A MESSAGE FROM ADAM PRICE

Adam Price, leader of Plaid Cymru 

Dear voter,

In the age of conversing in 280 characters, it often feels as if the sanctity of words wears thinner by the day.

Vows to save the Union made then broken. Slogans on buses painted over with bluff and bluster. NHS deadlines missed and child poverty targets dropped.

It’s time to restore trust in our democracy.

I want you to believe in those who represent Wales as much as you believe in Wales itself. I want to prove to you that Plaid Cymru is driven by something different – not by Westminster diktat but by a sincere desire to deliver for our country.

I want us to form the next government of Wales not for the power, but for the privilege of leading our nation and for the potential that will be unleashed by our radical and transformational programme.

As you head to the polling station today, ask yourself two simple questions: Can Wales have a future that is greener, fairer, and more prosperous? And isn’t it time we had a government ready to make that a reality?

If the answer to those questions is ‘yes’, then vote for Wales – vote for Plaid Cymru.

‘Vote’ 

Vote for a £6bn Welsh Green Deal that will create up to 60,000 jobs.

Vote for a Reskill Grant for those over 25 who were made redundant during the pandemic and for a Youth Jobs Guarantee for all 16-24-year-olds.

Vote for 1,000 extra doctors and 5,000 extra nurses and allied health professionals to improve access to healthcare and cut waiting times.

Vote for 50,000 public homes to end the scandal of 67,000 families stuck on housing waiting lists.

Vote for free school meals and free childcare from 24 months to lift tens of thousands of children out of poverty.

Vote for Plaid Cymru as the only party which believes that Wales’s future should be put in Wales’s hands through a referendum on independence.

Vote for a party dedicated to Wales and determined to deliver for Wales.

A dear friend no longer with us once told me that life is too short not to say what you mean and to mean what you say.

Today, I give you my word. Vote for Plaid Cymru and we will work every day to make Wales a better place for everyone who lives here. We will stand up taller and raise our voices louder to Westminster whilst building the case for our nation to make its own way in the world.

Vote for Plaid Cymru and let us prove to you that a promise made is a promise kept – true to our word and true to Wales.

Dros Gymru,

Adam Price

A VOTE FOR HOPE

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has marked the eve of the Senedd Election by making the case that “a vote for Plaid is a vote for hope” as Wales prepares to go to the polls.

Adam Price said that Plaid Cymru’s belief in Wales’s ability to solve its own problems stood in stark contrast to Labour and the Tories whose “can’t do” attitude always puts Westminster before Wales.

The Plaid Cymru Leader added that his party’s “transformational programme for government” reflected the scale of change and ambition required to rebuild Wales’s economy and public services after the Covid pandemic.

Speaking on the eve of the Senedd Election, Adam Price said:

“At this election more than any other, a vote for Plaid Cymru is a vote for hope.

“We refuse to believe that there is anything inferior about Wales that means we can’t thrive like other independent nations around the world.

“In contrast to Labour and the Tories’ “can’t do” attitude and their determination to put Westminster before Wales every time, we believe in our nation’s ability to solve its own problems.

“The Covid pandemic has demanded more of us in so many ways. More kindness, more patience, more strength, and more innovation.

“Now is the time to show more ambition than ever before to ensure that we meet the challenge of rebuilding our economy and public services.

“That is why Plaid Cymru is putting forward such a transformational programme for government to reflect the scale of change and ambition required to succeed. 

“From creating up to 60,000 jobs and delivering 50,000 public homes, from offering free school meals to all primary pupils and free childcare from 24 months, and from training and recruiting 6,000 frontline NHS staff and cutting council tax for the average household, Plaid Cymru’s vision gives hope.

“Hope for a better future, a fairer future, and a future where our nation and everyone who calls it home can fulfil their potential. 

“There is nothing we cannot achieve together, and that journey can start tomorrow with a vote for Plaid Cymru, a vote for hope.”  

ENDS

TIME TO CHOOSE A NEW FUTURE

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Group Leader and Senedd Election Campaign Director Liz Saville Roberts MP has today hit out at the Labour Welsh Government’s record in power, saying that the lack of social progress on Labour’s watch represents a “betrayal” of the party’s values.

Arguing that this is the time for new leadership, new ideas and new energy for a new Wales Ms Saville Roberts said “Now is the time for a new beginning. Let’s choose a new future not stick with the past and more of the same.”

