{{Short description|Regionalist political party in Wales}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox political party |country = Wales |name = {{langr|cy|Llais Gwynedd}} |native_name = |foundation = 2008 |colorcode = {{party color|Llais Gwynedd}} |logo = [[Image:Llais350.jpg|250px|Llais Gwynedd Party Logo]] |leader = [[Owain Williams (politician)|Owain Williams]]<ref name=triumph/> |ideology = [[Gwynedd]] [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalism]] |seats5_title = [[Gwynedd Council]]<ref>[https://democracy.cyngor.gwynedd.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1 Your Councillors]. Gwynedd Council. Retrieved 11 July 2017.</ref> |seats5 = {{Composition bar|0|75|hex=#006400}} |colours = [[Red]], [[white]], [[green]] |position = |website = [http://gwynedd.biz/mysharedaccounts/llais/1/ Official website] }} {{langnf|cy|'''Llais Gwynedd'''|voice of Gwynedd|italic=no|paren=left}}, {{IPA|cy|ɬais ˈɡuɨ̯nɛð|pron}}) is a small [[Regionalism (politics)|regionalist]] [[political party]] based in [[Gwynedd]] in [[North Wales]]. The party formed following the [[Plaid Cymru]] executive's proposal to more than halve the number of primary schools in Gwynedd by closing rural schools. Many of the party's members are former members of Plaid Cymru.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/05/09/llais-gwynedd-rebels-with-a-cause-55578-20883572/|title=Llais Gwynedd - Rebels with a cause|last=Parri|first=Ian|work=North Wales Daily Post|date=9 May 2008|accessdate=15 February 2010}}</ref><ref name=schools/> The campaign was founded as {{lang|cy|Llais y Bobl}}, or "People's Voice", but the name was changed because of [[Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group|another party by that name in Blaenau Gwent]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/01/26/silenced-voice-of-the-people-55578-20397322/|title=Silenced: Voice of the People|last=Bodden|first=Tom|date=26 January 2008|work=North Wales Daily Post|accessdate=15 February 2010}}</ref> It deregistered in 2021.<ref>https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PP702</ref>
==Electoral history== The party [[2008 Gwynedd Council election|won twelve seats]] on [[Gwynedd Council]] in the [[2008 United Kingdom local elections|2008 UK Local Elections]], ending overall control of the council by Plaid Cymru.<ref name=triumph>{{cite news |author=Hywel Trewyn |title=Triumphant Llais Gwynedd chooses its leader |url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2008/05/06/triumphant-llais-gwynedd-chooses-its-leader-55578-20865802/ |work=North Wales Daily Post |date=May 6, 2008 |accessdate=2008-05-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7380049.stm|title=Plaid loses majority in Gwynedd|work=BBC News|date=2 May 2008|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref> They won seven seats in Dwyfor, three in Meirionnydd and two in Arfon. Llais Gwynedd won another seat in [[Blaenau Ffestiniog]] in June (the poll had been postponed due to the death of the Labour candidate) giving them a total of 13 seats on Gwynedd Council.<ref name=schools>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7437719.stm|title=School group takes Gwynedd seat|date=6 June 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref> They declined to form a coalition with Plaid.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7384940.stm|title=Llais Gwynedd group's no to Plaid|work=BBC News|date=6 May 2008|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref> They tried to gain the post of chair of the Children and Young Persons Committee, but Labour councillors voted with Plaid.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_west/7415353.stm|title=Plaid keeps Gwynedd school roles|work=BBC News|date=22 May 2008|access-date=15 February 2010}}</ref>
Gwilym Euros Roberts, a Llais Gwynedd councillor, was due to stand against the [[Senedd|National Assembly of Wales]] presiding officer Lord [[Dafydd Elis-Thomas]] in 2011 in the Welsh Assembly constituency of [[Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Assembly constituency)|Dwyfor Meirionnydd]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.caernarfonherald.co.uk/caernarfon-county-news/local-caernarfon-news/2009/10/05/llais-gwynedd-unveil-election-candidate-55578-24852204/|title=Llais Gwynedd unveil election candidate|work=Caernafon Herald|date=5 October 2009|accessdate=15 February 2010}}</ref> However, in July 2010 Roberts was jailed for four and a half years at [[Caernarfon Crown Court]] for wounding his wife with intent; he had stood down from his post that May.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10492617|title=Ex-Gwynedd councillor jailed for wounding wife|date=2 July 2010|work=BBC News|accessdate=5 September 2010}}</ref>
Llais Gwynedd held the Diffwys and Maenofferen ward in the by-election on 15 July 2010. Their candidate Richard Owen Lloyd Jones won by 185 votes to 181 for Plaid. Llais Gwynedd gained a further council seat at the [[Seiont (electoral ward)|Seiont]] by-election on 7 October 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://golwg360.cymru/archif/28737-pob-un-ward-o-fewn-gafael-llais-gwynedd |title='Pob un ward' o fewn gafael Llais Gwynedd |work=[[Golwg360]] |language=cy |date=8 October 2010 |accessdate=25 April 2019 }}</ref>
In the [[2011 National Assembly for Wales election]], the party fielded Louise Hughes as their candidate in Dwyfor Meirionnydd. She received 3,225 votes or 15.5% of the vote, taking most of her support from the Plaid Cymru candidate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/26684.stm|title=BBC News - Election 2011 - Wales - Dwyfor Meirionnydd|website=BBC News}}</ref>
In 2011, despite moderate success in the National Assembly Elections in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, Llais Gwynedd failed to produce a candidate for Arfon. They also lost the second Diffwys and Maenofferen by-election to Plaid Cymru, and failed to field candidates in other by-elections, which allowed their main rivals, Plaid Cymru, to regain their majority on Gwynedd County Council. In February 2012, Councillor Chris Hughes (who had beaten Dafydd Iwan in the 2008 local government elections) left the Llais Gwynedd group and joined Plaid Cymru.
