A Sit Down: Archism, the Rejoin Movement, and Wales

The Leader of Volt Cymru has overseen a meteoric rise, and an immense legislative agenda, and he isn't done yet.

Today I have the pleasure of sitting down to speak with the Leader of Volt Cymru, who has seen a meteoric rise in their pro-EU, pro-devolution, broad tent party, who just one year ago was only on 0.60% in the polls, and has since won nearly 13% of the vote in the most recent party.

So, Archism_, it's good to have you. First things first, what do you make of the rise of Volt in Welsh politics, and why do you think you're appealing to voters?

Noswaith dda, it's a pleasure to be here, thanks for having me on.

It's a simple fact that Wales was a beneficiary of EU membership, and the economic hardship we've faced after having hundreds of millions of Euros in investment and development spending cut off, with entirely insufficient replacement spending from London, has been hard evidence for people in Wales that EU membership was good for Wales on balance. Welsh people see that leaving was one of the most disastrous mistakes of our time, and are gathering in quick-growing numbers to set that wrong right.

Volt is the only party voters can trust on the promise to work towards getting back into Europe. But we're also not a one-issue party. We've presented full and robust manifestos targeting genuine social change, proposals to make the justice system just, and commitments to take on the problems of the modern day like climate change and digital rights, to make sure Wales is ready for the century to come.

Finally, I think it's fair to say that compared to all the focus on politicking and slinging of insults back and forth by the established Welsh parties in recent months, the voters have approved of Volt's approach—that is, avoiding the petty arguments and getting straight to work, actually achieving commitments and actually shaping Welsh policy for the better. That's what we're here for.

On the topic of 'getting straight to work' as you say, you perhaps have had an oversized influence on legislation, with more Bills passed in the last year than any other opposition party. Even now, you have 3 bills, and 2 motions on the Business Paper.

What do you think enables a party like Volt to work so effectively as not only a legislator, but in cooperating with other parties to get your Bills passed?

Well, I'd first like to credit my fellow party members, I'm very lucky to be joined in Volt by other proficient and energetic legislators. By our powers combined Volt has a team that can punch well above its weight. That's a combination of both experience in the field and simple drive to do better for our constituents.

Volt is also strategically placed, in the ecosystem of the Senedd. The fact is that unless Llafur and Plaid Cymru can play nice and agree on something (in which case it's likely something that will see broad general support anyway), the only viable majorities include Volt. That gives us significant negotiating power, and we'll leverage every drop of it to get the absolute best deal for the Welsh voter possible.

That is helped, of course, by our very functional relationships across the spectrum of Welsh politics. I consider myself fortunate to have friends all around the Senedd, and those strong bonds with other politicians that I deeply respect (even when we might disagree) only help shape the future of Wales into something better defined and more well-rounded.

This strategic placement was perhaps most apparent in the recent Government formation talks, where I presume both Plaid Cymru and Llafur made efforts to try and bring you in. The strong relationships with your colleagues if perhaps why you chose to not enter any Cabinet this term, considering as you say, you have strong leverage either way. You have settled for perhaps a more timid approach in offering Confidence and Supply to Llafur, which leaves you much more open to disagreement with them.

Nevertheless, do you think your agreement with Llafur and the Loonies has perhaps brought you further into politicking, or are there genuine policy goals you see as only achievable through them instead of under Zakian?

We did have good talks with both parties. I did and still do consider both Llafur and Plaid as very viable coalition partners for Volt. This term, we as a party decided that we could better deliver on our manifesto commitments if we were focused on our own business rather than making any major compromises for CCR. The position the voters gave us allows Volt to achieve our legislative aims while acting as an uncompromised agent to consider the merits of policies originating from other parties, a watchdog to keep both government and opposition on task.

I wouldn't say our agreement has done anything like that, and the evidence shows when you see Volt's party messaging and our presence on the business paper compared to the government and official opposition.

I have nothing but respect for Zakian, and I would be more than willing to go into a Plaid Cymru government again in the future. Both parties had some good ideas that we would be happy to collaborate on, but going into this term, the two things Wales needed most from their government were an actively engaged cabinet and a foundational and functional budget. My determination was that this government would better deliver on those two points, and from my experience so far working with the Finance Minister and others in the clean slate budget working group, my confidence remains strong in that decision.

Moving onto the Budget, especially considering the clean slate proposal, there has been some controversy over changing tax plans and what spending can be achieved.

Taking into account that it seems like spending could very well be tight, what would Volt want out the Budget, and what avenues would you like the Government to take on the matters of revenue raising and the like?

Of course you have already mentioned that losing the funding and investment from the European Union has created further budgetary constraints.

The single most important thing the coming budget needs to do is set up the foundations well, so that this and future Welsh governments have an easier time producing clear, comprehensive, quality budgets. That means making sure no funding obligations are missing, making sure all revenues and expenses are properly accounted for, and all in a way that is easy to adjust and easy for the opposition to inspect, so they can do their job holding the government to account. That is what the Clean Slate is about, and I hope it will continue to see broad support across the Senedd.

Once that is accomplished, we will have sturdy ground to build on. We will have much more to say on tax and spending in the second budget of this term where non-status quo policy will be advanced. The Volt manifesto called for a 5% reduction in the basic rate of income tax, something we'll continue to argue for (and something we propose to balance out in part with an empty-homes rate on LVT). Volt has also been in talks with the Welsh government about other taxation measures which I may not be at liberty to share right now, but should become news soon enough. Of course, we'll also want to make sure Volt policies get the funding they need to work, so you can expect us to push for spending on the North Wales Tech Incubator, a debt amnesty fund, free school meals, and other key promises.

We understand the budget will be reasonably tight, and Volt is a party of compromise and cooperation. But ultimately no budget going forward from the clean slate can expect Volt Cymru support without fair compromise in return.

It sounds like you truly do have a firm vision set out for the term, and as such I look forward to hearing more from you throughout the term.

That's all I have time for today, thanks for chatting!