“IT's so good to be among people politically who you know are thinking along the same lines as you.”
Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts had never been to SNP conference before but, within minutes of walking into The Event Complex in Aberdeen (TECA), you could tell she felt right at home among like-minded politicians.
She spoke of a growing brotherhood between supporters of an independent Wales and an independent Scotland as the UK “shivers at the edges” and insisted the bond between the two movements is constantly developing amid the “utter chaos” at the House of Commons.
Asked if she felt there was a close partnership forming between independence supporters in Wales and Scotland, Saville-Roberts said: “Oh yes. The concept for Yes Cymru – which came from Sion Jobbins [co-founder and former chair] – came from him seeing what was happening in Scotland and realising we needed something similar in Wales.
“We’ve learnt from Scotland but we’ve taken it on in Wales and given it our own shape. It’s been a real effort to bring in people from different backgrounds. It’s not just traditional Welsh-speaking areas where Plaid is, but there’s a real effort to bring in people from different communities.
“Westminster is in utter chaos at the minute, you can feel the UK shivering at the edges now.”
Saville-Roberts – who spoke of a “unique bond” between Scotland and Wales in the fraternal address at SNP conference - said even during coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth, there was a sense that we were at a pivotal point in UK politics. There was a feeling we had arrived at a turning point, one that has been brewing since the Brexit decision in 2016.
Prior to the UK’s exit from the EU, support for Welsh independence sat at around 12%, but since the UK left the EU it has grown to sit at around a third. There have been two extremely well-attended Yes Cymru and All Under One Banner marches held in Cardiff and Wrexham recently too, suggesting there is a new energy around the movement that hasn’t been seen before.
A similar picture has developed in Scotland, with Brexit being one of the top reasons many have switched from No to Yes.
Saville-Roberts said: “You could tell there was something in the air [after the Queen died], that we are at a juncture of change. The old norms have fallen away.”
Some Welsh/Scottish solidarity at SNP conference today! Liz Saville-Roberts (@LSRPlaid) explains how Plaid Cymru is building the case for Welsh independence 🏴 pic.twitter.com/kDQ1ZgNRSQ
— The National (@ScotNational) October 9, 2022
Although Plaid Cymru have consistently been represented at the SNP conference, Saville-Roberts was clearly pleased to be able to arrive at TECA this time with not only support for Welsh independence at an all-time high, but with their argument bolstered by a groundbreaking piece of research.
Professor John Doyle of Dublin City University – who worked on the fiscal future of Northern Ireland in a potential united Ireland - recently suggested the deficit on day one of an independent Wales would not be anywhere near the size often claimed by Unionists using UK Government figures.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics are often quoted as suggesting the deficit an independent Wales would incur would be £13.5 billion, but the research concluded the fiscal gap – the difference between raised revenue and government expenditure – would actually be £2.6bn.
Saville-Roberts said it was a key piece of research which will allow Plaid Cymru to go beyond the simple “buzz and attraction” of independence, as colourful and fun as that is.
And she evidently had an enthusiasm for continuing to build on Doyle’s work, as she said she was fascinated by the amount of fringe events at the conference and the level of deep discussion about the future of Scotland.
“We can do the political rhetoric around independence, we know it’s an attractive word, and there’s a vital Yes Cymru movement,” said Saville-Roberts.
“There’s a buzz, there’s an attractiveness, which is all good, but underpinning that we need to build that economic argument.
“As a party, we very much need to build on what John Doyle has done. From my interactions with the SNP, I’m very interested in some of the work that’s been done here constitutionally, because the same questions will be relevant to us.
“Just looking at the fringe events, there’s so much stuff.
“Frankly we should have more people here to pick up on all these discussions and ideas.”
