{"id":1062,"date":"2020-05-20T14:08:59","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T13:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2022-04-13T17:25:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T16:25:09","slug":"drakeford-nationalism-and-welsh-political-traditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/drakeford-nationalism-and-welsh-political-traditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Drakeford, Nationalism and Welsh Political Traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, First Minister Mark Drakeford caused controversy with\ncomments he made about the nature of nationalism. In an interview with the\nBBC\u2019s Nick Robinson<\/a>, Drakeford was asked whether he thought the best chance\nof achieving socialism in Wales was to adopt a nationalist position. Drakeford\nresponded by declaring that nationalism is \u201can inherently right-wing creed that\noperates by persuading people that they are<\/em> because they are against\nwhat somebody else is<\/em>\u201d. He argued that devolution was the \u201cbest of both\nworlds\u201d, allowing Wales to remain part of the United Kingdom \u201cand draw on the\nstrength of being part of that collective whole\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not a new rejection of nationalism by Mark\nDrakeford. In fact, the headline from his Keir\nHardie Lecture in 2019<\/a> expressed this position: \u201cNeither Nationalism nor\nPopulism will secure Wales the future it deserves\u201d. In that speech, Drakeford\ninsisted that nationalism pits \u201cworking people against each other, based on the\naccident of geography, rather than drawing them together in a common cause\u201d.\nEchoing Aneurin\nBevan\u2019s infamous sheep comments<\/a>, Drakeford sought to not divide different\nparts of the UK:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course there are struggles which need to be fought. But the struggle is not between working people in Merthyr and Middlesbrough, but between the powerful and privileged and those who are held back in a society marred by deep and deliberate inequality.<\/p>

And that struggle is fatally undermined when it is diverted and diluted into the divisive dogmas of nationalism.\u201d<\/p>Mark Drakeford, 2019 Keir Hardie Lecture<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Drakeford\u2019s comments echo views that have been expressed by\nmany in the Labour Party. For instance, during the Twitter storm that followed\nDrakeford\u2019s comments, Rhondda\nMP Chris Bryant responded<\/a> to a post that insisted nationalism and socialism\nwere not mutually exclusive. Bryant wrote: \u201cThat whole nationalist socialist\nthing didn\u2019t go too well in Germany did it?\u201d. Nationalism + socialism =\nNational Socialism has been a common accusation by Labour Party politicians.\nRichard Wyn Jones has highlighted these persistent accusations against\nnationalists in Wales, from the likes of Ness Edwards, Leo Abse, Kim Howells\nand even Jim Griffiths, a prominent advocate of devolution[1]<\/a>.\nYet, despite efforts to challenge the accusations linking Welsh nationalists\nwith fascism, it appears that some Labour politicians continue to harbour such\nviews on their opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In 2007, Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru formed the ‘One Wales’ Coalition
Image source: BBC<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In 2007, Welsh Labour was confronted with a situation\nwhereby they needed the help of the nationalists to form a government. As David\nMoon has detailed[2]<\/a>,\nthis led to much wrangling and debate within Welsh Labour, with the views of those\nopposed to nationalism becoming prominent again. Yet, differences were put\naside when Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru formed the \u2018One Wales\u2019 coalition government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debates within Wales over the nature and validity of\nnationalism have persisted in Welsh political thought for a long time. Many\npoliticians, activists and political thinkers have wrestled with the question\nof combining the twin ideas of radical politics with the idea of Wales as a\nnation. Yet, despite the experience of coalition government, the accusations\nhave continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only is the dismissal of nationalism as an inherently\nright-wing ideology problematic[3]<\/a>,\nbut in making these comments, Drakeford and Bryant are dismissing those in\nWales, both outside and inside the Labour Party, who have made serious attempts\nto adopt both socialism and nationalism as part of their politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Socialism and Nationalism in Wales<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
One of the leading Welsh-language authors, Kate Roberts described herself as a socialist.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Outside the Labour Party several figures have over the years\narticulated a socialist understanding of the world around them while insisting\non the need to acknowledge forms of Welsh culture, language and identity. Within\nPlaid Cymru, for example, a number of socialists became prominent in the party,\nsuch as D.J. Williams and the author Kate Roberts. As Laura McAllister has\nnoted, although the party did not officially commit to socialism until 1981,\n\u201cit is fair to describe Plaid as socialist-inclined for most of the post-war\nperiod\u201d[4]<\/a>.\nMore recently, of course, former Plaid leader Leanne Wood has\nput socialism at the heart of her politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Gwyn Alf Williams envisioned a Welsh socialist republic
