Liberal Democrats promise millions more for Welsh NHS

Kirsty Williams said her party was committed to expanding, not just protecting, NHS spending

The Liberal Democrats have promised to make millions more pounds available for the Welsh NHS as they launched their key pledges for the general election.

The party said its health plans in England would allow Welsh NHS spending to rise by £459m per year by 2020.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said the increase would help a service under "huge strain".

The party is also promising to "top-up" the formula that sets the Welsh government's annual budget.

"Alongside increasing resources for our NHS, we will implement our 'More Nurses' bill," Ms Williams said.

"We will ensure we have the right number of nurses on hospital wards, giving nurses more time to care for each patient and ensuring better outcomes for patients."

The choice of pledges for the front page of the party's manifesto will lead to speculation that these are non-negotiable "red lines" for the Lib Dems in any post-election coalition talks.