Rhun ap Iorwerth MS
Leader of Plaid CymruPlaid Cymru’s leader argues that after 27 years of Labour rule and rising support for Reform, Wales faces a stark choice between division and ambition, making the case that only Plaid Cymru offers the hopeful, practical leadership needed to put the nation back on track.
Something big is happening in Wales – and this year, we can make history.
Poll after poll, along with the historic result in the Caerphilly by-election, show that people are turning to Plaid Cymru in greater numbers than ever.
It’s clear that, to get us back on track, people want a government with a higher level of ambition for Wales.
Twenty-seven Years of Labour
Labour has led Welsh Government for 27 years. The legacy is one in five people in Wales on an NHS waiting list, a stagnating economy, too many children leaving primary school unable to read, and child poverty rates continuing to rise.
And now, after promising delivery for Wales through a “Partnership in Power” between Labour UK and Welsh Governments, the reality has been a failure by the Labour First Minister to stand up to Keir Starmer when he brushes Wales aside time and time again. Whether it’s on the billions owed to us from HS2 rail, powers over our natural resources, or fair funding, Labour in Wales has put party before country at every turn. Wales deserves better.
People want change, but we must ensure that the change we choose as a nation is a positive one.
Reform’s Anger or Plaid’s Hope?
In that context, the threat of Reform is real. This May, we cannot make it clearer that two vastly different futures lie ahead for Wales.
Reform’s politics of division and fear, policy-light with no vision for Wales, a party focused always on laying a path for Nigel Farage to No.10 and never on acting in Wales’s best interest. Or Plaid Cymru’s offer of new leadership for Wales, rich in solutions and rooted in creating a fairer, more ambitious nation.
Labour’s own leaked election strategy paper summed up the choice: “Reform define the anger, while Plaid Cymru define the hope.”
Our radical plan means addressing the challenges of providing better public services, strengthening the economy, and tackling inequalities, whilst standing up for our communities at every opportunity in our dealings with the UK Labour Government. I want to build a constructive relationship with the UK Prime Minister, but my loyalty will always be to the people of Wales, and my mission will be to deliver for them.
A Radical Plan
New leadership with Plaid Cymru means tackling NHS waiting lists by rolling out surgical hubs across the country and building new sustainability across the health and care sector; plans to better support businesses and create jobs through a new Development Agency; getting back to basics in education with our foundational literacy and numeracy plan, including offering greater training and development opportunities for teachers and support staff; and, not least, easing pressure on families with a transformative childcare offer to help parents back into work – a minimum of 20 hours per week, 48 weeks of the year, making it the most generous offer in the UK.
Historic Election
A vote for Plaid Cymru is not a vote for change for the sake of it. It is a vote to put Wales back on track, with a government whose priorities mirror those of its people – and we can stop Reform while we’re at it.
That’s the message we’re taking to the people of Wales this year: that together, we can make history and choose positive new leadership for Wales by electing a Plaid Cymru Government.
This article features in the new edition of ChamberUK. Our parliamentary journal.
Photo Credit: Office of Rhun ap Iorwerth