Plaid Cymru offers positive change for Wales, says leader Rhun ap Iorwerth
Today (Thursday 14th of November) marks 100 days since Eluned Morgan took the role of First Minister in Wales.
The First Minister stated that her Government’s priorities are cutting waiting lists, economic growth and creating jobs to tackle climate change, increasing educational standards, and connecting communities, but Plaid Cymru has said the First Minister “has no plan to tackle the issues she lists as a priority.”
Appearing on BBC Wales Live last night (Wednesday 13 November 2024), Sioned Williams MS, who represents South Wales West, and speaks for Plaid Cymru on Social Justice, said that the First Minister has failed to listen to the voices of children in Wales to tackle the “national scandal” of child poverty.
In the lead up to the 2024 general election, the Eluned Morgan spoke of how two Labour Governments in the UK would be of benefit to Wales. Leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, has said that these benefits have not been realised as Wales is ‘still denied’ £4BN of HS2 funding, devolution of the Crown Estate or reform of the Barnett formula – some of Plaid Cymru’s key demands.
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said:
“The Labour First Minister’s first 100 days marks more of the same for Wales: There’s still no plan to tackle record-high NHS waiting lists, no detail on how they’ll improve the education system, no strategy to grow the economy, meaning a lack of well-paid jobs, and the public transport system is still leaving communities disconnected.
“The First Minister herself told us these were her priorities when she took office. She also said that two Labour governments working together would benefit Wales, yet we’re still denied £4bn for HS2 from Westminster, and there's still no sign of devolving the Crown Estate or a fairer funding model.
“We know that Wales deserves better. Plaid Cymru offers the positive change our people are crying out for. We’ll get back to basics: fix the NHS, give young people the tools to succeed, rebuild the economy, and demand fairness from Westminster – these are the least any government should do.”
Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru Member of Senedd for South Wales West, said
“In her summer time listening exercise, the First Minister said she was going to listen to the marginalised voices. You know who are often overlooked by governments? Children! But we didn’t hear anything about tackling child poverty in Eluned Morgan’s list of priorities. It’s a national scandal that Wales has the highest level of child poverty in the UK but Eluned Morgan has failed to stand up for them by calling for the scrapping of the two child cap.
“The type of money that could be released into the Welsh Government budget if Wales received the money it was owed from HS2, if we had the fair funding model we deserve and if we had control over the Crown Estate would be transformational.
“These are things that Welsh Labour used to agree with Plaid Cymru on. But now they have the opportunity to show what two Labour governments working together in Wales and Westminster could achieve, they have gone quiet. That’s why Plaid Cymru will continue to stand up for Welsh communities and fight for what we are owed.”