Liz Saville Roberts added that “Plaid Cymru’s fully-costed plans to offer free school meals to all primary pupils, free childcare from 24 months, a weekly child payment for the families who need it the most and a council tax cut for the poorest households prove that we are the party of social progress in this election.”

Liz Saville Roberts MP argued that Labour’s time in office in Wales was typified by “good intentions but bad governance”, adding that the party had repeatedly set admirable targets on issues such as child poverty and climate change only to miss them.

The Plaid Cymru Senedd Election Campaign Director added that Aneurin Bevan, arguably the most famous Labour politician from Wales, who warned that “people who stand in the middle of the road get run over” would not look kindly upon the Labour Welsh Government of today’s stance on issues of social justice such as free school meals and the devolution of welfare.

Liz Saville Roberts MP said:

“Labour’s twenty-two years at the helm in Wales typify the mantra of good intentions but bad governance.

“They set admirable targets to eradicate child poverty and tackle the climate crisis, only to miss them due to their lack of ambition and economic competence.

“Aneurin Bevan warned that those who stand in the middle of the road are in danger of being run over. Labour would do well to heed these words rather than sit on the fence, or say one thing and do the opposite on key issues of social justice such as free school meals and the devolution of welfare.

“Labour’s record on voting against free school meals, voting against a flooding inquiry that would get vital answer for those whose homes have been devastated by bad weather, and arguing that welfare powers should remain in the hands of the Tories in Westminster speak of a party which has forgotten how to enact its values, and betraying those very values in the process.

“Now is the time for a new beginning. Let’s choose a new future not stick with the past and more of the same.

“Plaid Cymru’s fully-costed plans to offer free school meals to all primary pupils, free childcare from 24 months, a weekly child payment for the families who need it the most and a council tax cut for the poorest households prove that we are the party of social progress in this election.

“Re-electing a Labour Government determined to keep Wales tied to an unjust and unequal union will never deliver the changes that will make our nation fairer for everyone who lives here.

“A Plaid Cymru Government will mean a stronger Wales – feared and respected by Westminster, not neglected and ignored. This will mean a better deal for Wales – more investment and more powers.

“The only way of ensuring that is to vote for Wales by voting for Plaid Cymru on May 6th.”

POLITICAL WILL CAN ERADICATE CHILD POVERTY

Immediate action to help 180,000 children living in poverty will only begin by electing a Plaid Cymru government, Senedd candidate for Caerphilly Delyth Jewell has said.

As part of its commitment to eradicate child poverty, Plaid Cymru will provide targeted payments of £10 a week to families living below the poverty line, rising to £35 a week before the end of the next Senedd term.

Delyth Jewell said “child poverty in Wales can be ended if the political will is there” and promised a “relentless focus on breaking the cycle of poorer prospects and school attainment for children from lower income families”

Announcing the policy Delyth Jewell said,

“It is a national scandal that one in three of Welsh children live in poverty. Covid-19 has affected everyone in Wales but those most likely to bear the brunt of its short- and long-term impacts are low-income families and children living in poverty. The outlook now is even more bleak than before.

“It’s simply not good enough for the Labour government to set a target of ending child poverty 2020 only to walk away from it later.

“A Plaid Cymru government would not take its eye off the ball, child poverty in Wales can be eradicated if the political will is there. 

“The best way in the short term to lift a child out of poverty is to give her or his parents money. 

“A Plaid Cymru Government would provide targeted payments to families living in poverty, introducing a Welsh Child Payment of £35 a week to children.

“Voters can be assured that a vote for Plaid Cymru on May 6^th is a vote for a relentless focus on breaking the cycle of poorer prospects and school attainment for children from lower income families.”

- ENDS - 

LEARNING FROM SMALL NATIONS

Plaid Cymru Shadow Education Minister and Senedd Election candidate for Arfon, Siân Gwenllian, has set out how a Plaid Cymru government would work towards providing free school meals for children in Wales, helping to close the attainment gap and tackle child poverty.

Figures from the Child Poverty Action Group show that around 70,000 children in Wales living below the UK poverty line are currently not eligible for free school meals.

 

Siân Gwenllian said that the policy would focus on supporting Welsh farmers and businesses through boosting local procurement, and that the rollout should begin by extending free school meals eligibility to primary children from households in receipt of Universal Credit. Every child in primary school would receive free school meals before the end of a Plaid Cymru first term in government.

 

Siân Gwenllian said:

 

“The attainment gap poses a real challenge in Wales. A Plaid Cymru government would start the important work of closing this gap expanding free school meals provision, starting with extending eligibility to all primary children from households in receipt of Universal Credit.

