In the run-up to the 2021 Senedd Election, Nub News will be profiling the candidates running for the Vale of Glamorgan.

On Tuesday evening, we spoke with Karl-James Langford, Gwlad Party candidate.

It is perhaps a little peculiar that the first candidate we have interviewed over Zoom rather than face-to-face is the one obsessed with history, legacy and heritage.

But Gwlad - Welsh Independence Party candidate Karl-James Langford is committed to connecting Welsh people to their past by any means necessary.

"I have told my party it is our regional push to do virtual and online," he tells Nub News.

"We have to get people talking about Welsh history and Welsh identity."

Karl-James describes himself as an archaeologist, teacher, author, actor and YouTuber. He has written many books on archaeological sites in the Vale of Glamorgan and is using the 2021 Senedd election to advocate for the protection of Welsh heritage.

"I have six children and I've got a lot of experience within the local landscape in South Wales and have lived in the Vale of Glamorgan most of my life," he says.

"My passion is heritage and history and archaeology, and I am bringing my knowledge of that into the campaign.

"It's an area of politics that people keep away from. I'm not a politician. I don't profess to be a politician. I'm not one of those people with a broomstick rammed up their backsides.

"The fact of the matter is that you have to come to this with a less rigid, more open mind. This is not a career for me. I am seeking to achieve a profile for our heritage. I'm seeking to get people to think that organisations like Cadw should be abolished and replaced by organisations that can actually care for our history.

"I want people to see that the history and archaeology of our country is as important as those Norman edifices you see around the country.

"I'm standing to represent our ancestors and to see that our ancestors' votes are counted in this election."

Unfortunately for Gwlad, our ancestors are unable to cast their vote. But for Karl-James, this is more about stimulating discussion than winning seats.

"I've got no political ambitions. I'm here to bring this topic to the table. I am very unlikely to win this campaign, but the fact of the matter is people are voting for me.

"The most important thing is the regional list. Hopefully we can see a representative from Gwlad in the Welsh Assembly."

If elected, Karl-James would seek to abolish the Welsh Assembly and replace it with a parliament fully independent from the UK.

Most of all, he would look back into the past to guide modern policy-making.

"Our heritage is our meaning and our legacy. It is who we are. And by ignoring that, the politicians of today have no chance.

"They keep making the same mistakes over and over again because they're not listening to echoes from the past, and that's what I'm bringing to this campaign."

Karl-James says that the Welsh Government's conduct throughout the pandemic evidences a clear need for greater historical awareness.

"The answer is that we've had these types of outbreaks for thousands of years. No one talked about the Spanish Flu, no one talked about the fact that there have been COVID viruses around since the 1960s.

"We didn't learn from these things. The answer to the future is looking at the past."

Read the Gwlad - Welsh Independence Party manifesto HERE.