Opinion columnist Simon Jenkins argues he would vote for Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, in next week's Senedd election. His reasoning centers on Welsh independence, which he says the party's leader supports but fails to emphasize publicly.
Jenkins contends Wales possesses the natural resources, towns, and talent to become the UK's wealthiest region outside London. Instead, it ranks among the poorest. Welsh GDP growth has run at barely half of England's rate for 25 years, and per-capita GDP lags significantly behind other UK nations.
Jenkins attributes Wales's economic underperformance to its political status. He advocates for independence as the path to reversing this trajectory, though he criticizes Plaid Cymru's leadership for not campaigning more assertively on that core platform. The columnist, who spends roughly one-fifth of each year in Wales, frames his endorsement as rooted in the country's untapped economic potential rather than cultural nationalism alone.
The piece appears ahead of Welsh parliamentary elections, positioning independence and devolved economic policy as central election issues.