Plaid Cymru’s first 100 days plan, which is the party’s plan for their starting priorities if they are winners of the Senedd election in May, has committed to measure the effects of their programme for government on rural Wales. If successful, a Plaid Cymru government would establish a new statutory duty that would require consideration of the needs of rural communities when the Welsh Government drafts policies, programmes and funding models in future.
The announcement comes as opinion polls show that Plaid Cymru and Reform UK are neck and neck. The document also includes their priorities in terms of health, the economy, rural affairs, the environment, housing and the relationship of the Welsh Government and the UK Government.
In a press release Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS said:
“In May, Wales faces the most significant election in its history.
Nearly twenty-seven years of Labour led rule has left our nation wanting. An NHS overwhelmed by demand, educational standards among the worst in Europe, and an economy still too tied to Westminster to have any real firepower.
Others may promise change but as this plan proves, Plaid Cymru is the only party with a detailed plan of action, representing the genuine new leadership the people of Wales deserve.
We take nothing for granted, but the challenges facing our communities are so many in number and complex in nature that it would be irresponsible not to set out how a Plaid Cymru government would plan to start addressing them.
Underpinning our programme is a conviction that our government must be a better government. People in Wales have increasingly lost faith in governments – they are seen as distant, not reflecting their priorities, telling not listening, talking not doing. We set out our new approach as a government – to bring our public services together as One Welsh Public Service and establish core values that will drive our all work.”
As well as committing to a statutory requirement to consider the effects of policies on the countryside the document also discusses Plaid Cymru’s other priorities when it comes to food, farming and rural Wales. These include:
- Confirm a multi-year funding cycle instead of the current one-year Sustainable Farming Scheme payment
- Commission an independent review of the bureaucratic burden on family farms in Wales to reduce duplication and unnecessary paperwork for farmers
- Begin work on a new and comprehensive National Food Strategy that will build food security and literacy, strengthen food supply chains, and use the Welsh public plate to support our food and drink industry
To read the plan in full, follow this link to Plaid Cymru’s website.
