Independence referendum ‘not the price of power sharing deal for Plaid’

Plaid Cymru are not planning to make a referendum on independence the price of a power-sharing deal with Labour, according to the Financial Times.

The newspaper reports that the party’s leader Adam Price is only pledging to hold an independence referendum if the party wins the elections in its own right.

The party would instead be willing to join a government that would set Wales “on a different path”.

Labour leader Mark Drakeford echoed the comments, saying that a previous coalition with Plaid Cymru had worked well. “The key thing is whether there is a policy platform on which we can agree,” he added.

‘Inevitable’

Both parties have already ruled out a coalition deal with the Welsh Conservatives, making some sort of agreement inevitable if no party is able to ensure something close to a majority.

“But Adam Price, party leader, did not make a plebiscite the price of a power-sharing deal with Labour,” the newspaper said.

It quotes Adam Price as saying that “you don’t hold negotiations in advance of the negotiations” but that he would only join a government that would set Wales “on a very different path”.

Plaid Cymru have in the past however said they would not accept a coalition deal in which they were junior partners, raising the possibility that their price for entering a deal with Labour may be high.