Wales should get £4bn HS2 compensation - Plaid Cymru
Rhun ap Iorwerth urged Welsh voters not to give Labour a "free pass" in the general election
- Published
Wales should get an extra £4bn in funding from the HS2 rail project and more control over its natural resources, Plaid Cymru's leader has said.
Party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth called for "fair" funding for Wales and a £20 a week increase to child benefit in its manifesto for the general election.
He backed a "fairer" tax system with increased windfall taxes on energy companies at the manifesto launch in Cardiff, and for powers over policing to be handed to the Senedd.
Mr ap Iorwerth appealed to Welsh voters not to give Labour a "free pass" in the general election.
The party called for the decriminalisation of "soft" drugs, said it would oppose the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system, and called for the UK to re-enter the EU customs union.
It called for Wales to be allowed to take part in the Eurovision song contest.
Plaid would need to work with another party in Westminster to make its policies a reality.
What does Plaid Cymru say in its manifesto?
Speaking at the manifesto event on Thursday, Mr ap Iorwerth said the current system of funding for Wales had "lost out to the tune of billions over the years".
He called for the Barnett formula, which governs how much money the Welsh government receives and is based on population, to be abolished and replaced with the system which is based on the country's needs.
"It's not a begging bowl, it's just what's right," he said, "enabling investment in public services and the economy."
He said of Labour: "The Tories are finished, but we can influence the change ahead of us. Keeping the Labour government in check.
"Not giving them a free pass to take Welsh votes but then cast Wales’ interests aside."
Plaid Cymru say Wales should get £4bn HS2 compensation
Plaid Cymru says Wales is owed £4bn from HS2, which is designated an England and Wales project despite ending in Birmingham.
The way it has been classified means that there is not extra funding for the Welsh government as a result of spending on the multi-billion project.
Plaid - who are in opposition in the Welsh Parliament in Cardiff - say the extra cash would allow Wales to invest in improving public transport and reverse cuts to bus services.
Mr ap Iorwerth said: "Just imagine what that could do to transform our public transport network nationwide - buses, roads and railways - connecting our communities and giving our economy that desperately-needed boost."
The manifesto said it would raise child benefit by an additional £20 a week, which it said would take 60,000 children out of poverty.
Liz Saville Roberts attacked both Labour and the Conservatives at the manifesto launch
Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid's Westminster leader and party candidate, accused Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer of "shamelessness" in imposing candidates in Wales.
"Let's stop him from taking Wales for granted", she said, while also accusing the Conservatives of a "mix of recycled attacks on Welsh democracy".
Welsh independence pledge
Independence was not mentioned by Mr ap Iorwerth in his speech, but the manifesto says the party will produce a "green paper" to set out how Wales could become an independent state.
The pro-independence party in the past has set timetables for referendums. No date appears in the manifesto, but Plaid says the Senedd should be able to call a vote if it wants one.
Plaid called for the post of Welsh secretary in the UK government to be scrapped, saying "we do not need 'a seat at the cabinet table'".
Plaid called for Wales to have “greater powers over migration”, including Wales-specific visa schemes.
It opposes the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system, and said defence spending would be "better used on convention defence and to peaceful means, rather than weapons of mass destruction".
Analysis
By Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales News political editor
Plaid’s march to independence is slower and quieter than it has been in previous manifestos.
There will be a consultation on what that path might look like, rather than a timetable to the end destination.
Its former leader Adam Price wanted an independence referendum within five years if Plaid had won the 2021 Senedd election.
Its 2019 general election manifesto aimed for independence by 2030.
It ties in with their vision under Rhun ap Iorwerth of slowly drawing people to them and persuading them of an alternative vision for Wales
'A Welsh way of policing'
Plaid's manifesto said devolving criminal justice to Wales would allow "us to develop a Welsh way of policing".
It called for soft drugs decriminalisation, and for the criminal records of those cautioned or convicted of drugs possession to be wiped where there are "no further aggravating factors".
The manifesto said it wanted to see burden "fall on those individuals and corporations with the broadest shoulders, bearing a fairer share of overall tax paid".
It said energy companies should be subject to an "increased windfall tax", and that it would re-introduce a cap on bankers bonuses.
Customs union
The UK left the customs union with the European Union in 2021.
Plaid said the Conservatives' Brexit policies had "led us down a path of destruction".
It said the country should re-enter the European single market and customs union "at the earliest opportunity, in order to mitigate the impact of Brexit on Welsh business and reduce overheads and administrative costs."
Powers over broadcasting and control over the Crown Estate properties should also be given to Wales, Plaid said.
That would allow benefits from investments on the crown estate - such as renewable energy - to be returned to Wales, it said.
Full control over all of its natural resources and waters should be passed to Wales too, it said, with full levers over energy projects.
Currently the Welsh government oversees energy projects up to only 350MW in size.
The party is opposed to the development of nuclear power stations, but specifically says on "new sites".
That rules out locations like Wylfa in Anglesey, which Plaid politicians have supported for a new nuclear power station.
The party won four seats in Westminster at the last election in 2019.
After boundary changes, Plaid is defending two constituencies - Dwyfor Meirionnydd and Ceredigion Preseli.
It also hopes to fend off Labour and the Conservatives to gain another two target seats in Caerfyrddin and Ynys Mon.
Mr ap Iorwerth was appointed Plaid leader last June when his predecessor Adam Price stood down after a damning report into allegations of misogyny within the party.
Last month he led his party out of a co-operation agreement with Vaughan Gething's Welsh Labour government.
Related topics
- Published3 July
- Published3 July
- Published4 July
