Swansea Socialist Party campaign stall
Swansea Socialist Party campaign stall

Rhys Davies, Swansea and West Wales Socialist Party

I joined the Socialist Party back in 2019, after meeting with members on a campaign stall in York and bought a copy of the Socialist. For me, joining the party was an obvious choice. 2019 was an interesting time for politics, you could feel people’s rising discontent.

The Brexit referendum served as a catalyst to many things, to the working class it bought politics to the forefront of discussions. While I couldn’t vote, I still watched the referendum closely as it was the only thing anyone was discussing. So I went in search of a party that was best for me.    

Labour under Corbyn took more of a left turn than had been seen for decades. However, I lost trust after the failure of Welsh Labour to stand against the Tory austerity measures, or even to offer assistance in the crisis.

So I looked to other parties like the Greens and Plaid Cymru, but they lack the political ideas I was looking for.

Despite what I thought about Welsh Labour I can recognise that Corbyn was offering something different, a more radical plan like nationalisation, better welfare programmes and higher wages.

Reading the Socialist – about the saving the NHS from the Tories – and seeing the same argument that I had been making, was so comforting to see. The paper made me realise that the Socialist Party was the party for me.

When I first joined, I had read a few political theories but as I began to attend more meetings and to talk with members, my knowledge expanded and only reaffirmed my commitment.