Plaid candidate urges Labour voter switch: ‘If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same result’

A Plaid Cymru Senedd candidate has urged Labour voters to switch to her party, telling them that “if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same result”.

Carrie Harper, the Plaid Cymru candidate for Wrexham, who was born and raised in Caia Park where 42% of children live in poverty, said that Wales’s poorest communities had been “let down and left behind” by the Welsh Government.

She pointed to “promises broken, commitments dropped, and targets missed”, making the case that only a Plaid Cymru government would put into action the radical policies required to deliver social justice for everyone in Wales.

“Labour have represented my home community of Wrexham at every level of government at some point throughout my life,” she said.

“Their warm words on social justice are betrayed by their record of promises broken, commitments dropped, and targets missed.

“In Caia Park where I was born and raised, figures show that 42% of children live in poverty. Labour set a target of eradicating child poverty by 2020 but dropped it when it became clear they would fail.

“After promising to bring empty homes back into use, Labour oversaw an increase of 40% in the number of empty properties across Wales.

“Despite committing to supporting autistic people and their families, Labour voted against a much-needed Autism Act for Wales.

“And although they claim to be on the side of families, Labour have ignored their own Child Poverty Review and voted against expanding Free School Meals to children from households on Universal Credit.

“These are just some examples of how Labour have made honourable pledges but failed to deliver.

“If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same result. Only by putting a cross in a different box on May 6^th will we get a different outcome.”

‘Confidence’

Welsh Labour launched their own pitch to voters on 18 March with six key pledges, including:

• A Covid Recovery catch-up programme for the NHS and schools, and a new medical school in North Wales.
• A Young Persons’ Guarantee, with an offer of work, education or training for all under-25s.
• The Real Living Wage for all social care staff.
• A greener future, with the abolition of single-use plastics and the creation of a National Forest for Wales.
• Safer communities, with the jobs of 500 police community support officers safeguarded and a further 100 employed.
• The creation of thousands of jobs in a low-carbon house building revolution.

Speaking via a livestream in March, Mr Drakeford said the party is “setting out a platform to move Wales forward into the future with confidence and hope”.

“To build a brighter, fairer and more equal Wales for future generations. The Tories won’t build that future,” he added.