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Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist Party). Plaid Cymru was established in 1925 mainly to campaign for the protection of Welsh language and culture. After the Second World War the organization took on the functions of a political party to tread the parliamentary road to Welsh independence. During the 1960s its policies became more economically motivated, aimed at reducing unemployment, halting the migration of Welsh youth, and replacing declining traditional industries. It had little success until 1966 when it won a by-election at Carmarthen. In the election of February 1974 two seats were gained—Caernarfon and Merioneth. Plaid Cymru exploited the minority position of the Labour government (1974–9) to force discussion on constitutional change. However, the March 1979 devolution referendum was a blow to the party. From a turn-out of 58.3 per cent, only 11.8 per cent voted for a Welsh assembly.
The break-through which Plaid Cymru had been looking for came with the referendum of September 1997, which voted by a narrow majority to establish a National Assembly. At the subsequent election in 1999, the party won 17 of the 60 seats in the Assembly, making substantial inroads into the Labour vote, taking seats at Islwyn, Llanelli, and Rhondda. Disappointing results in the election of 2003 led to the resignation of the party's leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones. In 2005, the party took three seats at Westminster, holding Carmarthen East, Caernarfon, and Meirionydd, but losing Ceredigion to the Liberal Democrats. Richard A. Smith |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Plaid Cymru." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Plaid Cymru." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PlaidCymru.html JOHN CANNON. "Plaid Cymru." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-PlaidCymru.html |
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Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist Party). Plaid Cymru was established in 1925 mainly to campaign for the protection of Welsh language and culture. After the Second World War the organization took on the functions of a political party to tread the parliamentary road to Welsh independence. During the 1960s its policies became more economically motivated, aimed at reducing unemployment, halting the migration of Welsh youth, and replacing declining traditional industries. It had little success until 1966 when it won a by‐election at Carmarthen. In the election of February 1974 two seats were gained—Caernarfon and Merioneth. Plaid Cymru exploited the minority position of the Labour government (1974–9) to force discussion on constitutional change. However, the March 1979 devolution referendum was a blow to the party. From a turn‐out of 58.3 per cent, only 11.8 per cent voted for a Welsh assembly.
The breakthrough which Plaid Cymru had been looking for came with the referendum of September 1997 which voted, by a narrow majority, to establish a National Assembly. At the subsequent election in 1999, the party won 17 of the 60 seats in the Assembly, making substantial inroads into the Labour vote, taking seats at Islwyn, Llanelli, and Rhondda. But the results in 2003 were disappointing. |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PlaidCymru.html JOHN CANNON. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-PlaidCymru.html |
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Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru (Party for Wales) A Welsh nationalist party which was formed in 1925 to promote a cultural and linguistic revival, and to call for ‘home rule’ (autonomy) for Wales. It consistently fought elections from 1929, but support for it only grew significantly in the 1960s. In July 1966, its chairman, Gwynfor Evans, won the Carmarthen by-election. Despite gaining 11.5 per cent of the Welsh vote in 1970, it did not win any seats in a general election until February 1974, when it won Caernarfon and Merioneth. It won two or three seats at every election from then on, until 1992, when it won four seats. It staged a spectacular success in the first elections to the Welsh Assembly in 1999, when it took a number of safe Labour seats as loyal Labour supporters remained at home to protest against government policies. As a result, it became the principal party of opposition within the Welsh Assembly.
http://www.plaidcymru.org |
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Cite this article
JAN PALMOWSKI. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-PlaidCymru.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-PlaidCymru.html |
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Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru A political party devoted to the cause of Welsh nationalism. Founded in 1925 as Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru (Welsh Nationalist Party), it seeks to ensure independent recognition for WALES in matters relating to its culture, language, and economy. It became active in the 1960s and 1970s, but its hope that Wales would be able to have a separate representative assembly was rejected by a referendum in Wales in 1979. In 1997 a further referendum voted narrowly in favour of a representative assembly with limited powers.
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Cite this article
"Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PlaidCymru.html "Plaid Cymru." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PlaidCymru.html |
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Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) Welsh nationalist political party, founded in 1925 as Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru. A Plaid Cymru representative was first elected to the House of Commons in 1966. It advocates Welsh independence (from the United Kingdom) within the European Union.
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Cite this article
"Plaid Cymru." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Plaid Cymru." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-PlaidCymru.html "Plaid Cymru." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-PlaidCymru.html |
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