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

GETTING WALES BACK IN BUSINESS

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price has today accused the Labour Welsh Government of leaving Wales with a “woeful economic legacy” as a consequence of failing to support indigenous Welsh businesses and create well-paid jobs after 22 years in power.

Adam Price said that Wales had been “locked in” to a low-wage economy due to the “double hit” of Labour’s lack of economic competence coupled with their lack of ambition when it comes to standing up to Westminster and demanding more powers.

He added that a Plaid government would adopt a “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra, and reiterated how his party’s plans to create up to 60,000 jobs in key sectors such as public services, infrastructure and energy would “transform our country”.

Adam Price said:

“Plaid Cymru has a plan that will transform our country. We have a plan that will transform the economy, creating quality jobs in every community – ending youth unemployment, ending child hunger, ending homelessness and poverty pay. 

“For many years, relatively low unemployment figures have hidden one of Wales’s worst economic problems – poverty pay. Welsh workers are still earning roughly £50 less per week than their counterparts in England and Scotland.

“This is the woeful economic legacy of 22 years of Labour at the helm who have categorically failed to deliver high-skilled, well-paid jobs in all parts of Wales.

“The pandemic has compounded this problem by leading to thousands of people losing their livelihoods and driving many other businesses right to the brink.

“A Plaid Cymru government would not only create more jobs with our plans to employ up to 60,000 people in sustainable roles such as in public services, infrastructure, and energy but crucially jobs that would put more money in people’s pockets.

“From Aston Martin to Ineos, Labour have repeatedly courted global corporations whilst neglecting homegrown Welsh companies with the potential to thrive and create meaningful employment for people in their local communities.

“A Plaid government would adopt a “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra, making up for the lost years in which Wales has been locked in to a low-wage economy due to Labour’s incompetent handling and their lack of ambition in standing up to Westminster and demanding more economic levers.

“This will only change when Wales has a First Minister willing to take personal responsibility for the economy and lead a government that is feared and respected by Westminster, not neglected and ignored.”

5 REASONS TO VOTE FOR WALES

After the pandemic, Plaid Cymru will have to put economic recovery front and centre of everything we do. 

1. Deliver a Green Industrial revolution Climate change presents the next global emergency – we are already seeing its effects in extreme weather events, flooding, and increasing record breaking temperatures. Wales has declared a climate emergency and we know we’re reaching several climate tipping points. We believe we need to act now, and we need to act radically. Plaid Cymru wants a Green Industrial Revolution for Wales. We will become a testbed for global innovation on climate change, and this will help us achieve a net zero carbon target by 2035.

2. Deliver infrastructure projects Issues in rail connectivity and efficiency as well as digital connectivity have been apparent for years, and the pandemic has only shed more light on the pressing need to improve them. With many of us working from home a reliable internet connection has been crucial, and the benefits of having fewer cars on our roads and less pollution in our air was felt across many parts of Wales. We would fire up the Welsh economy after Covid by achieving nationwide Gigabit connection and expanding and modernising the rail network – we will secure reliable and high speed internet connections and make rail transport a legitimate and practical option for thousands more of us.

3. Welsh ownership of renewable sector Building up the renewable sector is another urgent move needed in tackling the climate emergency, but we want to make it work for Wales and work for our communities too. We will grow Welsh ownership of the renewable sector, ensuring more profit returns to Welsh communities. We want to become world leaders in green energy, benefitting both the environment and our economy.

4. Create jobs in public services Our public services, particularly our health service, have been at the forefront of the pandemic. Its staff have been overstretched, overworked, and have gone above and beyond to keep us safe. Even before the pandemic, health services were pushed to the limit after years of austerity, and waiting times were unacceptably long. We will create thousands of jobs in our vital public services, including for doctors and nurses to support the vital Covid recovery.

5. Use local first procurement approach We will apply a local first approach to procurement which will ensure businesses in Wales have more opportunities, and boost the foundational economy. Aside for using quality local produce, skills and services this will both secure and provide opportunities to create secure local jobs here in Wales. 

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

We have to heal the deeper wounds of our nation with a post-Covid programme for government designed to create an economy that works for everyone and deliver a fair deal for families. 

A Plaid Cymru Government if elected on May 6^th would put in place policies to tackle child poverty and the housing crisis and invest to build the best NHS and social care services with more staff on better pay, and free social care for everyone who needs it.

• Universal free childcare from 24 months
• A council tax cut for thousands of families
• 1,000 new doctors and 5,000 new nurses

The grim statistics tell the story. There are 70,000 children in poverty in Wales that don’t even receive free school meals. 67,000 families on housing waiting lists. Over half of our care workers are paid less than the Real Living Wage. 

Let this be the year when we say no more. No more child hunger. No more homelessness and housing crisis. No more poverty pay. 

Britain isn’t working for us anymore – the Britain of my parents’ generation, a brave and hopeful place, no longer exists, it has been erased and, in its place, we have the moral vacuum that is Westminster. 

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the reality of modern Britain: a state defined by crushing poverty, ruled by a corrupt elite that gives contracts to its friends and denies furlough to its neighbours.

The future cannot be like the past, we cannot simply accept the fantasy island politics thats emanating from Westminster.  That is why we need to choose to decide our own future. 

The poverty we see around us as a nation is not our destiny. This is our moment of truth. Seize that moment and there is nothing that is impossible and nothing we cannot accomplish.