Plaid Cymru’s manifesto ‘reckless, not radical’ says Drakeford as Labour launch their own

Plaid Cymru have launched a manifesto that is “not radical” but “reckless” according to Mark Drakeford as Labour launch their own offering today.

The Labour leader said that their own manifesto was “credible – everything we do is costed and we know that we can make it happen”.

Plaid Cymru says its manifesto has been independently verified by two of Wales’ leading economists, Professor Brian Morgan and Professor Gerry Holtham. But Mark Drakeford dismissed the claim in a BBC Radio Wales interview.

“I’ve seen the check that has been carried out on Plaid Cymru’s manifesto,” he said. “It is not a radical manifesto, it is a reckless manifesto.

“The so-called independent check shows that they’ve got their costs right, what it doesn’t show is that they can afford to pay for them.

“It’s very clear that the plan they have relies on things that simply can’t be delivered. That isn’t true of my party’s manifesto.

“Everything we say, we can do. And I think that’s really important in an election where people are making choices. They’re making choices between a party who knows what it is to be in government, has the experience, can put government to work on their behalf. If we say something, it will happen.

“The choice from the other side are people who have never been in government at all, looking to take over.”

‘Practical’

Labour launch their own manifesto today with six key pledges to help the country recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and set out a “real plan to move Wales forward”.

“This election is a choice. It is about trust and ambition. A choice to go on investing in our young people with a Welsh Labour government or to take a different path,” First Minister Mark Drakeford said ahead of the launch.

“Today we launch a manifesto that sets out Welsh Labour’s plan to go on investing in the future. A plan to help us not only recover from Covid, but to do something more – to build the Wales of tomorrow.”

Central to the manifesto is a commitment to train 12,000 new medical staff for the NHS.

Plaid Cymru launched their own manifesto yesterday promising “the most radically ambitious and transformational programme offered by any party in any Welsh election since 1945”.

Party leader Adam Price said that the “practical, deliverable and fully costed policies” would deliver a fairer, greener, and more prosperous future for Wales.

He also promised a referendum on Welsh independence in the first term of a Plaid Cymru government, and will say that “Wales and Westminster are increasingly two different universes.”