Why it wouldn’t make sense for YesCymru to only market itself towards Welsh Speakers — Jay Bradshaw
The independence movement that YesCymru is pushing is all about embracing our culture, our nationality, and our heritage — so why shouldn’t it be exclusive to Welsh Speakers?
Okay, maybe I just said that for the sake of controversy. Over the last few days, I have seen a score of people complaining about how the Welsh independence movement was tailored to the ‘Welsh-speaking middle class,’ and that it was uninviting towards those who are unable to speak our country’s mother tongue. A particular favourite of mine that stood out was a comment that ‘Independence is a simple solution for those with International Careers, who have a fandom, and can meet the middle class first language speaking standards.’
As a self-identifying middle-class Welsh speaker myself (albeit without a fandom or international fame), I can say it has definitely made the process of integrating into the movement simpler. However, I have never seen someone who doesn’t speak Welsh not being welcomed with open arms or with tremendous support. In fact, the most common response I’ve seen when someone says they’re about to begin learning Welsh has been ‘a little goes a long way’ and that even a humble ‘Diolch’ (Thank You) can make someone’s day.
For those who still aren’t convinced and/or haven’t seen evidence of this, I’d like to present you with some simple statistics. In Wales, 2,313,900 people are currently on the parliamentary electoral register (discounting 16- and 17-year olds who can vote in Senedd elections) while there are an estimated 866,600 Welsh Speakers in Wales. This therefore means Welsh speakers represent roughly around 37.5% of voters — and that’s assuming every one of these people is an adult and registered to vote.
Looking at these figures, YesCymru would never be able to achieve it’s goal of independence with a clique of people who speak Welsh. So, I ask people who think that they don’t accept English speakers — why would YesCymru dig themselves their own hole by limiting potential support? The answer: they’re not.
I can’t deny that supporters of the movement want to cultivate an environment where the Welsh language thrives, because for the most part, they do. Sadly, since the existence and prevalence of ‘Meibion Glyndŵr’ in the late 70s and 80s, the growth of the Welsh language has become more stigmatised and feared in a way — examples of this include the ‘when I walked into a pub they all started speaking Welsh’ trope.
It must be noted that the Welsh Independence movement is a passive movement — a fresh start, and is not rooted in the mistakes of militaristic nationalism. Further, it must also be noted that we are expressing nationalism at it’s core; a celebration of the distinctiveness of Welsh language, culture, and history. It is not in any way intertwined with violence or ultranationalist fascism. We seek to co-operate with other nations and other cultures while being allowed to maintain and express our own identities.
What I’m trying to say is that the indy movement aims to dissipate discrimination and destigmatise our language and culture rather than diminish the importance of the English language and it’s culture. While the Welsh language is an undeniable part of our history, so is the introduction of the English language — however sour that introduction may have been originally. This is the reason we want both languages to be treated with equal respect, which at the moment isn’t happening.
From a more economic & political point of view on the issue discussed, I wanted to say that if Welsh people did suddenly one day decide to discriminate against English speakers, we all know it would not be a good idea.
Firstly, if we go independent, the common language between all the nations in the British Isles is English and it is also an official language of the UN, EU and WTO to name a few. Simply refusing to communicate in English on a wider scale would make world trade impossible for Wales and would hike up costs for all parties involved due to the introduction of a language in negotiations causing trade barriers that aren’t needed. Why take the long way round?
Secondly, taking a hostile Welsh-only approach to England after the ‘loss’ of the Welsh nation as a part of the UK would not mend relations, and therefore inclusiveness is the best approach — a path I’m glad that we are taking. If it doesn’t make sense on a wider scale for an independent Wales — how would it make sense to exclude English speakers on a smaller scale?
The last myth that I would like to ‘bust’ before I end this article is that YesCymru is a socialist only political campaign. While it is true that at this time the majority of Welsh Labour voters would back independence, showing up to 51% would in a recent poll — it is not a Labour or Plaid Cymru only campaign. The only goal of YesCymru is independence, there is no political stance taken and although they give the Conservatives a hard time for being unionist, they do it to Labour too. A reassurance of YesCymru being a ‘big tent’ political movement is that they are not a wing of Plaid Cymru unlike YesScot, which is part of the SNP. This allows them to remain an unbiased and inclusive (for all languages and political views!) movement that strives for independence effectively.
To surmise, the path to independence is open to all — any political leaning, any race, any gender, any sexuality, any nationality, any language. We are a warm and welcoming bunch, so don’t get caught up in misconceptions and come along and join us today!
Jay Bradshaw is an economics student and YesCymru member from Carmarthenshire.
