donkey rides, two outdoor swimming pools (one fed by seawater), and a Butlin’s Holiday Camp.

These descriptions were all true, but now serve as a historical record of what Barry was, rather than what Barry is. In fact, they seem far removed from where the town is now – it’s difficult to even imagine the docks and railway sidings bustling with activity, workers and energy. Bustling with pioneers.

Now, it seems, the biggest things to happen in Barry in recent years is the arrival of Asda on the site of the old steam engine ‘graveyard’, and/or the installation of temporary fairground rides on the site of the old funfair. Quite evidently they’re not on the scale of the pioneers of a century ago.

As with communities across the Country, residents of Barry have seemingly abdicated their responsibility for improving the places where they live (and work). Regeneration has become the domain of local authority planners, national and international retail chains, and house and/or flat builders. Unsurprisingly, most of the time, they don’t ‘get’ Barry – they ‘get’ the one-size-fits-all approach, that worked somewhere, at some point. The only thing they really deliver is a copycat town or village, indistinguishable, one from another.

History has shown time and again, that real regeneration, the sort that lasts and has a positive impact on communities is borne from deep within the community, and not from soulless meeting rooms at County Hall, or in the boardrooms of retail giants hundreds of miles away. Often lasting regeneration stems from artistic or cultural activity that allows residents to see their town through a different lens, or when economic opportunity is grasped and risks are taken.

I’m not abdicating my responsibility, and that’s why I’m baking a cake, bringing a flask & a deckchair and chatting with others about what #BarryIs – Join in https://www.eventbrite.com/e/barryis-tickets-18000475908

#GE2015 – My Review'”

/ markjhooper / 1 Comment

Eight days ago the Country woke up to an election result that surprised most pollsters, and those of us who watched the various debates unfold.

So what happened? And why were we so surprised? And why am I so blinking (please feel free to insert more appropriate expletive) excited and engaged with the future of Wales, politically?

I’m not given to statistical analyses, so will give them a wide berth here – there are lots that are around – knock yourselves out. Key outcomes, and frankly all that matters, is that (in no order of importance), SNP maxed out in Scotland (and could even have done damage in some Northern English constituencies!!); Tories strengthened almost everywhere except Scotland; Lib Dems (my old Party) were effectively wiped off the Parliamentary map; UKIP polled almost 4M votes (and got 1 MP); the Greens retained their seat, and massively grew their vote (1M); and Labour failed (by varying degrees) to turn their pre-election polling into votes. In Wales, Plaid Cymru showed a marginal improvement, but failed to make the breakthrough their increased exposure may have suggested. I’m going to give my ‘four-penneth’ worth on each Party in a bit, but first let’s consider who switched allegiances and therefore decided that David Cameron could run a majority government for the next five years.

THE SWITCHERS

So, I reckon there was more movement than we thought between votes this time than there has been for a while. I’ve focused on three categories of switchers…

The middle of the road voter: the type who has probably voted for Thatcher, Blair & Clegg in their time, this time went (relatively positively) with Cameron. Sure, they were influenced by the scare stories regarding the SNP having a rudder on power. Sure, they were influenced by the lack of trust in Miliband & Balls. But mostly, they thought the coalition had done alright (even if they weren’t quite feeling the benefits as yet), and the beneficiary was the Conservative Party. First past the post elections mean that this group have the biggest influence on Election Day.

The working or non-working poor: this group still don’t vote as much as other groups, so the swing from them is important, but perhaps not defining in its significance (apart from in Scotland). In Scotland, this one is easy – they deserted Labour and voted SNP. In England & Wales, it seems a few went Green, a backbone (potentially from strong Labour areas – such as the former coalfields) stayed reluctantly with Labour, whilst a significant grouping climbed aboard the Farage Express. They went willingly, and will likely do the same again (Euro referendum, local councils etc.). The backbone will continue to desert Labour in my opinion, and will split left (Green, SNP, Plaid) and right (UKIP). I anticipate this move being quick, hence my thoughts regarding the future of the Labour Party (see later).

