Election 2015: Plaid Cymru wants equality with Scotland

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has said only her party can ensure Wales gets equal treatment with Scotland in terms of funding and powers.

She restated her call for voters to give Wales "a voice in Westminster".

Speaking to the BBC's Daily Politics programme, Ms Wood said she would ultimately like Wales to become an independent republic with an elected head of state.

But she admitted there would be "some way to go" before that happened.

Ms Wood pressed the case for a strong vote for her party to boost its influence on the major parties in the event of a hung parliament.

"£1.5bn has been slashed from Welsh public services since the last election and all parties agree that Wales has been underfunded since at least 1978," she said.

"But only Plaid Cymru calls for both a reversal of the cuts agenda pursued by the Tories since the last election, and for equality of funding with Scotland."

'Chaos' warning

Elsewhere on the campaign trail on Tuesday, First Minister Carwyn Jones promoted Labour investment in childcare on a visit to Pembrokeshire.

He contrasted Labour's Flying Start centres in Wales and pledge to fund 10 hours extra free childcare with Tory cuts to Sure Start schemes in England.

"These are difficult times for many families in Wales, with parents working hard in order to make ends meet," he said.

"This election is a choice between a Labour government that will boost childcare provision and help parents back to work, or a Tory government with extreme spending plans and a commitment to slash education funding."

For the Liberal Democrats, junior Wales Office Minister Baroness Randerson claimed her party would be a better coalition partner for the Conservatives or Labour than either the SNP or UKIP.

She asked if people wanted "chaos at the heart of government" or "a party that will provide a stable government that will build a stronger economy and a fairer society".

UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin was joining the Welsh Tories' campaign, to promote the benefits of rail electrification.

Wales Green Party leader Pippa Bartolotti promised action to tackle climate change and social inequality as she launched the party's manifesto in Cardiff.

UKIP's leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, denied that his party was obsessed with immigration as he took questions from listeners about his party's policies on BBC Radio Wales.