Image source: Wikipedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the twentieth century, politicians, activists, historians and philosophers have grappled with the twin concerns of nation and class. As Douglas Jones has demonstrated, throughout its history Welsh members of the Communist Party of Great Britain attempted to put Wales at the heart of its socialism[5]<\/a>. Within the New Left tradition in Britain, Raymond Williams also wrote of the interplay between socialism, culture and national identity[6]<\/a>. The historian Gwyn Alf Williams is another notable figure on the left who saw the struggle for socialism and Welsh freedom as intrinsically linked. Writing in Marxism Today <\/em>in 1982<\/a> during the midst of Thatcherism in Britain, he declared:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor it has become evident to me in this, the worst crisis which my people, my nation and my socialism have faced, that the only honourable and worthwhile objective, however distant it now seems, for a Welsh socialist or a socialist in Wales who commits herself or himself to Wales, is a socialist republic of Wales, anchored among its sister socialist republics of the island of Britain, themselves anchored in their European reality\u201d.<\/p>Gwyn Alf Williams writing in 1982.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Martin Wright has documented figures within the labour\nmovement during the late 1800s to early 1900s who fused national sentiments and\nsocialism together[7]<\/a>. Examples\ninclude the likes of Sam Mainwaring, one of the founders of the Socialist League,\nwho attempted \u201cto graft socialist feeling and ideology onto Welsh national\nidentity\u201d in the late 1880s. The poet R.J. Derfel, whose work often\ndemonstrated the complicated interplay between socialism and nationalism, wrote\nthat nationalist patriotism would continue to be relevant under socialism:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPatriotism of some type, I think, is bound to continue under socialism. I fail to see that any type of socialism asks me not to be a Welshman. The duty of every country is to organise its own house first, and after that help others, if it can. If it were possible to mix up all the nations together to make one nation out of the lot, I don\u2019 t think anything would be gained. But that is impossible. What is needed is unity in diversity\u201d[8]<\/a>.<\/p>R.J. Derfel<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Wright wrote that from 1906-onward socialists \u201csought to\nappropriate the politics of Welsh nationalism\u201d. A distinction was made between \u2018spurious\nnationalism\u2019 and \u2018true nationalism\u2019. True nationalism represented an attempt by\nsocialists to \u201cresolve an overarching tension between the universal, the\nnational and the local that was inherent in the adoption of their doctrine\u201d[9]<\/a>.\nWright then referenced Keir Hardie\u2019s use of \u2018pan-Celticism\u2019 and Hardie\u2019s call\nfor \u201cthe red dragon of Wales\u2026emblazoned on the red flag of socialism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
T.E. Nicholas and D.J. Williams at a CND rally.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Other socialists of this period such as the poet T.E.\nNicholas (\u2018Niclas y Glais\u2019) combined a belief in socialism with a form of Welsh\nnationalism. As David\nHowell concluded<\/a>, Nicholas \u201chad spent his life championing causes he held\ndear, those of pacifism, the international brotherhood of mankind and a world\nfree from poverty, greed and oppression. While he was above all committed to\nuniversal brotherhood, this did not prevent him from being at the same time a\nfervent Welsh patriot\u201d. It is clear to see then that to these thinkers,\nnationalism was certainly not a right-wing creed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Labour Party and Welsh Nationalism<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Although a number of the above figures would have rejected its\npolitics[10]<\/a>, their\nconcerns have also been shared by figures within the Labour Party. A vocal\ngroup of MPs and activists pressed for the party to adopt policies relating to\nHome Rule for Wales or for a Welsh Parliament, injecting into their politics concerns\nover national identity. In 1950 when the Parliament for Wales Campaign was\nestablished, it was supported by a number of Labour MPs: S.O. Davies, Cledwyn\nHughes, Goronwy Roberts, T.W. Jones and Tudor Watkins[11]<\/a>.\nMegan Lloyd George was President of the campaign. Although a Liberal MP at the\ntime the campaign was launched, she later defected to the Labour Party in 1956.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
S.O. Davies and Goronwy Roberts. Labour MPs who argued for the recognition of Welsh difference.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

