PLAID CYMRU SECURES £300M FOR COUNCILS AND THE NHS

‘We acted to protect services and council tax bills, and to create a more sustainable position for a new government – Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

Plaid Cymru have secured £300m for councils and the NHS in Labour’s rollover budget.

 

Plaid Cymru had previously warned that Labour’s draft budget would deal a serious blow to Wales’ public services - pushing councils towards thousands of job losses, forcing steep rises in council tax, and leaving the NHS with a historically low funding uplift.

 

Local Authorities and the NHS will now receive substantially more funding because of Plaid Cymru’s intervention with local authorities set to receive an average uplift of 4.5% with all councils receiving increases above 4%, compared to Labour’s original 2.2%, and the NHS will see a 3.6% uplift compared to 2.1% previously.

 

Plaid Cymru will not vote for the budget but will abstain to allow it to pass.

 

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said that by allowing the budget to pass in return for the necessary increases in health and council budgets, Plaid Cymru ensured that Labour’s ‘catastrophic’ proposed cuts were avoided.

 

While this remained Labour’s budget to own, Mr ap Iorwerth said without Plaid Cymru stepping in, the next Welsh Government after May’s Senedd election would inherit far weaker foundations and that his party had “acted to protect services now” and to “create a more sustainable position for a new government”.

 

Mr ap Iorwerth said his party was ready to lead the Welsh Government after May with the ‘new leadership’ required to turn things around.

 

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said,

 

“Plaid Cymru always acts in the best interests of Wales and that is exactly what we are doing on the budget.

 

“Labour’s draft budget would have led to sky-high council tax, unprecedented job losses in our public sector, and a historically low settlement for the NHS. Plaid Cymru will simply not allow this to happen.

 

“We asked for two things - to protect public services and prevent unaffordable council tax rises, and to correct the inadequate NHS settlement caused by Labour’s rollover budget. We have secured both.

“By abstaining in return for the necessary increases in health and council budgets, Plaid Cymru ensures that Labour’s catastrophic proposed cuts are avoided.

 

“Councils and the NHS will now receive substantially more funding because of Plaid Cymru’s intervention. Local authorities will receive an average uplift of 4.5% with all councils receiving increases above 4%, compared to Labour’s original 2.2%, and the NHS will see a 3.6% uplift compared to 2.1% previously.

 

“This remains Labour’s budget to own but without Plaid Cymru stepping in, the next Welsh Government would inherit far weaker foundations. We acted to protect services and council tax bills and to provide a more sustainable position for a new government.

 

“If Plaid Cymru can achieve this in opposition, imagine what we can deliver with the opportunity to lead the next Welsh Government in May - real change and new leadership that puts the people of Wales first."

 

The Leader of Ynys Mon County Council and Plaid Cymru Group Leader on the WLGA, Gary Pritchard said,

 

“This is a welcome intervention and we’re grateful that Plaid Cymru has stepped in where Labour did not. The additional support won’t remove every pressure, but it prevents a disastrous outcome for our communities and gives councils the breathing space we urgently need.

 

“For years, councils have been forced to do more with less, and the point has come where that approach simply isn’t sustainable.

 

“What is needed now is long-term planning, fair funding, and leadership that works with us, not against us. Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction, and we look ahead to May as a real opportunity for new leadership and a fresh, constructive partnership for the future."

 - ENDS -

EDITOR’S NOTES / NODIADAU I’R GOLYGYDD:

 

The final vote on the Welsh Government budget for 2026-27 is expected in January 2026.  Plaid Cymru will abstain.

 

The Welsh Local Government Association had previously warned recently “social care, homelessness, education and workforce costs continue to rise faster than resources can keep up.”

 

The draft local government settlement was published two weeks ago. The auditor general, Adrian Crompton, said councils face a "real squeeze" as costs spiral for children's care and other services.

 

Following Plaid Cymru’s by-election win in Caerphilly, Labour no longer holds a majority in the Senedd. This means it cannot pass its budget without the support of other parties or two additional votes.  A failure to pass the budget would mean the budget will pass at 75% of this year's level which could have a catastrophic effect on public services, with cuts and potentially major job losses. 

FOR WALES, SEE ENGLAND

The UK Railways Bill does nothing to address ‘injustice’ of Welsh railways funding, says Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru has today (Tuesday 9 December) warned that the UK Government’s Railways Bill locks Wales into a broken funding and governance system and fails to recognise the need to devolve powers over railways to Wales.

Ahead of the first debate on the Railways Bill in the House of Commons today, Plaid Cymru’s transport spokesperson in Westminster, Ann Davies MP, said that while the Bill may simplify rail operations in England, it completely fails to address Wales’ lack of control over its own rail infrastructure and the billions in funding the nation loses as a result.

