No hiding place for UK Labour if Plaid Cymru wins – Rhun ap Iorwerth

There will be no hiding place for a Labour Prime Minister in Wales if Plaid Cymru enters government, the party leader has said.

Speaking at a press conference, Rhun ap Iorwerth said he would spell out his demands to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer “day after day”.

The Plaid Cymru leader said he believes there is a “fundamental flaw” in the relationship between the UK Government and the Welsh Government which he hopes to fix if his party wins power following the Senedd election in May.

He said: “I think it’s about raising seriously the level of expectation for Wales and holding that UK Government to account.

“Having a Labour First Minister pulling punches means that scrutiny can’t take place.

“The SNP in Scotland end up getting a better deal from the UK Labour Government than the Welsh Labour Government do.

“I want to have a constructive relationship with the UK Prime Minister, but it will be a relationship where my loyalty at all times will be crystal clear.

“It will be to the people of Wales, and I don’t expect to get what I want immediately, that’s not how it works in politics.

“But it is about making it absolutely clear that there will be no hiding place for a UK Labour Prime Minister in Wales.

“If they want to be taken seriously as a party who cares for Wales in any way, they have to show action – I’ll be reminding the UK Prime Minister of that day after day.”

Mr ap Iorwerth has previously accused Labour First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan of having “no influence” on the UK Government.

His party has positioned itself as a government-in-waiting ahead of the Senedd election, emboldened by its victory in the Caerphilly by-election in October.

At the press conference, Mr ap Iorwerth reiterated his calls for the devolution of the Crown Estate and justice in Wales.

He also criticised the “fundamentally unfair” funding formula serving the country.

“One of the reasons that the UK Government is able to get away with it is because they’re not challenged properly by the Welsh Government,” he added.

“Let’s have a Welsh First Minister that spells out publicly day after day what those demands are, and push that UK Government into a position where they realise, you know what, we’ll have to change.”