Day of the Lords

There was a strong Welsh presence in the House of Lords today (Monday) as former Plaid Cymru leader Dafydd Wigley took his seat in the upper chamber.

From my vantage point in the press gallery I counted at least eleven Welsh peers if you include the new Baron Wigley and his sponsor Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

It’s a Welsh presence that will increase further this week when the former Labour MEP Eluned Morgan takes her seat and next week when the Liberal Democrat AM Jenny Randerson is also welcomed to the red benches.

Outside the Lords’ chamber was a gathering of senior Plaid figures who had joined the party’s three MPs and the new peer’s family to mark the moment.

It’s a sign of how Plaid has changed its mind on the Lords – from boycotting it to engaging with it, in fact celebrating the long-awaited moment.

That’s because the party decided a few years ago that it needs to be involved at every level of government and that staying out of the Lords was counterproductive.

If he felt any unease at being described as the Queen’s ‘right trusty and well-beloved counsellor’ Baron Wigley didn’t show it.

He swore his oath in English and Welsh, prompting a journalist in the press gallery to remark to me that it made more sense to hear that spoken than it did the Norman French which is occasionally bandied about.

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