 

“By the end of the first term of a Plaid government, we would extend the eligibility even more by offering free school meals to all primary pupils, going further than any Labour government ever has.

 

“With almost one in three children in Wales living in poverty and the last Labour Government having scrapped their target of eradicating child poverty by 2020, a Plaid Cymru government would focus on addressing this failure. 

 

“Wales can learn from other small nations such as Finland and Sweden who place an emphasis on Free School Meals as an investment in effective learning and children’s early development. 

 

“Plaid Cymru’s free school meals plan would also benefit wider society, placing a focus on supporting Welsh farmers and businesses through boosting local procurement, and promoting the benefits of nutritious, home-grown produce in terms of health, the economy and the environment.”

- ENDS -

FREE AT THE POINT OF NEED

Plaid sets out vision for ‘transformational’ social care – “free at the point of need”

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS has set out his party’s vision for delivering transformational change to social care in Wales by working towards offering care that is “free at the point of need”.

Adam Price MS said that one of the first acts of a Plaid Cymru government would be to establish a Commission to explore ways in which it could source extra money to fund the creation of a seamless Health and Social Care Service, free at the point of need.

The Plaid Cymru Leader added that the pandemic had “shone a light” on the invaluable contribution of care workers and reiterated his party’s pledge to guaranteeing a £10 an hour minimum wage for all care workers.

Adam Price MS said,

“For those of whose loved ones are currently in contact with our excellent care services, the dedication of the staff is no surprise.

“But Covid-19 has shone a light on the hard work, innovation, and challenges of providing home care support, nursing care in the community and quality of life for residents in care homes.

“I’ve seen with my own eyes the struggle that many families face. For my mother, caring for my father with dementia and so many others in the same position, free social care would be truly transformational.

“That is why one of my first acts as First Minister leading a Plaid Cymru government would be to establish a Commission to explore ways in which we could source extra money to fund the creation of a seamless Health and Social Care Service, free at the point of need.

“The Commission would report within a year and consider Plaid Cymru’s preferred option of using general taxation and also a levy-based Social Care Fund along the lines suggested by economist Gerald Holtham.

“A new National Health and Care Service would ensure the seamless integration of delivery on a local level, bringing together local government and health boards in new Regional Care Partnerships.

“Care assessment processes should and would focus on identifying personal care need, rather than the arbitrary definitions of ‘health’ or ‘social’ care.

“For the new Service to be a success it must work for the carers as well as the cared for.

“This is why a Plaid government would also invest in the range and quality of care in the community by increasing the number of district nurses and nurses with a community masters’ degree and increasing nursing students’ placements in care homes alongside the development of career pathways in care for Older People and dementia care.

“We have also set out plans to bring care workers’ pay progressively into line with those of NHS staff, starting with making a £10 minimum wage mandatory for care workers.”

ENDS

4,500 EXTRA TEACHERS

Plaid Cymru Education Spokesperson Siân Gwenllian MS has today set out her party’s pledge to recruit 4,500 extra teachers and specialist support staff in Welsh schools, should it form the next government after May’s election.

Setting out the party’s vision to offer “every child in Wales, whatever their postcode or background, the best start in life”, Siân Gwenllian praised teachers and all school staff for “working wonders” throughout the pandemic to ensure that young people continued to receive an education despite the challenging circumstances.

Siân Gwenllian also said that a Plaid government would raise the starting salary for teachers in Wales by 10% to £30,000 and work towards making teaching a Masters’ level profession, giving teachers more professional development opportunities and support throughout their careers.

Siân Gwenllian MS said:

“I want every child in Wales, whatever their postcode or background, to have the best start in life.

“An important part of that is ensuring that our schools are as well-resourced as possible, not only in terms of the number of teachers but also their specialism in supporting pupils with additional Learning Needs.

“That is why a Plaid Cymru government would employ 4,500 extra teachers and specialist support staff in schools across Wales by the end of our first term.

“Teachers have had a particularly difficult time during the pandemic and have worked wonders to ensure that our young people continue to receive an education, regardless of the challenging circumstances.

“Currently one in three teachers is quitting the classroom within their first five years. A Plaid Cymru government will address this by not only making funding available to recruit more teachers but improving the offer for those already in the profession.

“We will do this by raising the starting salary of teachers in Wales by 10 per cent to £30,000 from 2022 and provide in-career sabbatical breaks for teachers.

“Plaid Cymru also commits to making teaching a Masters’ level profession, beginning with a requirement for all newly qualified teachers to be working towards a government-funded Masters’ degree in education or a subject relevant to their classroom work within five years.  

