(Title Image: Kevin John Photography via Plaid Cymru under Creative Commons Licence BY-NC-ND-2.0)
Plaid Cymru put social justice front and centre of their autumn conference, pledging to support universal free social care and unanimously backing a motion to end homelessness within 10 years of forming a government.
Party leader, Adam Price AM (Plaid, South Wales West), also set out proposals for north-south and cross-valley transport links, but controversially suggested this could be funded by £20billion of “reparations” from the UK Government for “a century of neglect that has left a country, rich in its resources, a bitter legacy of poverty, sickness, blighted lives and broken dreams”.
Other policy announcements included a £35-a-week payment to families with children living in poverty, an intention to hold an independence referendum “by 2030” if Plaid form the next government, renewed support for an Autism Bill as well as plans to phase-out single-use plastics by 2026.
Elsewhere, Alun Ffred Jones won a second term as Party Chair, beating Dr Dewi Evans in a sometimes acrimonious electoral contest which was billed as a proxy referendum on readmitting Neil McEvoy AM (Ind, South Wales Central).
Dr Evans had expressed support for his readmission as did several other candidates seeking positions on the National Executive Council – to little success.
