Report, Hedd Goch, Y Seren Goch

Yesterday, socialists from across the left in Wales gathered to debate and vote on the progress made by the ‘Cymru Radical Left Dialogue’ – an open network of socialists who have been crafting progressive policies to campaign on for the 2026 Senedd Elections. This conference was called after an initial meeting in October 2024, which broke the mould of other socialist conferences by having open discussion in breakout groups, which was then reported back on. 

The conference focused on a Wales “for people, planet, peace, not profit” and called for the formation of ‘People, Planet, Peace, Cymru’, with eco-socialism at its heart. Two motions were presented to the conference, the first calling for a new movement and outlining the core programme, and the second on the organisation of the movement – both passed unanimously. 

To open the day, a host of speeches were heard from a mix of campaigners and activists from across Wales, highlighting the key issues we face as the left in Wales. 

The conference heard from Kwabena Devonish, an anti-fascist and anti-racist organiser from Stand Up To Racism & Black Lives Matter Cardiff & Vale. Jim Scott of PARC Against DARC, which is organising against the AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) plan to build a military radar station in Pembrokeshire. AJ Le Brun, the Secretary of Rhondda Cynon Taf Trades Union Council, spoke about the importance of disability inclusion and organising in any socialist movement, and how trade unions need to be active in working class communities, fighting for socialism at a grassroots level. Finally, community organiser and former Labour Party MP Beth Winter spoke about the need for a new form of politics, drawing on the work she has done with Leanne Wood (former Plaid Cymru Leader) in South Wales communities, hosting open sessions to hear about local issues to build local solutions. 

These speeches prompted discussion on the necessity to bring a more diverse range of people into these spaces, to centre anti-racism at the heart of these projects and be more representative of the diversity which makes up Wales. Points on the language of disability were raised, with some questioning if “disabled” was the right term to use. AJ Le Brun responded to this by pointing out that nothing will change the fact that there are things she cannot do because she is disabled. 

Two core motions were put forward to gain consensus from the delegates to begin work on a new socialist united alliance, which both passed unanimously. The first motion called for the establishment of a new movement – People, Planet, Peace Cymru, which focuses on an eco-socialist platform, on social transformation and national independence in Wales. The motion calls for an intervention in the 2026 Senedd Elections, by creating local groups who can put a collectively decided manifesto from the new organisation to their candidates and political parties. They also raised the option of putting in their own candidates as independents to potentially win a seat. This motion included 7 policy positions, developed through the Cymru Radical Left Dialogue’s open policy sessions, to form the initial basis of the programme. 

Points were raised across the room on how to go about this, all were supportive, but criticism was raised and welcomed by the room, with one highlighting how many left organisations in Britain are “dead on arrival”, and the need to mobilise the community and a mass-movement, or we’re “putting the cart before the horse”. Another raised the possibilities of the new proportional representation, saying it is possible to win a seat in the Senedd with 10%-20% of the vote. This was responded to with caution, warning that low voter turnouts in Wales means that any electoral victory in 2026 may not be representative of the working class, and a “mistake” by the system.

Others raised the importance of the economy, how “capitalism” isn’t a dirty word, and we need more than “tax the rich”, we need solid plans. Another delegate raised the economy in Wales, how the two largest employment sectors in Wales are the public sector, and then the service sector, and that we need to engage the youth by providing a vision of a Welsh economy with “socially useful” industrial jobs. They referenced the “green industrial plan” of the Labour Party under Corbyn, and how it provided them real hope as a teenager of a future where they could have a well paid and important job, making what we need as a society.

A continued and strong message of the day was the threat of Reform UK to the working class, and our democratic institutions in Wales. After debate and an exchange of responses, a vote was called and with unanimous support it passed. 

After lunch, the second motion was read – focused on the organisation of this new movement. It called for the movement to be open to affiliations from organisations across Wales, alongside individual membership, and to begin work on a founding conference to take place in autumn, 2025. 

This round of debates was opened with a comrade reading a statement written by a socialist in North Wales, who raised concern that this conference hadn’t reached the broad, anti-war, and anti-imperialist movements in North Wales. This was met with agreement and a commitment to take a proactive approach going forwards to have a truly all-Wales movement. After this, the issue of age was raised, highlighting the necessity of any movement to be training and shaping the next generation of leadership. The delegate raised how there needs to be a transfer of knowledge, skills and contacts to the youth present in the room, and to ensure that in shaping the Cyngor (council) of this movement, the youth are represented and included. In response, delegates raised how the sharing of knowledge is a two-way street, stating that there is much the veterans of the movement can learn from the emerging youth. 

The delegate ended with a call for membership and affiliations to be conditional on a real and genuine commitment to the agreed core programme, raising that similar attempts have fallen apart over organisations not genuinely supporting the idea of a united socialist movement. 

After, another raised how vital it is that working class organisations can not just affiliate, but shape the movement through democratic control. The delegate called for unions, trade, tenant and community, to be able to join and shape this as it grows, alongside the existing socialist movement in Wales and the well-established peace movement of Wales.

A final point before closing remarks was made on the necessity of political education, using the policy workshops and discussions as a chance to develop the political understanding of the membership and reach out to the public, aiming to ensure all those who campaign are able to answer questions on the doorstep and for the public to be able to engage in our political project.

These points were incorporated into the final motion as the room was in broad support of them. The conference was joined by a comrade from Scotland, who is involved in the Radical Independence Campaign, and Republican Socialist Platform. He provided insight and lessons from the experiences in Scotland, whilst another delegate raised the idea of holding mass–rallies similar to the Radical Independence Campaign.

A statement of support was read from the newly established Transform Party, which requested a report from this conference, and highlighted the need to have collaboration between the workers of Wales and England.

Afterwards, a vote was called, and again passed with unanimous support.

John Richardson (a Surrealist and Marxist), who helped organise the conference, said of the conference: “Today in Merthyr was inspirational!  It felt really good to see a lot of hard work come to fruition – the spirit of unity, of resistance, of hope was palpable!  We aren’t there yet, but together we have taken a major step in building an inclusive eco-socialist organisation committed to social transformation and national independence!”. 

Lifelong socialist Mary Winter, who also helped organise the conference, said: “Today was another step forward in building a movement in Cymru that puts people before profit, that helps build alliances between people and organisations that want to see a different society, one based on compassion  and tolerance and hope. The positive messages from so many young people give me the confidence that these movements will grow and develop. Solidarity. Undod.”

The Welsh Underground Network, a Socialist-Republican organisation that focuses on work in the community as a means to achieve independence, sent along a contingent. One of their members was also active in the organisation of this conference. A delegate of this group said: “We welcome this conference and the opportunity to create alliances in the left in Wales, and we look forward to working alongside comrades from across Wales as we focus on fighting for a better future for Wales. We are hopeful for the future of such an alliance, but we are fully aware of the challenges ahead of us in practical organisation of such an alliance, and we hope that the next conference has better representation of the progressive movement in Wales.” 

“The fact this conference had unanimous support for national independence for Wales cannot be overlooked, many in the room were former Labour Party members, or active in socialist movements which largely operate on a British level, not a Welsh one. This represents not just a fringe socialist movement who exist in a nationalist context, but a more broad dissatisfaction with the broken democracy and neoliberalism of the British state.”

The newly established ‘People, Planet, Peace Cymru’ movement will meet in the following weeks to vote in a voluntary Cyngor to organise the founding conference in autumn, and to build the logistical underpinning of a movement. The next step will be to act on the democratic decisions made in Merthyr Tydfil, and start to build this movement in a challenge to both the far-right and neoliberal politicians who are vying for a Senedd seat next year.