This was our tenth workshop, all of which are working toward establishing the basis of a manifesto for consideration at the Cymru’n Codi founding congress in the Autumn of 2025. Here is the report and links to the previous workshops and the decisions made at the 10 May Cymru Radical Left Dialogue meeting that started the process of establishing Cymru’n Codi as an ecosocialist movement for Cymru and internationally. 

The discussion paper that had been circulated with the meeting introduction had received considerable comment and suggested changes and these had been incorporated by the meeting. The paper will be updated based upon the points made in the workshop and remains work in progress with the comment facility left open for all members who wish to contribute.  

Report of the meeting – points made in discussion and contributions

• Ciaran gave an introduction outlining the shifting social understandings of disability leading up to the care versus profit situation we now have with neoliberal capitalism where a ‘disabled person is seen as an unproductive economic unit’. Ciaran produced an excellent set of PPS which are well worth spending time viewing. 
• 21% Cymru population define themselves as disabled; 1/10 provide unpaid care; 117k sought LA adult social care or advice; impairment can does happen to all of us at some time in our life.
• In Cymru austerity and the political failure to fight it has delayed and decimated support. Now covered up with a plethora of statements and intentions but no action.
• Of our 10 proposed demands – ensuring that the needs of all who require support are heard and met and these needs are expressed by activists not coopted committees.  
• There is an overabundance of statements about what should be done but there is no money or enforcement mechanism. Too many hoops to go through to get support result in provision being all sticks and no carrots. 
• There is much care and support that is provided free however this is not recognised as having a similar status to formal employment, so is ignored. 
• A key to developing support is to separate out the impairment from disability so the latter becomes recognised as a social issue for society to address, not the individual.
• Basically care and profit do not work – only those who make profit benefit. Quotas for private sector spending drove privatisation. 
• We thought that the Social Services and Wellbeing Act would place the emphasis on the social model of disability but it has just led to more tick boxing/bureaucracy. My local council acknowledges the “care” aspect but fails to recognise the “support” aspect. There has to be political will to change but how much control do governments have anymore? Money talks….
• Private providers take what is profitable and leave the LA and NHS to pick up the pieces and provide training. 
• Collectively power must be in the hands of those who are disabled if a political will is going to be created. A key demand and principle has to be ‘nothing about us without us’.
• The police are currently using the phrase ‘behaviour disturbance’ to justify constraint and sectioning. This power must be removed. 
• Sign language should be on the curriculum alongside and with the same status as other languages. 
• The Covid pandemic was an example of mass social murder and the is still affecting people who are being forcefully exposed and disabled – unlike the rich who can afford environmental protection.