My final switching group are the Liberal minded centre & centre/left, or the progressives: this group suffered from echo chamber syndrome during the campaign – if they were a betting bunch (unlikely, but hey, go with the analogy), they would have lost a lot of money expecting a rainbow coalition of sorts. The vast majority of this group voted with conviction – they engaged during the contest with politicians, and with each other. They spent little time engaging with the other two switching groups above – had they done so, we may have had a different result. This grouping are likely to have previously voted tactically. They voted for their least worst option. Often, but not always, this was against the Tories; and that often meant Labour. This time their vote was fragmented and diluted. It went the way of the Nationalists (not the Tories!!), the Greens as well as Labour. The significant minority who tactically voted against Labour in the past, are likely to have stuck with the Tories.

THE PARTIES

Conservatives
Lots of observers suggested the strong showing for the Tories was as a result of people voting scared (scared of the SNP, scared of a mismanaged economy etc.). I’m less convinced. I think, in addition to a very firm support base from 2010, they added the likes of centrist liberals, and the aspiring working families (who’ve never seen a food bank, but would never consider themselves to be well off). They claimed a huge swathe of the centre ground. This support isn’t going to be easy to budge.

The other interesting point about the Tory vote in England was that there was a real under-current of it being a vote for English Nationalism. The rise of the SNP, and the higher profile of Plaid certainly raised the stakes south of Hadrian’s Wall and east of Offa’s Dyke. I can’t see the strength of the SNP diminishing – so I think this increased separation will become more acute as time progresses.

The Conservatives quite obviously had a fantastic election – beyond their expectations. Their biggest strength is paradoxically their biggest weakness. They’ve mapped themselves out as a safe pair of hands, in troubled times – a safe pair of hands will never take the chances needed to bring about the changes needed in the super-networked, unpredictable and emergent world that we’re part of. The forces of Conservatism just aren’t up to that sort of future. They’ve got away with it, as the UK (& the rest of the Western world) has been insulated from the challenges thus far. That insulation is wearing thin. The Tories will, however, remain a strong force fighting (valiantly but without doubt, hopelessly) against the ‘Revolution’ of emergence that is on its way.

SNP
I doubt that the tremendous support for the SNP represents a clamour for independence, more it’s a shutting the door on an out of touch, and largely irrelevant Labour Party. The fact that the poorest areas of Scotland voted for independence clearly evidenced that the status quo isn’t an option for them, and given Labour’s failing, the SNP became the party of choice. Moreover, the support for the SNP, I think, goes beyond politics. It is representative of a real belief in Scotland, by the people of Scotland. It transcends the normal ebb and flow of economic data, and political failings. It’s stronger than ever, and for the foreseeable future, insurmountable for the other parties.

Labour
There’ll be lots written in the history books by people who were on the inside in Labour between 2010 & 2020. I think it will show a party that shrunk back into familiar ground. And when they got there, they realised their familiar supporters had given up on them, for good. The reason for that, simply, is that they’ve failed to deliver an agenda that improves social justice for all.

Some Labour insiders refer to Wales as being a relative strong base for the Party. I’m far from convinced. The tsunami that swept through Labour in Scotland is building up in Wales, and the interesting thing, is that Welsh Labour just can’t see it. This election (in Wales) was their second worst since 1918. The writing is on the wall. The key issue is, however, we won’t have the patience to allow the Labour Party the time to reinvent itself.

The Conservatives major weakness also applies to Labour too. Their controlling, statist agenda is far too cumbersome for a future that rewards agility and risk-taking. Taken together, my view is that by 2020 Labour will have effectively disappeared as an electoral force. It’ll be that sudden, and that final.

Liberal Democrats
The 2010-2015 coalition Government was judged twice by the electorate – everything they liked (the economy, um…., um…., that’s about it) they congratulated the Tories on. Everything they disliked they shoved at the feet of Nick Clegg and his unfortunate band. The fact that the Lib Dems were central to much of what was perceived as worthwhile in the last five years mattered not a jot.

With not many more than a handful of MPs, the Lib Dems have a long way to go, in order to have any relevance to the UK electorate. Paddy Ashdown’s management of the Lib Dem’s election campaign, where their main argument was ‘we’ll be best suitor to the other two’, failed catastrophically. The loss of significant politicians like Vince Cable and David Laws is as much a loss to the Country as a whole, as it is to the Lib Dems.

