By Paul Dicken
15 April 2010
Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru has made its pitch for the general election, claiming to be the only party that would protect public services in Wales.
At Plaid’s manifesto launch on April 13, party leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said that, should there be a hung Parliament, Plaid would seek to protect the Welsh budget from cuts. ‘The London-based parties have already decided what’s important to them – the City, the banks, the votes of so-called Middle Britain. Contrast [this with] our values of looking after the vulnerable and protecting frontline services,’ he said.
Plaid’s priorities are to increase the state pension, seek greater devolution and tackle the deficit by scrapping identity cards and the replacement of Trident nuclear submarines.
Daran Hill, managing director of public affairs consultancy Positif Politics, said Plaid had focused for the first time not on constitutional issues but on other policies, with cuts to public services seen as ‘the most critical issue’.
Launching the Labour campaign in Wales on the same day, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said Labour was the only party securing the economy and bringing jobs to Wales. ‘We are well placed in Wales to focus on green energy jobs and new employment in the digital economy – new “Dot Cymru, Dot Com” jobs of the future.’
The Liberal Democrat manifesto, published on April 14, said the party would replace the Barnett Formula – the funding model used to allocate spending to the devolved nations – with a needs-based formula.
The Conservative manifesto said the party would not stand in the way of further legislative powers for Wales, but its priority was to strengthen the Welsh economy.
15 April 2010
Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru has made its pitch for the general election, claiming to be the only party that would protect public services in Wales.
At Plaid’s manifesto launch on April 13, party leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said that, should there be a hung Parliament, Plaid would seek to protect the Welsh budget from cuts. ‘The London-based parties have already decided what’s important to them – the City, the banks, the votes of so-called Middle Britain. Contrast [this with] our values of looking after the vulnerable and protecting frontline services,’ he said.
Plaid’s priorities are to increase the state pension, seek greater devolution and tackle the deficit by scrapping identity cards and the replacement of Trident nuclear submarines.
Daran Hill, managing director of public affairs consultancy Positif Politics, said Plaid had focused for the first time not on constitutional issues but on other policies, with cuts to public services seen as ‘the most critical issue’.
Launching the Labour campaign in Wales on the same day, Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said Labour was the only party securing the economy and bringing jobs to Wales. ‘We are well placed in Wales to focus on green energy jobs and new employment in the digital economy – new “Dot Cymru, Dot Com” jobs of the future.’
The Liberal Democrat manifesto, published on April 14, said the party would replace the Barnett Formula – the funding model used to allocate spending to the devolved nations – with a needs-based formula.
The Conservative manifesto said the party would not stand in the way of further legislative powers for Wales, but its priority was to strengthen the Welsh economy.