“All education workers, full-time and supply teachers alike, should have access to continual professional development throughout their careers.

“It’s time for a Welsh government that will give teachers the full recognition and reward that they deserve. That is what a vote for Plaid Cymru offers on 6th May.”

- ENDS -

WALES 2035

The current target for Wales of Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 is not fast enough. Plaid Cymru will amend Wales’ emissions reduction pathway this year. We will set a target to meet all of Wales’ energy demands – electricity, heating and transport – entirely from renewables by 2035. We will also set a target for Wales to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2035.

Achieving independence in the coming decade will give us essential policy levers in reaching this goal. However, if by the end of the decade Wales is still reliant on key policy decisions being made at Westminster, we may be forced to adjust the target date.

Wales 2035 will become a national, cross-sector and cross-community mission with the following plans:

• Decarbonising all of our railways by 2035.
• Legislating to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans before the UK date of 2030.
• All electricity demand in Wales to be renewable by 2030.
• All electricity generated in Wales to be renewable by 2035.
  

Inspired by the City Council’s target for Cardiff to become carbon neutral by 2025, we will launch a Challenge Fund for cities, towns and communities that seek to become Welsh carbon pioneers by reaching carbon neutrality before 2035.

OUR NATIONAL ENERGY COMPANY

Plaid Cymru Senedd Member for Ynys Môn, Rhun ap Iorwerth, has today set out how his party’s plans to create a national energy company - Ynni Cymru - located on Anglesey would boost the local economy and help Wales reach its climate change targets.

Ynni Cymru, an energy project development company, would follow a model similar to Transport for Wales or the Development Bank for Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said Wales has huge potential in zero carbon electricity generation, and that the new body would spearhead such developments, bringing benefits to local communities and Wales as a whole, whilst helping us meet our environmental obligations.

 

The Plaid Cymru Senedd candidate for Ynys Môn added that a Plaid government would commission a national inventory of green energy potential – an Energy Atlas – to identify possible new projects and developments. 

 

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said:

 

“Wales has a vast amount of natural wealth but we need to reap those benefits for local communities, for Wales and for our environment.

 

“That is why a Plaid Cymru government would establish a national energy company for Wales – Ynni Cymru – that would give us greater control over electricity generation. 

 

“I am delighted that a Plaid government would locate Ynni Cymru on Ynys Môn where there is huge untapped potential in terms of natural resources and where local communities would benefit from the economic boost of a new development coming to the island. 

 

“It would be responsible for mapping out an Energy Atlas – a national inventory of green energy potential that will allow us to identify opportunities to develop new Welsh firms and community energy projects. 

 

“Tidal energy, off our southern and northern coasts, including the exciting projects off the Anglesey coast, would form a major part of this, as well as mapping green hydrogen potential and increasing offshore wind generation.

 

“A Plaid government would also be committed to ensuring all new renewable energy projects are at least partly owned by the local community. 

 

“These are ambitious but workable plans that will help Wales tackle the climate emergency whilst creating high-skilled, well-paid jobs as part of a sustainable economic recovery.”

 

ENDS

IT’S TIME TO PAY UP

Plaid Cymru has called for reform of pay, terms and conditions to bring in equality of treatment for health and social care staff.

In a debate on Wednesday 17th March in the Senedd, Plaid Cymru called for disparities to end, and for care workers to be paid a guaranteed minimum of £10 an hour.

 

Under current arrangements, all health workers in the NHS are paid at least the real living wage. That is not the case in the care sector.

 

A Plaid Cymru government would create a National Health and Care Service, with free social care at the point of need, with health and social care workers put on the same pay scales.

 

In the Senedd debate today, Plaid Cymru will call on the “next Welsh Government” to introduce a guaranteed minimum of £10 an hour for all care workers.

 

The Labour Welsh Government has tabled an amendment which deletes this requirement and replaces it with a mention of a new forum - the Social Care Fair Work Forum - which it says is “looking at how to improve terms and conditions in the sector.”

 

Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for Health, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said,

 

“The public has clapped for our carers, now it’s time for government to step up and put a value to the clapping.

 

“Plaid Cymru has made its commitment to our carers - in government, we will create genuinely seamless National Health AND Care Service, which will give care workers the respect they deserve, putting them on the same terms and conditions and pay scales as health workers.

 

“If the other political parties in Wales are serious about this, they will have the chance to back Plaid Cymru’s motion in the Senedd today, and commit to delivering a reformed pay and retention settlement for health and social care staff, including a guaranteed minimum of £10 an hour for care workers.