S.O. Davies was a forceful advocate of the need to combine\nprinciples of socialism with an acknowledgement of Welsh cultural difference. There\nwas certainly a patriotic element to his politics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are \u2013 and I do not apologise for it \u2013 a proud people. What is equally important, we are a nation of workers. Our whole history shows a high degree of political consciousness. We know our country and we love it. We have no alternative than to demand the largest measure of self-government\u201d[12]<\/a>.<\/p>S.O. Davies speaking in 1948.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yet, his advocacy of a Welsh Parliament also had practical\nimplications for the creation of socialism in Wales. He argued that the\nnationalisation structures created by the Attlee government had led to the\ndominance of the civil service. Recognition of Wales as a distinct economic and\npolitical entity would \u201cease the pressure at Westminster in order that\nparliamentary democracy can work again\u201d[13]<\/a>.\nEchoing the sentiments of the likes of R.J. Derfel and T.E. Nicholas, Davies linked\nWelsh patriotism to a wider international struggle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have no quarrel with any people or nation in this world. We are instinctively hospitable and we are a nation of workers. We can feel no enmity against any other people or nation, whatever their colour, creed or religion. We abhor the swashbuckling, fire-eating speeches which we had in this House, and as a Welsh nation we repudiate their sentiments. The heart of our hospitable country goes out to those who are struggling against tyranny and against obstruction, because we know that obstruction has been placed in the way of this little country to which I am proud to belong\u201d[14]<\/a>.<\/p>S.O. Davies in 1953.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Far from being a right-wing creed, many figures throughout\nthe labour movement in Wales have seen nationalist sentiment as being a fundamental\npart of their socialism. The ideas presented above were not based on the\n\u2018narrow nationalism\u2019 rejected by Welsh socialists but on improving the material\nconditions of people in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many will of course disagree with the strategy of these thinkers;\nvarious people on the left in Wales would argue that it is in Westminster where\nthe levers of economic power are held and are most effective. The Attlee\ngovernment and the establishment of the welfare state have arguably\ndemonstrated this. A case can also be made that nationalism has been taken on\nby politicians adopting a more inward-looking and xenophobic politics based on chauvinism\nand the splitting of the nation from international cooperation. But the idea\nthat nationalism is inherently<\/em> right-wing has been challenged by\nsocialists within Wales and more importantly within Drakeford\u2019s own party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to the onset of devolution in Wales and we can\nnote Rhodri Morgan\u2019s attempts to emphasise the Welsh in Welsh Labour. Throughout\nhis time as First Minister, Morgan invoked a specifically Welsh <\/em>radical\ntradition. In his \u2018Clear\nRed Water\u2019 speech<\/a> \u2013 a speech drafted, according to Morgan, by none other\nthan Mark Drakeford[15]<\/a>\n\u2013 Morgan described himself as \u201ca socialist of the Welsh stripe\u201d and set out his\npolicy as doing things the \u201cWelsh way\u201d. This rhetoric of developing \u2018made in\nWales\u2019 policy has been a hallmark of Welsh Labour strategy, from Rhodri Morgan\nto Carwyn Jones[16]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it could be argued that this is not necessarily nationalism\n<\/em>per se, simply an acknowledgement of the need for policy to be adapted to\ndifferent locations. Nonetheless, the rhetoric of Welsh Labour since devolution\nrepresents an attempt to link radical politics to something inherently Welsh.\nIt links the party\u2019s politics and outlook to the culture of a place, a\ncommunity and a nation. The myths, memories, symbols and traditions that\nAnthony D. Smith argues are central to a nation and to a community[17]<\/a>\nhave been regularly invoked by Welsh Labour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britishness and the Labour Party<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It is clear then that ideas of the nation have played a\nfundamental part in shaping Welsh politics. But it is not only ideas of Wales\nand Welshness that contribute to the framing of politics in this country. It is\nalso important to consider elements of British <\/em>nationalism in political\ndiscourse. This is important when we consider what Drakeford advocates when he\nrejects Welsh nationalism: namely the idea that being part of the United Kingdom\nis most practical for Wales and its interests. By pooling resources, the four\nnations of the UK can work together, money can be redistributed to where it is\nneeded, and social and economic difficulties can be tackled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This belief has been a fundamental principle of the Labour\nParty since its inception. The faith placed in Westminster might be\nwell-founded when we consider what the party has achieved through Parliament. It\nwas the Labour Party that implemented major changes post-World War Two, establishing\nthe NHS, implementing the welfare state, and involving the British state in\nmany different areas of the economy and society. As Gwyn Alf Williams noted: \u201cWales,\nof course, shared fully in the massive spiritual transformation effected by the\ncoming of the Welfare State, the National Health Service, the restoration of\ndignity and honour to a degraded people\u201d[18]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the veneration of these achievements that has since\nfollowed is often nationalistic in itself, representing a pride on the