THIS weekend’s Welsh Labour Conference in Llandudno takes place at a crucial time with Welsh Labour languishing in third place in the polls behind Plaid Cymru (30 per cent) and Reform UK (25 per cent) with the Senedd elections looming in May 2026.

Last month, First Minister Eluned Morgan described Welsh Labour’s core values as “solidarity, equality, sustainability, and justice” and stated that this was the “Red Welsh Way.”

This was widely recognised as an attempt to resurrect the Welsh Labour mantra of “Clear Red Water” between it and Westminster (regardless of political shade of the UK government).

Many Welsh activists believe that while Starmer’s government continues to shift to the right to counter Reform, Morgan has concluded that the only way to defeat Reform next year is to stand firm in the left of centre.

But is it too little, too late? And can Morgan motivate party activists to mobilise to get out the vote next year? The change of tack also shows that two Labour governments working together is not having a wholly positive effect on the lives of the people of Wales, totally undermining the message which returned a Labour government to Westminster.

UK Labour’s planned benefit cuts will have a disproportionately negative impact on Wales.

Its legacy of heavy industry, the number of families living in poverty, and the long-term impact of Covid — the old mantra that Wales is proportionally older, sicker, and poorer — means that 6.1 per cent of the population directly receive disability benefits.

Along with Starmer’s refusal to lift children out of poverty by abolishing the two-child cap, such attacks on working-class people have meant that the traditional link to Labour in Wales has been cut and Plaid Cymru are benefiting directly, along with Reform.

Former first minister Mark Drakeford won his leadership campaign, and the last election, on the basis that Welsh Labour perform better when it is not outflanked from the left.

This led to radical commitments that won a majority in the Senedd, eg a National Care Service, Council Tax reform and extend funding to allow universal primary free school meals.

But only the latter commitment has been delivered and Welsh Labour’s radical past policies such as free prescriptions, the Future Generations Act and the preservation of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) are no longer enough to retain loyalty as standards of living in Wales continue to fall.

Can the conference be a watershed moment in the development of a sufficiently radical manifesto to win the hearts and minds of activists and voters alike? With a maximum of only four resolutions from 32 constituencies and a further nine from trade unions and affiliates, the current health of Labour activism is arguably at a generational low.

That said, there are good opportunities to start moving Welsh Labour towards a more radical agenda.

Every Welsh council has voted to demand the devolvement of the Crown Estate so that its revenue can be retained and spent in Wales. This is already devolved in Scotland and UK Labour’s refusal to grant the same to Wales is a source of deep resentment.

Resolutions from Cardiff North CLP and Unison call for fairer funding for Wales and includes the devolvement of the Crown Estate. This would make a massive difference to Wales, given that the current funding formula is grossly unfair and has led to (for example) Wales effectively losing £4bn to fund HS2, a project from which Wales receives no benefit.

A resolution from Unite aims to build on a radical green agenda and SHA Cymru/ 
Socialist Health Association Wales is calling for radical changes in the management of primary care.

Delegates will also be expecting Morgan’s new front bench to announce radical initiatives to be incorporated into the manifesto, but this is only one half of the equation.
The other half is what we can do now, not later.

Welsh Labour is currently the party of government in Wales, but frankly, in the face of Plaid on the left, Reform in the populist space and a UK Labour at the other end of the M4, it is not acting like it.

Recent steps have sought to address this. The “Red Welsh Way” is an attempt to re-establish a “from Wales, for Wales” identity that is incredibly popular with voters, and delivering on key targets does help cement the message of delivery, but it is our very incumbency that may be the greatest challenge.

Our party needs to be agile, and it needs to be the party of labour in Wales — by that, we mean the party of Welsh workers.

That means being vocal and being proud in standing up for Wales — not backing down in the face of Westminster hegemony. The party must realise that it is popular, Starmer is not.

So, our free prescription for the electoral woes of Welsh Labour is the same guiding principle that has held true in Wales for generations — be radical, be bold, and be fierce advocates for Wales — and more than that, demonstrate why that advocacy works.

Because in theory, we can deliver what Plaid and Reform cannot but all too often Westminster is our biggest hurdle, rather than our biggest catalyst for change.

Welsh Labour Grassroots will be looking to continue to advance socialist policies at what has historically been the conference’s best attended fringe meeting, on Saturday June 28 at The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, from 6pm. Socialist politicians will be in the line-up, and a special welcome will be reserved for Steve Witherden MP, who won Montgomeryshire for Labour for the first time in history and immediately became a vocal member of the Socialist Campaign Group.

Jackie Owen and Dylan Lewis-Rowlands are co-chairs of WLG (Welsh Labour Grassroots).