A new poll of 1007 voters from across Wales by ITV Cymru / YouGov continues to reflect the so-so fortunes of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist party. After a decade of mediocre election results, and an unexpectedly dire performance at the 2011 polls under charismatic new leader Leanne Wood, the Welsh Nationalists were seen as being very much on the back-foot, squeezed from Left and Right by the Labour Party and the Conservatives. Though the latest opinion poll (along with some recent local election results) offers some crumbs of comfort the party’s failure to connect with people outside of its core vote continues to hamper growth.
“Senedd Constituency Vote (change from 2011 vote)
Labour 46% (+4%)
Conservative 21% (-4%)
Plaid Cymru 17% (-2%)
Lib Dems 10% (-1%)
UKIP 5% (+5%)
Others 2% (-1%)
Senedd Regional Vote (change from 2011 vote)
Labour 26% (-11%)
Plaid Cymru 26% (+8%)
Conservative 14% (-9%)
UKIP 13% (+8%)
Lib Dems 11% (+3%)
Others 11% (+2%)
British Parliament Vote (change from 2010 vote)
Labour 51% (+15%)
Conservative 22% (-4%)
Plaid Cymru 10% (-1%)
Lib Dem 9% (-11%)
UKIP 7% (+5%)
Others 2% (-2%)”
In some slightly better news, Plaid has seen a surge in party funding. In 2011 it received a frankly paltry £27,067 from public donations. However 2012 saw a 262% jump to £97,917, a far more realistic “income” for a national political party in Wales. In part that may be down to Leanne Wood’s more progressively nationalist (and Left-leaning) leadership which seems to have a greater appeal with already convinced Nationalist voters. Notably the party has seen greater popularity amongst the under-25s in recent polling.
However Plaid Cymru’s inability to make much headway into prising apart the Labour Party’s seemingly iron grip on nearly half the Welsh electorate remains the single biggest stumbling block to future growth. Unless they can emulate the success of the SNP in taking away votes from Labour the party will remain in a position of relative weakness.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
A new poll of 1007 voters from across Wales by ITV Cymru / YouGov continues to reflect the so-so fortunes of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist party. After a decade of mediocre election results, and an unexpectedly dire performance at the 2011 polls under charismatic new leader Leanne Wood, the Welsh Nationalists were seen as being very much on the back-foot, squeezed from Left and Right by the Labour Party and the Conservatives. Though the latest opinion poll (along with some recent local election results) offers some crumbs of comfort the party’s failure to connect with people outside of its core vote continues to hamper growth.
In some slightly better news, Plaid has seen a surge in party funding. In 2011 it received a frankly paltry £27,067 from public donations. However 2012 saw a 262% jump to £97,917, a far more realistic “income” for a national political party in Wales. In part that may be down to Leanne Wood’s more progressively nationalist (and Left-leaning) leadership which seems to have a greater appeal with already convinced Nationalist voters. Notably the party has seen greater popularity amongst the under-25s in recent polling.
However Plaid Cymru’s inability to make much headway into prising apart the Labour Party’s seemingly iron grip on nearly half the Welsh electorate remains the single biggest stumbling block to future growth. Unless they can emulate the success of the SNP in taking away votes from Labour the party will remain in a position of relative weakness.
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