Plaid Cymru ready to ‘take this fight to the London parties’ in General election

Plaid Cymru said it was “ready to take this fight to the London parties” in reaction to the General Election announcement.

Party leader Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “Only a vote for Plaid Cymru will put Wales’ best interests first in this election. We are ready to take this fight to the London parties to demand the fairness that Wales both needs and deserves.

“The Tories have crashed the economy and hard-working people are still paying the price of high bills. Labour, on the other hand, just take Wales for granted. None of the London parties will put Wales first.

“Only Plaid Cymru will demand fairness for Wales – a fairer funding deal so we can invest in our economy, NHS and schools; the billions owed to us in rail cash so we can connect our communities north to south; and the powers over our natural resources so we can build an economy fit for the future by creating well-paid green jobs.

“In Plaid Cymru, you have candidates rooted in their communities. Strong local champions who’ll be Wales’s voice in Westminster – not Westminster’s voice in Wales. And more Plaid Cymru MPs means more voices shouting for Wales.”

Heavy rain

Heavy rain poured down on Rishi Sunak as he announced the general election outside No 10.

The Prime Minister spoke at a Downing Street lectern without an umbrella as Westminster was hit by heavy downpours on Wednesday afternoon.

A July election is earlier than many in Westminster had expected, with a contest in October or November widely thought to have been more likely.

Mr Sunak’s announcement came after the Office for National Statistics said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 2.3% in April, down from 3.2% in March.

He said that was a “major milestone” for the country, with inflation now “back to normal” levels.

One reason for delaying might have been to allow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to deliver another tax-cutting financial statement in the lead-up to the vote, but official figures revealed borrowing for April overshot forecasts, hitting £20.5 billion, suggesting he would have had limited scope for pre-election giveaways.