Plaid Cymru party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth revealed his plans for government as he addressed his party members in the keynote speech at the Plaid Cymru party conference in Newport and hailed the May elections a “generational opportunity”.
The man the polls suggest is most likely to be the next First Minister of Wales spoke of wanting to improve education, healthcare, childcare and support for Welsh businesses as he sparked cheers in his address.
Mr ap Iorwerth also said he would set out his plan for his first 100 days in government on Saturday, February 28, saying the party plans on setting the ground running straight away if they are to be elected in May.
The latest poll carried out by YouGov on behalf of ITV Cymru Wales/Barn Cymru projected Plaid Cymru would be the biggest party winning 37% of the vote share. It projects that Reform will win 23% and that Labour will slump to what would be a disappointing third, with 10% of the vote. However a separate poll by More in Common put Reform in the lead.
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Mr ap Iorwerth said a number of times how his party would “get the basics right”, and was keen to tell supporters that he would make sure the NHS would be a system that is “fighting fit” as he slammed the current waiting times crisis.
He said: “The Plaid Cymru government I lead will focus on driving down waiting lists – not only because this matters for its own sake, but because we also need to give ourselves breathing space if we’re to create a truly sustainable health and care service that’s fit for the challenges of the 21st century.”
To achieve this, he said his government would create 10 surgical hubs with dedicated centres for operations dealing with some of the longest areas of waiting lists, and would improve out of hours access to GPs through telehealth services.
Another area where the Plaid leader was adamant his party would be able to tackle child poverty and a disparity with England, was education. A system in Wales which he said was currently failing too many young people.
Mr ap Iorwerth said: “Under Labour, our education system is failing too many of our young people when it comes to developing critical skills in reading, writing and maths. As reflected in Wales’s PISA results, educational standards are simply not good enough, and have been getting worse.
“The skills gap is all the greater for students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, who underperform compared to their peers in every other part of the UK. Students in England achieve more on a similar or lower level of per-pupil funding.
“So falling standards in Welsh schools aren’t just a case of what we spend, but how we spend it. We need to reset and refocus if we’re to raise the bar.”
Met with sea of applause by the hundreds of Plaid supporters who travelled from across the country and beyond to cram into a hall in the International Convention Centre in Newport, Mr ap Iorwerth was blunt as he framed the election as a two-horse race between the “chaos of Reform and the hope of Plaid Cymru”.
The Plaid leader said the reaction of people on doorsteps across the country had been “energising” and unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.
In addressing why people should vote for his party, he was adamant they offered a hope of a better healthcare system and more affordable childcare.
Mr ap Iorwerth was keen to bring attention back to his flagship policy of increasing the free childcare allowance in Wales, something he said would allow parents to go back to work without the fear that they would be better off not.
His policy would introduce 20 hours of free childcare for every child from the age of 9 months to 4 years, with 30 hours for children aged 3 and 4 where their parents are in work, education or training.
He told supporters: “That’s thousands of pounds back in families’ pockets just when they need it most. It’s an opportunity for more parents to return to work, or to pick up more hours.
“It’s an offer of real, practical support not only to parents, but to grandparents too, so many of whom have had to step in to plug the gap. We’ll go further than any other government on these islands – delivering an offer that’s universal and ensures every child has access to the life-long benefits that flow from quality childcare and early years education – regardless of background or family income.
“And our ambition to give every child the best start in life doesn’t end there.”
As he framed the May elections as a two-horse race between his party and Reform, Mr ap Iorwerth said: “Friends, for Labour, the party is over – and so the election in May will be a choice between two contrasting futures. Tolerance or division. Progress or decay. Defiance or deference. Culture or ignorance. Humanity or indifference. Plaid or Reform.”
One of the more light-hearted moments of his speech was when the leader was keen to welcome some of their newer recruits. He told the conference how Cole and Alison Vyas, who went viral in the lead-up to the Caerphilly by-election for their critiscm of Reform and candidate Llyr Powell’s immigration policies, had joined the party.
He said how in the last week Alison had become a Plaid Cymru community councillor in the Porset ward of Caerphilly. As Alison stood up and waved around the hall she receieved one of the biggest cheers of the day.
Mr ap Iorwerth said: “Cole and Alison Vyas stood up for themselves and for their community. By sheer coincidence their front door was the very last I knocked on election day itself. I remember fondly the conversation we had.
“They weren’t members of Plaid Cymru then, but they are now, having joined us because we share a vision of building bridges and breaking down barriers. And as of last week, Alison is an elected Plaid Cymru community councillor too.
“For Labour it really is last orders”
In response to his speech, a Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “Once again, we get nothing new from Plaid Cymru – a long wish list with no costings behind them. They won’t answer the tough questions. How will they pay for all these things? Rhun talks of ‘efficiency’ but won’t say if they’ll make cuts to existing services or will they raise taxes?
“It’s just the same old fantasy politics that will turn out to be just as ‘unrealistic’ as their abandoned net-zero pledge.”