In the May 2012 council elections, Llais Gwynedd returned 13 councillors on Gwynedd Council and held the [[balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]] in the council chamber.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/CanlyniadauEtholiadau/en/Etholiad/6|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105163822/http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/canlyniadauetholiadau/en/etholiad/6|url-status=dead|title=Gwynedd.gov.uk election results|archivedate=November 5, 2012}}</ref> The defection of three Llais Gwynedd councillors from Dwyfor to Plaid Cymru in May 2015 returned control to Plaid Cymru.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.partyof.wales/news/2015/05/14/three-llais-gwynedd-councillors-join-plaid-cymrus-gwynedd-group/ |title=Three Llais Gwynedd Councillors join Plaid Cymru's Gwynedd group |access-date=2015-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518100025/https://www.partyof.wales/news/2015/05/14/three-llais-gwynedd-councillors-join-plaid-cymrus-gwynedd-group/ |archive-date=2015-05-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 2017 the party won seven seats, but was deregistered in 2021 and blamed the COVID pandemic. Although 11 party members stood for [[2022 Gwynedd Council election|election in May 2022]], winning four, they did not run under the Llais Gwynedd name and sat as independents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/61599433|title=Diwedd cyfnod Llais Gwynedd mewn llywodraeth leol?|first=Gareth Wyn|last=Williams|date=4 June 2022|work=BBC Wales|language=Welsh}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.northwaleschronicle.co.uk/news/20113441.local-elections-wales-2022-chance-llais-gwynedd/|work=North Wales Chronicle|date=4 May 2022|title=Local Elections Wales 2022: what chance is there for Llais Gwynedd?|first=Siân|last=Williams}}</ref>
===Electoral performance=== ====Senedd elections==== {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year ! colspan="3" |Regional Vote ! colspan="3" |Constituency Vote !Overall Seats !Change |- |[[2011 National Assembly for Wales election|2011]] | – | – |{{Composition bar|0|20}} |3,225 votes |0.3% |{{Composition bar|0|40}} |{{Composition bar|0|60}} |''New Party'' |- |[[2021 Senedd election|2021]] | – | – |{{Composition bar|0|20}} |1,136 votes |0.1% |{{Composition bar|0|40}} |{{Composition bar|0|60}} |{{nochange}} |}
==Policies== According to the party's 2008 online manifesto<ref>[http://gwynedd.biz/mysharedaccounts/llais/1/docs/LLais%20Gwynedd%20-%20Maniffesto.pdf Maniffesto Llais Gwynedd 2008]</ref> their key policies are: *Gwynedd has particular needs which were not being met by the Plaid Cymru governing council of Gwynedd *Stop school closures unless there is a consensus within a particular locality in support of such a measure *Stop local people being sent for specialist care out of Gwynedd *Opposes the ''North West Wales Spatial Development Strategy'' which focused most investment in Gwynedd on the Menai coastal strip *Supports tourism, but is opposed to the sort of tourism which has a negative impact on "Gwynedd's unique social, linguistic and cultural fabric" *Create local employment to stop young people leaving Gwynedd to look for work elsewhere *In favour of removing restrictions on housing developments to allow local people to build on their own land *Enthusiastically supports the [[Welsh language]] *Proposes extra measures to protect Welsh-speaking rural communities in Gwynedd
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://gwynedd.biz/mysharedaccounts/llais/1/ Llais Gwynedd Manifesto]
{{Political parties in Wales}}
[[Category:2008 establishments in Wales]] [[Category:Political parties established in 2008]] [[Category:Locally based political parties in Wales]] [[Category:Regionalist parties in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Political parties of minorities in the United Kingdom]]