Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has predicted that Sir Keir Starmer will become the United Kingdom’s next prime minister in an interview with Panorama. Ap Iorwerth asked Welsh voters to support the pro-independence party to prevent Labour from having too large a majority in parliament. He claimed that Labour winning a “supermajority” would enable the party to act with “impunity” and ignore Welsh interests completely. He argued that Plaid Cymru is the best option to limit the size of Labour’s majority.
Ap Iorwerth also stated that Plaid Cymru believes that taxes are a good thing and that the UK needs them to pay for public services. He outlined some of his party’s proposals for increasing taxes, including a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and a wealth tax on individuals with significant wealth. However, he stressed that Plaid Cymru would not add to the burden on low and medium-income earners.
Plaid Cymru won four MPs in the last election, but with 32 seats following reorganisation, it may be difficult for the party to match that performance this time. Ap Iorwerth, who became the party’s leader in 2020, admitted that the election would be challenging for Plaid Cymru. In the interview, he criticised Labour’s record in Welsh politics, arguing that the party had forgotten it was meant to represent Wales. He also called for Welsh visa numbers to be set so that more people could work in health and social care.
Plaid Cymru wants Wales to be an independent state, but Ap Iorwerth acknowledged that the country was not yet ready for that step. He stated that Wales could not fulfil its potential while subsumed within the UK. The party recently ended a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government, partly over concerns about donations to First Minister Mark Drakeford’s leadership campaign. Ap Iorwerth suggested that Drakeford should stand down but rejected the idea that Plaid Cymru was only a party for Welsh speakers, arguing that it represented all of Wales and addressed issues such as health, education and the economy
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