IN THE words of a famous writer and politician, “What is to be done?”

We have seen the electoral and political rise of the populist right across Britain — but they seem to be targeting Wales specifically.

For those of you unfortunate enough to know of the existence of Andrew RT Davies, then you are all too aware that the populist right precedes Nigel Farage (and, for that matter, Davies) — but Farage represents a new threat here in Wales.

It is no accident Farage launched his general election campaign in Merthyr Tydfil. Neither is it an accident that Reform UK Wales now seems to be a thing, having held a conference recently.

Farage is targeting us, and if the general election results are anything to go by — Reform UK came second in 11 seats Labour won — then the targeting is working.

Communities feel left behind and, quite frankly, they are right. Deindustrialisation driven by the neoliberal consensus has devastated communities in the past and in the present, and the current system is not offering a solution.

Whether it be the mining communities of the 1980s or Port Talbot today, communities are being failed by an economic system and by the parties unwilling to challenge it. The loss of steelmaking in Port Talbot was not inevitable.

It was the result of profiteering by companies and lack of ambition by the Tories and Labour — constrained by their own self-imposed fiscal rules that have changed nine times since 1997 and were recently changed again. This abandonment of our communities is a political choice, not an economic reality.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Farage is, quite rightly, terrifying political leaders and activists on the left and the centre. A choice is ahead of us, the same choice that we have always faced: socialism or barbarism.

If the Democrats support a genocidal regime in the US (and similar but waning support from Britain) and their general tack to the right teaches us anything, it is that you don’t fight Farage by becoming Farage — you fight him and others like him with the most powerful tool available to us; hope.

Now, I do believe the best counter to Farage in Wales is Welsh Labour, based on pure political arithmetic. Welsh Labour Grassroots exists for the very purpose of dragging Welsh Labour to the left — sometimes willingly, often kicking and screaming.

It is my genuine belief that a left-wing Welsh Labour is the only electoral counter to Farage. But the true battle against the populist right happens every day in our communities and workplaces — and it is there we win or lose.

Community and workplace activism is more important now than ever before as neoliberal capitalism tacks ever more authoritarian in a bid to stave off the next crisis, it is in our communities and workplaces where we plant the seeds of hope.

We need Welsh Labour to deliver; we have about 15 months to eschew the navel-gazing of the past few months and begin delivering for the people of Wales. The rightward shift by UK Labour is destroying support for Welsh Labour.

Decisions like the cutting of the Winter Fuel Payment hit particularly hard in a sicker, older, poorer Wales. The seemingly managed decline of the once-proud Steel industry of Wales, an industry vital for a future in which we survive climate change, will hit us hard at the ballot box in May 2026.

Then there is the continued disgrace over the lack of Barnett consequentials for HS2 here in Wales, the refusal to introduce a Wealth Tax, the crisis in our NHS, and the effects of 15 long years of Tory austerity.

Wales is at a crisis point, and middle-managerial capitalist-style politics will not save us. In fact, it will doom us.

So, Welsh Labour faces a choice — socialism or barbarism. We can acquiesce to the pressures of capital, or we can refuse — we can choose to not go gentle into that good night. We need radical action now.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what exactly that action is. We hear a lot about “bread and butter” issues; maybe the answer is fixing waiting lists, bringing down wait times, or similar. I certainly think doing those things is vital.

But we need more than “we can manage neoliberal capitalism better than they can.” We need to inject hope into our communities and workplaces. The housing crisis is devastating young, old, LGBT+, Bame, and everyone in our communities.

I fully believe we must introduce rent controls in this Senedd term, not because they are the full answer, but because it buys us time and gives people hope so we can implement the real solution: more council housing.

I fully believe we need to pressure the Labour government into giving us our fair share of the Barnett consequentials from HS2, and unless it’s in the billions, not millions, we shouldn’t relent.

We have been told the best thing for a Welsh Labour government to deliver for the people of Wales is a UK Labour government in Westminster. It’s time to prove that statement right.

We must be fierce advocates for Wales. We must demand, we must deliver. Because otherwise, we will fail. Together, we can do this. The choice is before us: socialism or barbarism. I know which I choose — do you?