 

“For our carers, who have put so much into looking after us during the biggest public health crisis in our lifetimes, it is the very least government can do for them”

 

DIWEDD / ENDS

 

NODIADAU I’R GOLYGYDD / EDITOR’S NOTES:

 

           1.     NDM7655 Plaid Cymru Debate - NHS Pay Review: https://business.senedd.wales/ieIssueDetails.aspx?IId=36894&PlanId=0&Opt=3

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Condemns the UK Government’s recommendation to the NHS Pay Review Body for a wholly inadequate 1 per cent pay rise to nurses and other NHS staff which would amount to a real terms cut in their wages.

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to make further representations to the NHS Pay Review Body supporting the specific calls of the trade unions and other bodies representing health and social care staff in Wales for a fair and well deserved pay rise to reflect the sacrifices made during the pandemic.

3. Calls on the next Welsh Government to deliver a reformed pay and retention settlement for health and social care staff, including a guaranteed minimum of £10 an hour for care workers to end the current disparity between health and care

 

2.     Plaid Cymru commitment to create a seamless health and social care system: https://www.partyof.wales/health_and_care_speech_araith_iechyd_a_gofal

A TIME FOR AMBITION

“Settling for 2050 isn’t good enough” – a Plaid Cymru government would adopt more ambitious net zero carbon emission target

 

Commenting on the new carbon emission targets debated in the Senedd today (Tuesday 16 March), Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister for the Environment, Llyr Gruffydd MS said:

 

“Wales must reach net zero carbon emissions much sooner than 2050 and a Plaid Cymru Government would adopt much more ambitious targets for tackling the climate and nature crisis.

 

“Many nations and regions around the world are aiming for a faster transition to net zero. Sweden is heading for net zero emissions by 2045, Iceland and Austria by 2040 and Finland by 2035. The Jamtland region in Sweden is aiming for net zero by 2030 and Copenhagen the capital region of Denmark by 2025.

 

“Settling for 2050 isn’t good enough. A Plaid Cymru Government after May’s Senedd election will introduce new regulations that go further and faster in driving down Wales’ carbon emissions.”

 

DIWEDD / ENDS

 

NODIADAU I’R GOLYGYDD / EDITOR’S NOTES:

1: Item SL(5)749 - The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 (Amendment of 2050 Emissions Target) Regulations 2021: https://business.senedd.wales/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=35625

TALKING ABOUT HOUSING

We need to talk about our Housing crisis, Labour in Wales is silent on the matter and the other Unionist or anti devolution parties are silent on this issue. I see few any positives for Cymru / Wales simply being a simple adjunct to England, or Newport being a simple dormitory town for Bristol or Cardiff. I can never subscribe to the Severnside agenda, no matter how many times it gets rebranded and relaunched. 

In our south east, along the coastal belt and in and around Newport and Torfaen (not to mention around Cardiff and Caerphilly) and across Monmouthshire the last thirty years we have seen a significant if not spectacular growth in the amount of housing. A significant percentage of which in recent years has quite failed to fulfil pressing local housing needs. Second homes are an issue even in our south east, especially in the Wye Valley and adjoining parts of Monmouthshire - but the real issue is access to affordable primary of first homes. 

Quite frankly for serious challenging times, we need serious government and serious leadership. We lack both at all levels of government. That is why we need a Plaid government in Cardiff - with a new agenda which will aim at retrofitting 100,000 homes as part of a £6 billion green economic stimulus package. 

A Plaid Cymru government will create a long-term energy efficiency infrastructure plan to retrofit existing homes to the highest environmental standards. This will contribute to our aim of abolishing fuel poverty and decarbonising our country. Plaid will prioritise houses in fuel poverty. 

As part of the biggest public house building programme for 50 years, Plaid will build or convert 50,000 public homes over the next 5 years, including 15,000 genuinely affordable homes to buy. These will include some among the 26,000 empty homes across Wales that will be brought back into use.

Despite the Labour in Wales Government estimating that we will need an additional 110,000 homes across Wales up to 2039, of which half should be affordable, they have never delivered more than 7,000 new homes a year over the past 10 ten yours: out of which have been a maximum of 1,500 affordable homes. We need a step change in Welsh capacity to provide housing.

A Plaid Cymru government’s definition of affordable homes will mirror the mortgage lending rule of 4.5 times the average local household income or around £125,000 – half the Welsh Government’s definition which includes properties up to £250,000.