Plaid Cymru at a glance

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Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru — the Party of Wales
Plaid Cymru, founded in 1925, is a Welsh nationalist party that advocates for the independence of Wales within the European Union. It follows a social democratic orientation focused on social justice, economic prosperity, and the protection of the Welsh language and culture.
History and Origin of Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru was founded in 1925 to promote the Welsh language and culture and to achieve the political independence of Wales. Initially, the party focused on cultural issues but later developed into a political force with the aim of establishing Wales as an independent nation within Europe. A significant milestone was in 1966 when Gwynfor Evans was elected as the first Member of Parliament from the party to the British Parliament.
Political Orientation and Main Goals
The party positions itself as social democratic and advocates for social justice, economic prosperity, and ecological sustainability. A central concern is the independence of Wales within the European Union. In addition, Plaid Cymru promotes the Welsh language and culture and strives for a fairer distribution of resources as well as the decentralization of political power.
Political orientation
Conservative
Social
Market
Progressive
Position on the EU
Anti-EU
Pro-EU

Positions and stances

Position 2024
Position 2019
Economy & state
Should income and wealth be redistributed?
Pro redistribution
Against redistribution
How should the state use a budget surplus?
Invest
Reduce debt and cut taxes
Should the local economy be protected?
Free global trade
Protect the local economy
Society & values
What matters more: freedom or security?
Maximum freedom
Security
Should gender equality for women be actively promoted?
Support
Oppose
Should equality for LGBTQ+ people be actively promoted?
Support
Oppose
Should same-sex marriage be legal?
In favour
Against
What role should religion play in politics?
Separation of church and state
Close link between church and state
Should policy focus on cities or rural areas?
Focus on cities
Focus on rural areas
Environment & globalization
What matters more: the environment or the economy?
Environmental protection matters more than economic growth
Economic growth matters more than environmental protection
What matters more: climate action or the economy?
Climate action matters more than economic growth
Economic growth matters more than climate action
Migration & integration
How should immigration policy be regulated?
Open
Strict
How should immigrant integration work?
Multicultural society
Homogeneous society
Should ethnic minorities have more rights?
More rights
Fewer rights
What role should nation-states play?
An open world without borders
Strong nation-states
Democracy & institutions
How should power be distributed?
Distributed power
Strong ruler/leader
How independent should the judiciary be?
Fully independent
Dependent on government
How should the state be organized: federal or centralized?
Federalism
Centralization
Parties in United Kingdom compared
Policy positions of all parties at a glance

Issue priorities

The chart shows which issues matter most to the party. The further out a point is, the higher the importance.

Historical election results

Plaid Cymru: Historical election results in United Kingdom

Historical participation in government since 1945

Historical participation in government since 1945
Led the government
In government
No government participation so far
0

Total cabinets

Total duration: -
0

Cabinets led

Total duration: -
0

Coalition participation

Total duration: -
0%

Overall share of time in government

The party was part of the government for 0% of the possible time in office.

Sources of data and information

PolitPro

PolitPro brings together scientific data and current poll results to make politics tangible for everyone. We use datasets from leading research projects and complement them with our own research, analyses, and algorithms. This allows us to make complex political contexts accessible and easy to understand. Supported by AI.

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ParlGov – Parliamentary Democracy Data

Long-running research data from the University of Bremen. It documents political parties and governments and enables systematic political comparison.
More
Döring, Holger and Philip Manow. 2024. Parliaments and governments database (ParlGov): Information on parties, elections and cabinets in established democracies.

CHES – Chapel Hill Expert Survey

Europe’s most important expert survey on party positions. More than 400 political scientists from different countries assess party positions based on scientific criteria.
More
Rovny, Jan, Ryan Bakker, Liesbet Hooghe, Seth Jolly, Gary Marks, Jonathan Polk, Marco Steenbergen, and Milada Vachudova. “25 Years of Political Party Positions in Europe: The Chapel Hill Expert Survey, 1999-2024,”