Glyn Davies told the meeting he wanted social justice for people

Glyn Davies shared the platform with high-ranking Cymuned member Seimon Glyn at a meeting to set up a Montgomeryshire branch on Thursday night.

Mr Davies is the first AM to share a Cymuned platform since the group was formed two years ago.

It emerged after the debate was launched by Seimon Glyn's comments labelling English people in north Wales a "drain on resources" who were replacing Welsh culture with their own.

More than 40 local people, most of them under 30, attended the meeting at Glantwymyn near Machynlleth.

Glyn Davies has shown more back bone than Plaid Cymru AMs who claim these issues are close to their heart but prefer to whisper them in the corridors of power rather than meet the people who elected them Seimon Glyn, Cymuned

Mr Davies said he had agreed to attend the meeting because he broadly supported Cymuned's objectives of conserving the Welsh language and providing affordable housing and jobs for young people in rural communities.

"Where I disagree with Cymuned is that the way some of these objectives are put across damages goodwill shown towards the Welsh language by non-Welsh speakers," said Mr Davies, who has been shortlisted for the Welsh Learner of the Year award.

Elections

"But I certainly support their efforts to conserve the Welsh language, and I want to see policies that allow young people to build new houses in the areas that they come from.

"There is no point building houses unless local people live in them and I will fight for people living in rural Wales to get social justice."

Mr Davies spoke in Welsh at the meeting

After the meeting Mr Glyn welcomed Mr Davies' decision to attend.

"Glyn Davies has shown more back bone than Plaid Cymru AMs who claim these issues are close to their heart but prefer to whisper them in the corridors of power rather than meet the people who elected them."

During the meeting, Mr Glyn revealed that Cymuned was considering putting up candidates in local authority elections.

He repeated his claim that rural areas were losing young people and being replaced by older people retiring to Wales.

"I don't blame these people for moving to Wales," he said.

"They've worked hard all their life and paid their rates but as these people get older money has to be found to provide health and social care for them," he said.

Mr Glyn has advocated a two-tier housing market system with half the houses in rural areas being put in a closed market for local people.

Concert

"Something has got to be done because 250,000 people have moved into Wales from England in the last 20 years.

"This sort of movement of people only happens during war or famine, but we have seen it happen in Wales."

Answering Mr Davies' fears about Cymuned endangering the goodwill of non-Welsh speakers, Mr Glyn pointed out that members in the Lleyn Peninsula had provided Welsh classes for non-Welsh speakers.

This culminated in a concert involving 80 learners and 40 Cymuned members three weeks ago.

Cymuned now has 23 branches across Wales and early 2,000 members, according to Mr Glyn.

Members at the meeting unanimously decided to set up a Montgomeryshire branch.