Leanne Wood says its 100 days to make Wales matter

With a hundred days to go until the Westminster Election, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood AM has urged the people of Wales to join her party's campaign to make Wales matter in May and return the strongest ever group of Plaid Cymru MPs to Westminster.

Ms Wood said that with the Westminster Election likely to result in a hung parliament and with Plaid Cymru among the anti-austerity parties likely to hold the balance of power, a vote for Plaid Cymru could deliver real change for the better for Wales.

She added that the first weeks of Westminster Election year had exposed the stark contrast between Plaid Cymru and the Westminster parties in Wales with Plaid fighting Labour and the Tories' commitment to further cuts to public services and spending £100bn on a new generation of nuclear weapons.

Commenting Leanne Wood said: "This is a crucial election for the people of Wales. With just a hundred days to go until polling day, I urge all the people of Wales to join Plaid Cymru's campaign to make Wales matter in May. When Plaid Cymru wins, Wales is strong. We have proved this with the fantastic track record of our MPs in Westminster, leading the way on pioneering legislation against stalking and domestic violence, opposing the Coalition's cruel welfare cuts, and fighting for fair funding for our nation. With Plaid Cymru among the anti-austerity parties likely to hold the balance of power after the election, a vote for Plaid Cymru could deliver real change for the better for Wales.

Ms Wood continued: "In recent weeks the gulf between Plaid Cymru and the Westminster parties has grown. During crucial votes on billions more cuts to our public services and renewing the wasted and outdated Trident nuclear weapons system, we saw Labour follow the Tories through the lobbies to vote against the Welsh national interest. In stark contrast, Plaid Cymru’s vision is of world-class care for our patients, fair pay for our workers, strong support for our local economies."

"On May 7th, only one party will have what's best for Wales at its heart. We must return the strongest ever group of Plaid Cymru MPs to the Commons to make sure our voice is heard and that our communities are protected from the continued pain of Westminster policies." Leanne Wood added.

PC challenge Westminster leaders to debate in Wales

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has called on Westminster leaders to come to Wales to debate Welsh issues on live television before May’s general election. The Party of Wales leader says that questions pertinent to people in Wales must be included in the election debates. The Party of Wales leader Leanne Wood warned that, with Plaid Cymru excluded from appearing alongside the other party leaders, Wales would not get a fair hearing and alternative positions would not be heard. As the debates will all take place in England, with politicians representing English seats, Welsh issues are unlikely to be voiced.

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood said: "Plaid Cymru is putting forward a positive alternative set of politics to the establishment three in this election. People deserve to hear what we have to say. The exclusion of Plaid Cymru and the SNP will result in England-only leaders debates, with Welsh and Scottish matters and perspectives ignored or pushed to the sidelines during this Westminster election campaign. People in Wales are set to lose most - powers for Scotland and England are already on the UK political agenda and funding for Northern Ireland has recently been considered. Questions pertaining to Wales and peoples' priorities in Wales risk not being aired. Plaid Cymru focuses on Wales and Welsh maters every day, the Westminster party leaders do not. How else can we make sure they take Wales seriously? If the televised leaders’ debates take place without the Welsh and Scottish parties, then there should be a debate here in Wales, with the leaders of the Westminster parties - the Prime Minister and his Deputy, the leader of the opposition as well as UKIP and the Greens." 

Continuing Ms Wood said: "This is their opportunity to demonstrate that they are thinking about Wales, that they have a commitment to people here and that they are not taking people in Wales for granted. People will then at least have one opportunity to access to the full range of views available to them in this election, and they will be able to decide who will best represent their interests. Under what other circumstances will large numbers of people get to hear the case for and against Wales being treated on the basis of parity with Scotland? In funding terms, that is worth an extra £1.2bn every year to Welsh coffers to spend on our health service, our education and boosting our economy. The cuts to public services which look set to continue thanks to the austerity consensus in Westminster will not be debated properly unless there is a Wales debate. UK matters deserve to be looked at from a Welsh perspective. Some people close to those in power may be doing very well under these economic conditions. That is not the case for the majority of people in Wales. Their concerns and hopes deserve to be heard and debated."

"To claim that the currently constituted debates are UK-wide is misleading. If Plaid Cymru and the SNP are excluded, they are England-only debates between England-only politicians. Our preferred option would for Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Greens to be included, but failing that, a Wales debate with party leaders, would go someway towards countering the undemocratic England-only option." Leanne Wood added.