left in\nthe British state. One of the main thrusts of David Coates\u2019 book The Labour\nParty and the Struggle for Socialism<\/em> \u2013 a left-wing critique of the Labour\nParty and the ideology of labourism \u2013is that from the party\u2019s\nformation, \u201cthe pursuit of class interests was mediated through a sensitivity\nto national ones\u201d[19]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, David Egerton has highlighted the importance\nof nationalism to the Labour Party:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce we ditch the assumption that we need to think of Labour either as liberal or socialist, we can begin to note the extraordinary importance of nationalism in its programme. Labour presented itself in 1945 as the true national party. Its manifesto barely included the word \u2018socialism\u2019 (which appeared once), or \u2018socialist\u2019 (which appeared twice). It was, by contrast, full of references to \u2018Britain\u2019 (fourteen times) and \u2018British\u2019 (twelve times) and \u2018nation\u2019 and \u2018national\u2019 (nearly fifty times), more than \u2018public\u2019 (twenty-three)!\u201d[20]<\/a><\/p>David Edgerton writing in The Rise and Fall of the British Nation<\/em>.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Edgerton discusses the prevalence of British nationalism,\nsuggesting that Labour could be seen \u201cas the <\/em>nationalist party\u201d after\nWorld War Two[21]<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Aneurin Bevan was often ambivalent in his attitude towards Welsh devolution.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The role of nationalism can be seen in the work of one the\nparty\u2019s most prominent figures Aneurin Bevan. Writing in the build-up to World\nWar Two, Bevan argued that symbols of Britishness were being co-opted by the\nruling class. He wrote that the Union Jack \u201cis regarded by [the British ruling class]\nas a national flag only when their class interests and the nation\u2019s coincide\u201d. There\nwas \u201cno protection for a British subject under the Union Jack unless he is\npromoting the interests of the British ruling class\u201d[22]<\/a>.\nBevan\u2019s response was not to abandon national symbols, but instead for the\nworking class to capture them. He urged the working class to step \u201cforward in\nthe defence of these liberal institutions and conceptions of liberty, for they\nare necessary to its own progress and ultimate victory\u201d. Following this, the\nworking-class uses these symbols and creates a new hegemony: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen begins the struggle for the symbols. In this struggle the working class reverses the position\u2026By defending the symbols which are universally revered, it identifies its own class interest with the general interest and begins to draw strength from both sources\u201d[23]<\/a>.<\/p>Aneurin Bevan in 1938.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Whether it be British or Welsh in nature, nationalism is a\nmajor feature of Labour Party politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We can see therefore that nationalism has played an\ninfluential role in politics across the UK. As Richard Wyn Jones points out, nationalism\nis central to politics throughout the world[24]<\/a>.\nThe Labour Party is no exception to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this is highly unlikely to be at the forefront of Drakeford\u2019s mind at the current time. His focus will be on navigating Wales through this crisis. It is unfortunate that this issue has raised its head during the crisis \u2013 Drakeford was simply answering a question rather than going on a premeditated attack against nationalists. Nor will it be a concern to most people living in Wales (in normal and extraordinary times).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, when Welsh politics starts to regain some semblance\nof normality, there is no doubt that these debates will appear again. Welsh\nidentity is deeply contested and its place within Welsh politics even more so. In\nsome ways, this crisis has brought these issues to the fore. When they do\nreturn to occupy the minds of politicians and voters, it is worth remembering\nthe intellectual traditions that lie at the heart of Welsh politics and for\npoliticians to approach these issues more thoughtfully.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a>\nRichard Wyn Jones. 2014. The Fascist Party in Wales? Plaid Cymru, Welsh\nNationalism and the Accusation of Fascism<\/em>. Cardiff: University of Wales\nPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> David\nS. Moon. 2016. \u2018We\u2019re Internationalists, not Nationalists\u2019: The Political\nRamifications of Welsh Labour\u2019s Internal Power Struggle over the \u2018One Wales\u2019\nCoalition in 2007. Contemporary British History <\/em>30(2), pp. 281-302.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> \u201cExperience tells us\u2026there are usually several different nationalisms which claim to represent the same nation at the same time. Their programmes offer different definitions of their nation\u2019s identity and purposes, and these definitions are often conflicting. Some nationalists are liberal and democratic; others are authoritarian, or worse. Some are eager to mend fences with neighbours; others are looking for a fight wherever they can find one\u201d (Erica Benner. 2018. Really Existing Nationalisms: A Post-Communist View From Marx and Engels<\/em>. London: Verso, p. 8).
