Coming elections and the Celtic nations

Elections are being held that will have a major impact on all of the Celtic nations. Voters in Brittany will be casting their votes in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election on 23 April 2017. Should no candidate win a majority, a run-off election between the top two candidates will be held on 7 May 2017. A victory for candidate Marine Le Pen would signal attempts to suppress the Regions which could destroy the limited regional power that Brittany currently has. Now a British General Election is to be held on June 8th, 2017.

Voters from the Celtic nations directly taking part in that election will be those from Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. It will also include those living in the British occupied north-east of the island of Ireland. Sinn Féin, the Irish republican political party dedicated to the reunification of Ireland and an end to British jurisdiction in the north of Ireland will be standing candidates in the north. They currently holds four of Northern Ireland's seats at Westminster, although refuse to take their seats in the British parliament. Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has stated that:..'Irish republicans must seize the opportunity, provided by the election, to further to build political progress towards a referendum on Irish unity'. Voters in the Celtic nations of Ireland and the Isle of Man (which is not part of the United Kingdom) have no general elections at this time.

In regard to progressive nationalist parties and the British elections, Dick Cole leader of the Mebyon Kernow (The Party for Cornwall) has said that: “At this point, I can confirm that MK’s Executive Committee will be meeting in the near-future to consider the 2017 General Election and our approach to it.” Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) have said that they will put up candidates for every Welsh seat. Party leader Leanne Wood said: "Plaid Cymru is united and we're up for the opportunity to advocate for Wales' best interests. The more Plaid Cymru MPs, the stronger Wales' voice will be". 

In Scotland the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 56 of the available 59 Scottish seats in the 2015 General Election. SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has again called for a strong vote for the Party to protect Scotland's interests. She said: “That makes it all the more important that Scotland is protected from a Tory Party which now sees the chance of grabbing control of government for many years to come and moving the UK further to the right – forcing through a hard Brexit and imposing deeper cuts in the process.. “That means that this will be – more than ever before – an election about standing up for Scotland, in the face of a right-wing, austerity obsessed Tory government with no mandate in Scotland but which now thinks it can do whatever it wants and get away with it..“In terms of Scotland, this move is a huge political miscalculation by the Prime Minister.”