Ms Davies said that the Labour UK Government has “decided to follow the age-old adage that ‘for Wales: See England’ when it comes to this bill. She said it was a “travesty” that a nation which built the first steam locomotive, supplied the steel and coal that powered the UK’s railways is the “only nation in Great Britain without control of its own network.”

The Railways Bill will create Great British Railways (GBR), integrating track and train operations, centralising long-term planning, ticketing and service management for England. But under the Bill, Wales remains tied into an “England and Wales” structure, despite transport being a partly devolved responsibility to Wales.

Plaid Cymru has criticised the legislation for:

• No devolution of rail infrastructure – Unlike Scotland, which has had full control over rail since 2005 and produces its own Long-Term Rail Strategy, Wales will only be ‘consulted’ on an England-and-Wales strategy
• Continuing the broken split in responsibilities – Different governments control different parts of the Welsh network, making coherent rail planning for Wales impossible.
• Zero action on unfair funding – The Bill ignores the billions Wales has lost through the misclassification of major English rail projects such as HS2, East-West Rail, and Northern Powerhouse Rail.
  

Recent analysis shows Wales is set to lose out on roughly £6 billion from these decisions alone. By designating them as “England and Wales” schemes – despite not a single centimetre being built in Wales – the UK Government avoids triggering Barnett consequentials. Scotland and Northern Ireland receive funding; Wales receives nothing.

Ahead of the debate, Ann Davies MP said:

"This bill makes sense for England. However, it does not work for Wales. It fails to address our lack of control over the Welsh rail track, where two governments manage different parts of what should be a single network. This split makes planning railways in the best interests of the people of Wales almost impossible.

“We can see this in the broken promise to electrify the South Wales Mainline beyond Cardiff, or even to start work on the equivalent line in the north. Scotland, by contrast, controls its rail network and sets its own strategy, giving Scottish ministers real influence over Great British Railways. Under this Bill, Welsh ministers can only ask to be consulted – Wales does not want consultation, we deserve control.

“This Government is following the old adage: 'For Wales, see England.' It is a travesty that a nation which built the first steam locomotive, supplied the steel and coal that powered the UK’s railways, is the only nation in Great Britain without control of its own network. Plaid Cymru is clear: Welsh rail should be in Welsh hands. It is time to devolve rail to Wales."

- Ends -

DEALING WITH THE COST OF LIVING CRUNCH

Labour's Budget isn't easing the cost-of-living crunch in Wales

A Plaid Cymru government will:

• create better paid jobs
• expand free childcare and support families
• push the UK government to tax extreme wealth and allow us to profit from our own natural resources

So its time to vote Plaid Cymru on Thursday 7th May 2026

Welsh workers disproportionately hit by income tax threshold freeze

Today (Monday 1st December) Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader, Liz Saville Roberts MP accused the UK Government of “message manipulation” in relation to last week’s Autumn Budget. 

 

Ms Saville Roberts said that the freeze on income tax thresholds will hit Wales badly, with an estimated five times more Welsh workers being pulled into the basic rate compared with the UK as a whole. 

 

Labour are claiming that they have not broken any manifesto pledges in relation to raising headline income tax rates but analysis shows that Welsh workers will be disproportinately hit by the freeze on income tax thresholds.  

 

In the House of Commons, Liz Saville Roberts MP said she “presumed” that the UK Government consulted with the Welsh Government on these changes. She urged the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray MP to release the Labour Welsh Government’s response “specifically in relation to confidence and cost of living hit”.  

 

 

Liz Saville Roberts MP said: 

 

“I’m very interested to learn that the Chancellor is in Wales today. 

 

“Amidst all this message manipulation she leaves him to explain exactly why the continued freeze on income tax thresholds will hit Wales badly, with an estimated five times more Welsh workers pulled into the basic rate compared with the UK as a whole. 

 

“I can only presume the Treasury consulted with Labour Welsh Government - will he release their response specifically in relation to confidence and cost of living hit?” 

 

James Murray MP dismissed Ms Saville Roberts’ question and instead repeated some of the Chancellor’s announcement from the Budget that he claimed ‘benefits Wales’. 

 

- ENDS -

EDITOR’S NOTES:

Estimated five times more Welsh workers being pulled into the basic rate compared with the UK as a whole: Frozen 2: Tax Freezes, the 2-Child Limit (and what the 2025 Autumn Budget means for Wales) - Thinking Wales - Meddwl Cymru - Cardiff University 

NOT A BUDGET FOR WALES

We were promised Wales would benefit from two Labour governments, but Welsh councils and local services face another disastrous settlement. 

