AN ESTIMATED 6,000 people marched through the streets of Wales’s biggest town at the weekend to call for independence. 

The march in the Barry was organised by YesCymru and AUOBCymru. 

Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, Catalan campaigner Anna Arque i Solsona, political activist Kiera Marshall, Wales Green Party spokeswoman Tessa Marshall and singer-songwriter Eadyth Crawford addressed the subsequent rally in King Square.

Since 2019, thousands have taken part in independence marches across Wales, including in Cardiff which saw 10,000 people attend.

Recent polling has found that 41 per cent of people would vote for independence, rising to 72 per cent among 25- to 34-year-olds. 

Kiera Marshall, a 27-year-old activist from Swansea, said: “How can we afford not to be independent? The UK system keeps us poor while our children go hungry and cold. 

“We are the generation bearing the brunt of this system — but we are also the generation who will change it.

“I cannot wait to stand here again one day, not in protest but in celebration of a free and fair Wales.”

YesCymru chairman Phyl Griffiths said: “What we’ve seen today in Barry is a reflection of the mood across Wales: people are ready for change and independence is no longer a fringe idea. 

“It’s a serious, hopeful response to a broken system.

“We’re seeing growing support, especially among younger generations who’ve had enough of being told Wales is too small or too poor. 

“We know better, and today thousands of people showed that we’re ready to take our future into our own hands.”