Wales Green Party, Plaid Cymru: Foreign and defence policies

With the manifestos for Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party now out, what is in their foreign policy and defence policy sections, and how do their manifestos compare?

Both parties are left-wing to left-of-centre parties that support independence for Wales, so I would expect some sort of crossover on certain issues like nuclear weapons, Ukraine, and Palestine.

Both parties are the biggest pro-Welsh independence parties standing at this election and are fielding candidates in all 32 Welsh seats.

Defence

When it comes to nuclear weapons and the Trident system, both parties are opposed to them and want to scrap the Trident system. The Greens mention that they want to remove foreign nuclear weapons from UK soil. Both parties also support the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Plaid Cymru calls for the Senedd to be consulted before the UK takes any military action and believes that UK arms licences should be withheld for sales to countries with poor human rights records and to states if there is evidence that they will use them to repress their own people. They also believe that there should be a review of the arms export system and a statement of intent to withdraw from the trade.

Plaid Cymru also opposes increased defence spending and believes that if it is required, it should be on conventional defence and not weapons of mass destruction. The Green Party is supportive of NATO and recognises its role in ensuring the ability of its members to respond to threats to their security and wants the UK to work within NATO for a greater focus on global peacebuilding and a commitment to a no first use of nuclear weapons policy.

Plaid Cymru also calls for improved support for veterans and an independent review of the medical discharge process, and for the introduction of an income disregard for the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation scheme so it’s not classed as income for the purpose of benefits and pensions.

An International Wales

Both parties support Wales becoming an independent country, but only Plaid Cymru mentions Wales being a member of the United Nations in their manifesto and for Wales to take on the role and the responsibilities that brings. Both parties also believe in upholding international law and the importance of the International Criminal Court.

Both Plaid Cymru and the Wales Green Party want to rejoin the European Union, with Plaid stating it’s a goal for an independent Wales. Only Plaid mentions the UK joining the single market and customs union.

Plaid Cymru supports the UN target of 0.7% of GNI for international aid and calls on the UK government to reinstate that commitment. The Green Party wants international aid to be increased to 1% of GNI by 2033 and to increase climate finance for the Global South to 1.5% of GNI by 2033, with a further £21.6 billion a year to the newly established Loss and Damage fund.

Plaid Cymru would also welcome countries setting up Consulates-General and Consuls in Cardiff and elsewhere in Wales, and would invest in developing and improving links with the Welsh diaspora internationally, and in nurturing relationships with others who have built links with Wales through education, culture, or business.

Gaza and Ukraine

On the issue of Gaza, both parties support a ceasefire and condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, and condemn the actions of the Israeli government since, with Plaid calling it a genocide and the Greens a war crime. Both parties support statehood for Palestine, and Plaid Cymru demands that the UK government enforces all decisions of the ICC, acts on their warrants, expels the Israeli Ambassador from the UK, and holds the Israeli government responsible for genocide and war crimes. The Green Party calls for the UK government to support South Africa’s submission to the ICC. Both parties call for an end to arms sales to Israel.

On the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both parties support Ukraine, with Plaid Cymru specifically saying that the party supports the country’s right to sovereignty, right to live in peace, and right to defend itself from Russian aggression, as well as welcoming Ukrainian refugees to Wales.

There’s no doubt that the core ethos of the foreign and defence policy of both parties comes from a left-wing to left-of-centre standpoint. Each party is pro-Welsh independence, anti-nuclear, pro-EU, pro-international rules, pro-Palestine, and pro-Ukraine. Plaid Cymru tends to have a bit more focus on Wales, but that may be because the Wales Green Party is a branch of the England and Wales Green Party rather than a separate party like Plaid Cymru. Plaid Cymru does seem to have dropped its previous manifesto commitments of wanting Welsh troops based in Wales and a defence force based in Wales.

The Greens are also now supportive of NATO, which wasn’t in their 2019 manifesto. Plaid, though, doesn’t mention NATO at all and hasn’t mentioned a specific level of defence spending that they think would be appropriate for Wales or the UK.