Plaid Cymru leader urges Yes vote to "protect NHS"

Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, was today joined on the campaign trail by Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, who has backed a Yes vote and is urging Scots to seize the opportunity of independence to protect Scotland’s NHS from Tory cuts. In Wales, the Labour administration has been forced to cut NHS spending by an estimated 3.6% in real terms during the current Westminster term - cuts which both Carwyn Jones and Welsh Health Minister Mark Drakeford have blamed on cuts coming from Westminster.

The joint call from Ms Sturgeon and Ms Wood comes as the Herald publishes a letter signed by 66 current and former health and support professionals, which warns against the threat of Tory privatisation of the NHS in England. In their letter, they point out the hypocrisy of no campaign politicians making dire warnings about the future of the NHS across the UK - but pretending during the referendum campaign that this threat does not apply to Scotland.

Urging the people of Scotland to vote Yes, they conclude “without independence the fate of the NHS will always be tied to a broken Westminster system which is undermining public services and bolstering private profits.”

Commenting, Ms Sturgeon said: "The significant intervention from dozens of senior health professionals underlies the strength of feeling that our NHS should be properly protected. As these experts point out, warnings across the UK about the threat to the NHS could not be stronger - and Scotland is not immune from this threat. Leanne has quite rightly pursued the Welsh Assembly government for their disastrous cuts to the NHS in Wales - which they blame on the cuts coming from the Tory government at Westminster.

“In recent weeks the No campaign’s credibility has completely collapsed on a range of issues - and people are quite rightly wondering why they are saying one thing about the NHS to people in the rest of the UK, but something completely different to voters in the referendum. Scotland is an immensely wealthy country - richer per head than France, Japan and the UK as a whole - and we can more than afford to properly fund our health service. As we get closer to the referendum, more and more people are waking up to the golden opportunity of a Yes vote to build a fairer society, create job opportunities and protect Scotland’s NHS."

Plaid Cymru Leader Leanne Wood AM said: "I’m delighted to be in Scotland today to support a Yes vote in next week’s referendum. While Carwyn Jones is coming here to tell the people of Scotland that they are too wee and too poor to be independent, I am here to tell Scots that you would be one of the wealthiest countries in the world - and as an independent nation could act as a beacon of progressive politics across the British isles."

"What Mr Jones won’t tell you is that the NHS budget is being cut in Wales - and Mr Jones himself says that this is a direct consequence of budget cuts coming from Westminster. The No campaign are mired in hypocrisy and it is no wonder that their support is ebbing away. My message today is simple - a Yes vote is the opportunity of a lifetime for the people of Scotland to start building a fairer and more prosperous society. I would urge them to grab the opportunity with both hands."

Leanne Wood New Year message

Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales) Leader Leanne Wood said:

“2014 will be an important year for Wales. Tectonic plates of the United Kingdom will shift after the referendum in Scotland, providing fantastic opportunities for Wales to maximise the powers we have - the set of tools we need to do the job of turning around our declining economy.

“Plaid Cymru's focus has been and will continue to be building the Welsh economy. We will be contesting the European Parliamentary election on the basis that Plaid Cymru is the only party to put Wales first, every time.

“We want to work with people in other countries across Europe to deliver decent pay, rights, terms & conditions as well as maintain the structural funds which will help to build our economy.

“Plaid Cymru supports the principle of co-operation between the countries and regions of Europe. Being in the EU is in the best interests of Wales and of working people. That's not to say we don't want to change the EU. It can work better for Wales.

“In the Euro elections, Plaid Cymru's position will be pro-European and against the politics of hate which aims to exclude other cultures and isolate the UK from the rest of Europe.

“The Party of Wales wants to see our country able to stand in its own two feet, without need for handouts from elsewhere.

“For too long Welsh people have been prepared to accept second best. We have been prepared to shrug off poor performance or languishing at the bottom of the league tables.

“I would like to see 2014 be the year when Wales says NO to mediocrity.

“NO to poor economic performance, NO to children failing to reach their best educational potential and NO to an inaccessible health service unable to deliver.

“Instead, let's say YES to aiming to be the best. Let's say YES to ambition. Let's say YES to Wales co-operating with others on the European stage and Let's say YES to putting Wales first.

“May 2014 bring peace and happiness to you and all those close to you.”