For a discussion of the ideology of nationalism and the way it manifests itself within Plaid Cymru, see the discussion in Laura McAllister 2001. Plaid Cymru: The Emergence of a Political Party<\/em>. Bridgend: Seren, Chapter 6: The Ideological Perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> ibid,\np. 182.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a>\nDouglas Jones. 2017. The Communist Party of Great Britain and the National\nQuestion in Wales 1920-1991<\/em>. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a>\nSee Raymond Williams. 2003. Who Speaks for Wales? Nation, Culture, Identity<\/em>.\nDaniel G. Williams. ed. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/a>\nMartin Wright. 2016. Wales and Socialism: Political Culture and National\nIdentity Before the Great War<\/em>. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/a>\nQuoted in ibid, p. 199.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/a>\nibid, pp. 219-220.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/a>\nFor example, despite Nicholas playing a role in the establishment of a Labour\nParty in Cardiganshire, he was expelled from the party for criticising Ramsay\nMacDonald for being too right-wing. He later argued that ‘the greatest threat\nto us as workers comes from Attlee, Morrison and the official Labour Party’\n(see David W.\nHowell. 1991. Nicholas of Glais: The People\u2019s Champion<\/em><\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/a> Allan\nButt Philip. 1975. The Welsh Question: Nationalism in Welsh Politics 1945-1970<\/em>.\nCardiff: University of Wales Press, p. 279.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/a> Hc\nDeb 26 January 1948, cc776.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/a>\nQuoted in Rob Griffiths. 1983. S.O. Davies: A Socialist Faith<\/em>. Llandysul:\nGomer Press, pp. 170-171.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14]<\/a> Hc\nDeb 22 January 1953 cc411-517.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15]<\/a> Rhodri\nMorgan. 2017. Rhodri: A Political Life in Wales and Westminster<\/em>.\nCardiff: University of Wales Press, p. 250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16]<\/a>\nSee: David\nS Moon. 2012. Rhetoric and policy learning: On Rhodri Morgan\u2019s \u2018Clear Red\nWater\u2019 and \u2018Made in Wales\u2019 health policies. Public Policy and Administration\n<\/em>28(3), pp. 306-323<\/a> and David S Moon. 2017. Red Dragon FM: Carwyn\nJones’s ‘Welsh Labour Rhetoric’. In: Atkins, J. and Gaffney, J. eds. Voices\nof the UK Left: Rhetoric, Ideology and the Performance of Politics<\/em>.\nBasingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 123-146.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[17]<\/a> Anthony\nD. Smith. 1986. The Ethnic Origins of Nations<\/em>. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[18]<\/a>\nGwyn Alf Williams. When Was Wales?<\/em>. Reading: Pelican, p. 254.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[19]<\/a> David\nCoates. 1975. The Labour Party and the Struggle for Socialism<\/em>. London:\nCambridge University Press, p. 137.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[20]<\/a>\nDavid Egerton. 2018. The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: A\nTwentieth-century History<\/em>. Milton Keynes: Allen Lane, p. 219.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[21]<\/a>\nibid, p. 386.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[22]<\/a>\nAneurin Bevan. 1938a. A Swastika Nailed to England\u2019s Mast. Tribune 24 June\n1938, p. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[23]<\/a> Aneurin\nBevan. 1938b. This is How Fascism is Born. Tribune 1 July 1938, p. 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[24]<\/a>\nRichard Wyn Jones. 2014, p. 69.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, First Minister Mark Drakeford caused controversy with comments he made about the nature of nationalism. In an interview with the BBC\u2019s Nick Robinson, Drakeford was asked whether he […]","protected":false},"author":1043,"featured_media":1078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16,48,89],"tags":[17,147,146,35,125],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-labour-party","category-plaid-cymru","category-theory","tag-labour-party","tag-mark-drakeford","tag-nationalism","tag-plaid-cymru","tag-socialism"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8iFWs-h8","meta_box":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/509\/2020\/05\/drakeford.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1043"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1082,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions\/1082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/thinking-wales\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}