The UK (& Wales for that matter) need a truly liberal voice, and I do think we’ll be weaker without them as a force. With a wholesale policy review (that should be easy as I’m not sure they have any at the moment??), they could become an influential player once again. Liberalism as an ideal will have a stronger voice in the future than Capitalism IMHO. I’ll deal with Socialism later…. 🙂

UKIP
Pre May 7th, most thought that UKIP’s success would come from disaffected, right wing Tories – there’s been an assumption for a long time, that the less well off you are, the more left leaning you will be, and vice-versa. This election has, I think, thrown that assumption in the bin. The working and non-working poor are scared – they are the recipients of food banks; they live in sub standard housing; they suffer the consequences of health inequality; and they often, instinctively put their own needs above the rest of society, and who can blame them. It’s no wonder that when a party such as UKIP blames the usual suspects (migrants, health tourists, the EU) for the Country’s woes, this group will follow. The group are even more likely to follow if they struggle to understand the manifestos in any meaningful way. I’d imagine very few Tories defected to UKIP this time round – perhaps the hard core right wingers, but they’ve been gone a while anyway, and I’m sure Tory strategists are secretly quite pleased with that.

Green Party
They’ve got a great MP in Caroline Lucas, by all accounts – but this was the first election they’ve been treated seriously. I’d imagine the 1 million voters they attracted (perhaps previously Lib Dem voters) will stay the course. Their policies didn’t really get the testing that would have highlighted where there were deficiencies (neither for that matter did the SNP, UKIP or Plaid). But, the Greens have established themselves – they’re here in Britain for the future, and I think that’s good news.

Plaid Cymru
I voted Plaid for the first time, this time round. In the (perhaps formerly) Tory/Lab marginal I live in, I knew I wouldn’t be voting for the winner, but I was impressed with the way Leanne Wood led the campaign, and importantly, how the Party framed the debate solely in terms of Wales. Wales could be perfectly placed to be the Sweden of the 2020s and beyond. Small is the new economy of scale, and with a population of 3 million, where the values of community, family and environment are stronger than individualism and capitalism, we’re perfectly set. The other often forgotten value the Welsh hold as important is that of non-conformitism (albeit we’ve had it knocked out of us across the years). Free-spirited, creative communities will thrive in the future.

Plaid could take up that mantle. Much of their policy remains in the dogma of Socialism, but their field of vision seems right. The argument for an extra £2.1bn from a recalculation of the Barnett Formula is an example as to where they’ve got the question wrong. The challenge should be, whether inside or outside of the Union, how can Wales do without the Barnett Formula? With it, we remain poor, guaranteed.

Perhaps there is an opportunity to redefine Socialism in the context of a dramatically changing world. Less about state control of key resources, and more about emergent, collaborative & connected communities working together for common purpose. Remember, our strength as a nation resides with the people, not the levers of state.

For me Plaid are well positioned, but they do need to attract and listen to fresh, new voices. I get the impression some in the Party will be keen, some will be dismissive. For those whose inclination is to dismiss, I’ll happily buy you a pint or two, and let’s chat.

CHAOS – where opportunity lies

I think tomorrow’s political battleground’s lines have been drawn. The issue is, only the Conservatives are set for the fight. They represent a steady rudder hand – they represent conservatism. Ideologically opposed to the chaotic, emergent world we are already in, they will fight to preserve the status quo – big business (including continued pandering to big oil), citizen management (snooping etc.), and capitalism in its current form.

The fight needs to be taken up. And the first place to take it up, could, and should be Wales. The ideals of emergence, liberalism, socialism (as redefined 😃), freedom, environmentalism & localism need to be represented – and soon. The question is who is up for it – Wales’ disaffected need a vision, Wales’ centre & centre-left need one too, and if that’s got right, the floating voters will follow.

There’s lots of ideas to turn these fanciful words into something real, but they’re out there – in our communities – in Aberystwyth, in Garndiffaith, in Pontardawe and in Newtown. In pubs, in schools, and in workplaces – in me, and in you. It’s time for Wales to regain our spirit, our Hwyl. Hiraeth isn’t translatable for good reason.

My job takes me around the whole of Wales. I get to speak to lots of people, and often these conversations get on to how we can develop a stronger, fairer, more sustainable Wales. Without doubt there is the capacity to achieve great things. We don’t need to go to MIT in Boston to find the next great thing, or Sweden, or Ireland, or Scotland or even England. We have the capacity. Small is the new big.

