Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Top up fees provokes resignation
This morning's Western Mail reports that a Plaid Cymru branch officer has resigned his post as treasurer of the Treuddyn and District branch in Flintshire in protest at the party's decision to back the introduction of student top-up fees for Welsh students studying in Wales.
It is hardly a top-level resignation but the actions of Barry Hills appear to reflect the despair amongst many Plaid Cymru members at the way their leaders have so easily abandoned their principles once they got into power. Mr. Hills' words are pretty damning:
Describing the ministers' backing for top-up fees in defiance of party policy as "spiteful and mean-spirited," Mr. Hills said: "I do not intend to write about what I feel at those who, themselves having had the inestimable advantage of free education to further their own careers, then kick away the ladder for those young people also wanting this advantage offered by any civilised society.
"Neither will I dwell on the disgraceful and Stalinist treatment of young members who have had the temerity to stand up to you and publicly oppose this disgrace.
"What distresses me even more is the fact that you attended a National Council meeting supposedly to consult but you did not care what your own party thought. That puts us in the same shifty, dishonest, cynical position as other tired old self-servers in other parties that you have been so quick to criticise in the past.
"It also raises the question: what on earth is the point of partaking in the democratic structures of the party if you feel you can just ignore them whenever you feel the need to ingratiate yourself with your establishment cronies that now matter more to you than principles or the futures of our young people?"
Maybe Plaid Cymru should forge closer links with Cuba after all.
It is hardly a top-level resignation but the actions of Barry Hills appear to reflect the despair amongst many Plaid Cymru members at the way their leaders have so easily abandoned their principles once they got into power. Mr. Hills' words are pretty damning:
Describing the ministers' backing for top-up fees in defiance of party policy as "spiteful and mean-spirited," Mr. Hills said: "I do not intend to write about what I feel at those who, themselves having had the inestimable advantage of free education to further their own careers, then kick away the ladder for those young people also wanting this advantage offered by any civilised society.
"Neither will I dwell on the disgraceful and Stalinist treatment of young members who have had the temerity to stand up to you and publicly oppose this disgrace.
"What distresses me even more is the fact that you attended a National Council meeting supposedly to consult but you did not care what your own party thought. That puts us in the same shifty, dishonest, cynical position as other tired old self-servers in other parties that you have been so quick to criticise in the past.
"It also raises the question: what on earth is the point of partaking in the democratic structures of the party if you feel you can just ignore them whenever you feel the need to ingratiate yourself with your establishment cronies that now matter more to you than principles or the futures of our young people?"
Maybe Plaid Cymru should forge closer links with Cuba after all.
Comments:
<< Home
I seem to remember that a Lib Dem member left the party in protest at Swansea Council's handling of the SLip Bridge. He also had some scathing things to say about not keeping promises.
# posted by 
: 1:08 PM
: 1:08 PM
Is your correspondent really seeking to link these two issues in some way? How many young people throughout Wales will be prevented from attending college by the re-siting of Swansea's Slip Bridge?
Post a Comment
# posted by : 3:32 PM
: 3:32 PM<< Home