Only Plaid Cymru will stand up for communities across Wales, and demand a fair deal from Westminster and work to protect our public services. 

Wales was promised that things would improve under Labour’s ‘partnership in power’.  

But Wales still hasn’t received the billions owed from HS2, no control over our natural resources, and hit hardest by Labour’s taxes.

In today’s Budget, Plaid Cymru called for fairness.

Yet nothing in Labour’s Budget changes the fundamental unfairness facing Wales. 

Labour has given up on Wales. 

Plaid Cymru remains the only party standing up for our communities, demanding the fairness and ambition that Wales needs and deserves.

PLAID CYMRU’S LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR 2026

Plaid Cymru has published its slate of candidates for the 2026 Senedd election for the information of the press.

Plaid Cymru had already confirmed most of its candidates for the election on the 7th of May next year and is the first party to confirm the top candidates in all 16 constituencies.

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth commended the ‘outstanding’ team that was ready to ‘stand up for Wales, deliver real change, and keep Reform out’.

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said,

“I’m thrilled that we have such an outstanding team of Plaid Cymru candidates, deeply rooted in their communities and ready to work tirelessly to earn the trust and support of people across Wales." 

“The next Senedd election is a historic opportunity. Labour have given up on Wales, and our nation urgently needs new leadership – both in how we are treated within the UK and how our government works for the people of Wales.

“Plaid Cymru offers that new leadership. 

It is our chance to elect, for the first time, a government and a First Minister from a made in Wales party who will stand up relentlessly for Wales, improve our NHS, support families with the cost of living, expand childcare, and help businesses thrive.

“This election is also about Wales’ future. The threat of Reform cannot be ignored. Polls show it is a two-horse race to be the largest party, and only Plaid Cymru can prevent Reform from dragging Wales and Welsh politics backwards.

“This is a team ready to deliver positive change and defend Wales’ interests. We will work tirelessly for every community across the country.”

The full list of candidates is available here. 

WHEN WESTMINSTER DOES THE COUNTING, WALES ALWAYS LOSES OUT

Plaid Cymru urges Chancellor to address the shortchanging of Wales in the Budget  

 

Ahead of the Budget on 26 November, Plaid Cymru has called on the Chancellor to deliver a budget that works for Wales.  

 

The party’s Treasury Spokesperson, Ben Lake MP, has said that Wales is “losing out on billions from unfair spending decisions” made by this Labour UK Government.  

 

This includes the continued denial of Barnett consequentials from railway projects such as HS2 and the Oxford-Cambridge line, damaging taxes on family businesses and farms, as well as a shortfall in Wales’ public sector from Employer NIC rises.  However, while Mr Lake has said that the people of Wales are “bearing the brunt” of Labour’s damaging policies, it is unlikely that Rachel Reeves will change these fundamentals next week.   

  

Ahead of the Budget, Plaid Cymru has called for:

  

• Reclassification of HS2 and the Oxford–Cambridge rail as England-only projects to ensure Wales receives the billions it is owed in Barnett consequentials;    

• Unlock Wales’s borrowing powers to address historic underinvestment;    

• Halt Labour’s damaging taxes on work and introduce a tax on extreme wealth;  

• Cut the cost of energy and give Wales control of the Crown Estate.  

  

 Plaid Cymru’s Treasury Spokesperson, Ben Lake MP said:  

 

“Once again, this Budget seems likely to fall short of what Wales needs or deserves, because when Westminster does the counting, Wales always loses out.  

 

“The string of U-turns from Labour over the last few weeks has left the public 

wondering what they actually stand for, if anything at all. From income tax rises to the two-child cap, their backtracking leaves little confidence that Wednesday’s Budget will bring clarity, or that Labour themselves have faith in their fiscal strategy.  

 

“But people across Wales are not just looking for stability, they’re looking for ambition that will provide real change to improve their day to day lives. That is what Plaid Cymru’s proposals to the Chancellor are offering, and that is why she should take them seriously ahead of the Budget on Wednesday.   

 

“Wales has lost out on billions from unfair spending decisions made by this Labour UK Government. Plaid Cymru is simply calling for fairness, and for a budget that will  deliver for Wales. From calling for the billions owed to Wales from HS2 to the devolution of the Crown Estate, to demanding action on the cost of living and a rethink of Labour's tax rises on family businesses and farms. 

 

“There is a clear pattern of Wales being treated unfairly. We were promised better with two Labour Governments at both ends of the M4, yet we’re seeing more of the same, with people across Wales bearing the brunt of Labour’s damaging policies. If the Chancellor wanted to meet the needs of people in Wales and match their appetite for real change, then she would listen to Plaid Cymru’s proposals and provide our communities with the tools and the investment they need to thrive.”  

 

- ENDS -