Plaid Cymru's manifesto promises to 'defend Wales'

Plaid Cymru launched its election manifesto today describing the document as an “action plan” to defend Wales.

Party leader , Leanne Wood, pledged to invest in infrastructure in order to “transform” Wales’s schools, hospitals, roads and railways.

Speaking after the launch of her party’s Action Plan for Wales, Leanne Wood said a cash injection was “urgently needed” to kick-start a genuine economic recovery in Wales, generating jobs in all parts of the country and revitalising areas decimated by deindustrialisation.

The plan also includes proposals to protect Welsh public services, trade and exports, agriculture, higher education and crucial workers’ rights as the negotiations to leave the European Union get underway.

Identifying Brexit as a challenge to the Welsh economy, the party said that the country could lose out on £680 million of European funding which the party said it will secure but did not go into detail on how this would be done.

It is also looking to advance the devolution by demanding that Wales gets the powers to set its own rates of tax including corporation tax, air passenger duty and VAT.

Leanne Wood said: “Plaid Cymru’s plan to invest in our schools, hospitals, roads and railways would bring about a revolution in our infrastructure network.

“In all parts of our country, buildings which are the bedrock of our vital public services are creaking. Much of our housing stock is decades old and in decay. The state of our roads and railways are going backwards when they should be taking us forward as a nation.

“Many of our towns and cities are still living in the shadow of deindustrialisation. Now is the time to kick-start a genuine economic recovery in Wales by investing in every part of our country.

“Plaid Cymru’s £7.5bn plan is an ambitious yet achievable goal that would generate jobs, boost productivity, and transform our‎ economic fortunes.

“Wales has faced decades of neglect and underinvestment at the hands of successive Labour and Tory governments in Westminster.

“Our public services have been cut to the bone and we are still waiting for our first mile of electrified railway. We know that Wales can do better than this. It’s time to build up our country – and Plaid Cymru has the action plan to do just that.

“History tells us that the Tories and Labour never have and never will put the interests of Wales, its economy and its people first. Only a vote for Plaid Cymru on June 8th will ensure that there is a strong team of MPs in London willing and able to defend and develop Wales.”

However, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, hit back at the manifesto saying it showed the party would just use Jeremy Corbyn to cause “chaos”.

He said: “Plaid Cymru’s manifesto talks spiritedly about seizing opportunities, but neglects to mention how many opportunities for change they have simply frittered away by propping up Labour again and again.

“They have very imaginatively conjured the spectre of a so-called Westminster ‘power-grab’; a deluded fear designed to justify their ambition of ripping Wales apart from the rest of the UK, which would cause untold ruin to the Welsh economy and public services.

“The choice on June 8 is clear: Between the strong and stable leadership of Theresa May and her Conservative team, or a coalition of chaos headed up by Jeremy Corbyn and his nationalist stooges.”