52% of Welsh people believe Plaid Cymru are the best party to stand up for Wales, but for many the party retains its image as being primarily for Welsh speakers
Plaid Cymru was founded on 5 August 1925. Since then, the Welsh nationalist party has played key roles in promoting the Welsh language and the successful campaign for Welsh devolution, alongside gaining their first MP in 1966 and having sat in the Welsh government from 2007 to 2011 as part of a coalition with Labour. But on their 100th birthday, what do the people of Wales really think of the self-proclaimed party of Wales?
Plaid Cymru are the most positively viewed party in Wales, with nearly half of Welsh people (46%) having a favourable opinion of the party, compared to 36% having an unfavourable view, giving them a positive net favourability rating of +10.
This compares to ratings of -1 and -3 for the Greens and Lib Dems respectively, with 38% of Welsh people having a favourable view of either party, and net scores of -28 and -30 for Reform UK and Labour, with 30% having positive opinions of either party.
The Conservatives are the least favourably viewed party in Wales, with 70% having a negative view of the party, relative to just 19% seeing the Tories in a favourable light, creating a net score of -51.
Plaid Cymru’s relatively strong favourability ratings extend beyond their own base, with nearly two thirds of 2024 Welsh Labour voters (64%) having a positive view of the party, compared to just 24% seeing the party in a negative light.
One in five Welsh Conservative and Reform UK voters (19-20%) also have positive opinions of Plaid Cymru, though this is against 69-74% seeing the party unfavourably.
How do Welsh people see Plaid Cymru?
In terms of particular attributes, Welsh people are more likely to say Plaid Cymru has a clear sense of purpose (33%) than are unclear what they stand for (25%), and more likely to describe the party as moderate (32%) than extreme (20%).
But Welsh people are split over whether Plaid Cymru is competent (27%) or incompetent (26%), and whether the party is trustworthy (28%) or untrustworthy (26%). And they are more likely to hold negative views than positive ones in terms of feeling the party is out of touch (34%) rather than in touch (24%), as well as serving their own interest (34%) rather than trying to do the right thing (29%).
Despite attempts to broaden their appeal and appear as more of a general left-of-centre party for all people in Wales, just 26% of Welsh people see the party this way, less than the 35% who still see it in its more historic role as a specialist party for Welsh-language speakers.
But this attitude does look to be somewhat generational. While 50% of Welsh over 65s see the party as a party for Welsh speakers, this falls to 27% among 25-49 year olds and 14% among 16-24 year olds, 37% of whom instead see Plaid Cymru as a party for all Welsh people.
Who do Welsh people see Plaid Cymru as caring about?
Indeed, the fact Plaid Cymru care about Welsh-language speakers is widely accepted, with 80% of Welsh people, including 89% of fluent Welsh speakers, saying the party cares at least a fair amount about the group. Around two thirds (68%) also see the party as caring about people born in Wales, a sharp contrast to the 19% who feel the party cares about those born in England (a group who make up 21% of the Welsh population).
Both of these divides can also be seen by looking at whether people feel Plaid Cymru cares about ‘people like you’. Six in ten fluent Welsh speakers (60%) say the party cares about people like them, compared to just 21% of non-Welsh speakers, while 36% of those born in Wales feel Plaid Cymru is interested in them, relative to 20% of Welsh people born in the rest of the UK.
Younger Welsh people are more likely to feel that Plaid Cymru cares about them, with 46% of 16-24 year olds saying so, compared to just 24% of over 65s. Plaid Cymru also has something of a middle-class lean, with 36% of ABC1s (those classed as living in middle class households) feeling the party cares for people like them, versus 27% of C2DEs (those categorised as being in working class households).
Which issues do Welsh people believe Plaid Cymru are best on?
While Plaid Cymru might have a broadly favourable image, and be leading in our most recent voting intention for next year’s Senedd election, they are not seen as the best party on many of the key issues in Welsh politics.
Just 10% of Welsh people see Plaid Cymru as the best party on the NHS, behind Labour on 19% and Reform UK on 16%, while only 6% believe Plaid is best placed to handle the economy, behind Labour on 17%, Reform UK on 16% and the Conservatives on 11%.
A mere 5% of Welsh people believe Plaid Cymru are the best party on immigration, compared to 30% saying so of Reform UK, while just 7% view Plaid Cymru as the party that would handle the environment best, compared to 34% who give that title to the Greens.
There are, though, two exceptions among the issues polled. Six in ten Welsh people (61%) believe that Plaid Cymru are the best party on the Welsh language, ten times as many who said any other party, while half of Welsh adults (52%) feel they are party best able to stand up for Wales, ahead of Reform UK on just 11%.
A belief that Plaid Cymru are best placed to stand up for Wales is held by at least a sizeable minority of voters for all major parties. Six in ten 2024 Welsh Labour voters (60%) see Plaid Cymru as the best party at standing up for Wales, relative to just 17% who say of Labour. A third of 2024 Welsh Conservative voters (32%) also give the title to Plaid Cymru, ahead of 22% awarding it to the Conservatives and 20% to Reform UK.
While 2024 Reform UK voters are most likely to say Reform UK are best placed to stand up for Wales (46%), a quarter (25%) identify Plaid Cymru at doing so.
See the full results here, here and here
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