I’m up for it. Are you?

#Wales #Believe

Why Mark Hooper, Founder of Indycube CIC and co-founder of Indycube Ventures LLP is voting Plaid Cymru on May 7th.

/ markjhooper / 3 Comments

This General Election is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable in recent memory, and from all sides of the political spectrum, business leaders, large and small are keen to tell us why they’re backing one large Westminster based Party, or the other. There was even a group, imploring us to vote Liberal Democrat recently.

Well I run a business, and I don’t agree with their verdicts. Why does my opinion differ and why should that matter? Because, I run a business in Wales, that supports other Welsh businesses to grow our economy, generate wealth, and create high quality local jobs. Indycube now has twenty coworking spaces across the length and breadth of Wales, with a further ten planned for the remainder of 2015. We’re working as hard in some of our hard pressed communities as we are in our cities. Over a thousand people working in small and micro-businesses have used our spaces over the past five years, and I’ve got to know most of these business owners personally. I’ve got a clear idea as to what they need, and as importantly, what they don’t.

The biggest single thing they need is to be believed in. We need our politicians to have faith that the future prosperity of our Country will come from within, and not without. Reliance on the Barnett formula for delivering money from Westminster to Cardiff Bay; incentivising foreign corporations to base themselves in Wales and profiteer off the back of our workforce in the blinkered pursuit of jobs; and, forever following the myth of ‘best practice’, have all failed before, and will fail again. This isn’t the way to build a prosperous (not just in terms of money) Wales.

Our politicians must believe that Wales’ biggest assets are its people. Leanne Wood has stated just that, time and time again. You know what? I believe her. If we can’t rely on Westminster parties to deliver for Wales, then let’s rely on ourselves. When Leanne kicked off the first leadership debate saying that she was interested in Wales, it was music to my ears – that was what I was interested in. If more politicians are sent to Westminster with a clear mandate to deliver for their local community, rather than tow a Westminster party line, the better it will be for Wales.

Business people are often derided as being selfish. I run a social enterprise that has NEVER taken or requested any grant funding – in fact we pay taxes back in to the pot. Like many businesses in Wales (whether formally a social enterprise like us, or not), business people care. If they were only interested in chasing money, they’d probably locate elsewhere. The value of family, community and the fantastic country-scape in which we live are also of significant value to us.

When you run your own business, it’s important that you’re ambitious for it to succeed. When you see an NHS that is being negatively compared to the one across the border; when you see an education system that is missing the opportunity to challenge all our children to become the creative leaders of the future; and when you see far too many children living in poverty (when the UK is the sixth richest economy in the world), it’s apparent that we need politicians who will take on these challenges in a way that suits our Country. We’re a small country, but that is our strength – we can move quickly, try things out, fail and learn, be creative and most of all, be ambitious for ourselves. For Wales to remain so poor that it once again qualified for Structural Assistance from the EU is an embarrassment at best, or more accurately an absolute travesty for those families who are destined to spend a lifetime in poverty.

Most people will have made up their mind which way they’re going to vote on Thursday. Lots will be voting for something they believe in; lots will be voting for the first time; lots will be voting for a different Party than they did last time; lots will be voting for the same Party they always have; and, lots won’t vote at all. In Wales, for far too long, we’ve allowed one Party to dominate. The Welsh ‘block’ vote has kept the Labour Party forceful in Westminster, and of course more recently, in Cardiff Bay. And yet, Wales remains one of the poorest regions in Europe – their centrally controlled policies just haven’t benefitted us, here in Wales. The old truism of putting a Labour rosette on a donkey in some parts of Wales, and they’d still get in needs to be laid to waste – our children and grandchildren can’t afford for us to miss the opportunity for better. The Conservatives don’t get Wales, and probably never will, and the Lib Dems have lost their reforming zeal, in a barely concealed attempt to appeal to the two biggest parties as a suitable suitor in coalition. Neither of them will deliver for Wales, and our future.

I believe in Wales; I believe in my community; I’m fed up of Wales being taken for granted. Plaid’s policies don’t 100% match my views but they’re much more ambitious for Wales than the rest, and that’s massive. That’s why I’m voting Plaid Cymru on May 7th.

Mark Hooper