A vote for Plaid Cymru in the General Election on 12 December will be a vote for Wales to stay inside the European Union and build a prosperous future. Westminster does not work for Wales. As Wales’ leading party of Remain, Plaid Cymru is united in its aim of ensuring Wales remains a member of the European Union. We are campaigning to give the decision back to the people in a referendum. -5.5% No form of Brexit would be good for Wales. It would devastate the livelihoods of thousands of our people. The Tories’ plan to take Wales out of the Single Market and the Customs Union will hit the Welsh economy hard. The Government’s own forecasts suggest it will result in a slow-down in growth of at least -5.5% by 2030. In this election Plaid Cymru is campaigning for policies that will directly improve the lives of Welsh families, tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, boost our economy, schools and health service, provide free personal care for older people, and lift 50,000 Welsh children out of poverty. All these plans will be much more difficult to put into action if Wales is dragged out of the EU by a hard-right wing Westminster government. While Westminster politicians are deadlocked over Brexit, Wales is being left behind. It’s time for change in Wales. It’s time to vote Plaid Cymru. 12 13 A Final Say Referendum Plaid Cymru has long campaigned for a People’s Vote to end the Brexit crisis, to safeguard Wales’s place in Europe and the thousands of jobs that depend upon our EU membership. The Tories have wasted three years on their failed Brexit project and all the noise and The Tory Deal “I believe that for have consistently refused to give people a final say. Plaid Cymru strongly opposes Boris Johnson’s catastrophic Brexit deal. It takes us on a trajectory out of the Single Market and Customs Union. clamour of the The Government’s own forecasts, made in January 2018, suggest it would lead to a slowdown in growth for the UK of -5.5% after 15 campaign, this years outside the European Union. For Wales this would likely be worse since our economy has a higher reliance on exports to the EU. It is a blind Brexit, giving no certainty about what will happen after the is the election in weakness. transition period, which will be negotiated from a position of extreme which Wales will with assurances placed in the non-binding Political Declaration rather It fails to guarantee workers’ rights and environmental standards – than the legally binding Withdrawal Agreement. We cannot trust Boris Johnson with our rights. find its collective It puts a hard border in the Irish Sea, creating chaos in Holyhead and Fishguard. Our western ports are of primary strategic importance for our voice as a nation – Plaid Cymru will do everything in our power to protect them. It denies a say for our Senedd. Despite having consistently voted in favour of remaining in the Single Market and Customs Union, nation.” throughout. and supporting a People’s Vote, our parliament has been ignored Prolonging Brexit Chaos The Tory deal is, in effect, no-deal by another route. It means that we will be stuck debating Brexit for the next twelve months. We will then face another no-deal Brexit cliff-edge in December 2020 if no free trade agreement is agreed, with all the economic harm we know that will cause to Wales. 14 15 Leaving without a deal, with tariffs imposed on our lamb exports, would seriously impact on Welsh agriculture. It would also put at risk vital supplies of medicines and fresh food. The catastrophe of a crash out Brexit is still in play and safeguarding the welfare of the people of Wales is Plaid Cymru’s number one priority. Brexit would lead to a severe reduction in the growth of the Welsh economy. Remaining in the EU will give the economy certainty it has lacked for three years. Brexit would lead to huge import tariffs – as high as 84% on cattle carcasses, and 48% on lamb. Remaining in the EU would allow farmers to maintain their current markets without disruption. Brexit will lead to huge uncertainty for the thousands of EU citizens in our communities in Wales, and to those from Wales living in the rest of Europe. Remaining in the EU means equality – welcoming EU citizens to Wales and giving our young people the chance to live, work and study across the EU. The Tories have wasted three years pursuing damaging deals which show their complete disregard for Wales. It is now time to draw a line under their mess – by stopping Brexit. Plaid Cymru’s Record In the wake of the 2016 referendum, Plaid Cymru worked hard to understand the potential impacts of Brexit and took the initiative to work with the Welsh Government to produce a common policy aimed at mitigating the worst effects of leaving the EU. Our work recognised: Two thirds of Welsh exports go to EU countries. Our success in attracting foreign investment is largely based on access to the EU single market of more than 500 million customers. 200,000 Welsh jobs rely on our trade with Europe being frictionless. Consequently, Plaid Cymru called for: Full membership of the EU Single Market for goods, services and capital – including our key agricultural and food products. Wales to remain in the Customs Union to allow goods to be traded freely with more than 80 countries around the world. As Plaid Cymru’s representative on the House of Commons Brexit Select Committee, Arfon’s Hywel Williams worked tirelessly to scrutinise the British Government’s shambolic handling of the negotiating process. He has ensured that Welsh interests have been at the forefront of Committee members’ minds, especially concerns over Welsh industry and agriculture, as well as the impact on Welsh ports of leaving the Customs Union and Single Market. The EU Single Market and Customs Union are both essential for our home-grown employers and for attracting inward investment and job creation and this would be the minimum we need to protect Wales’ economic interests. That is why we voted for them when the opportunity arose in Westminster. At the same time, we in Plaid Cymru stated that this would still be worse than staying inside the EU. Even though we might be able to negotiate a position where Wales could remain in the Single Market and Customs Union, being outside the EU would mean we would have no say over the future decisions about the way they develop. Indeed, since the referendum, industries and jobs have suffered as a consequence of Brexit and the current climate of uncertainty. Remaining in the EU will enable us to safeguard jobs and having easy access to Europe will encourage important foreign companies to invest in Wales. 16 17 Trade Deals The idea that forging new trade deals once out of the EU would be easy was another of the unrealistic promises made during the referendum. Plaid Cymru warned from the very beginning that the British Government would find it impossible to roll over the 40 trade agreements from which it currently benefits through its membership of the EU. So far, the UK has only been able to reach 18 deals that represent a small proportion of total UK trade. As a state with a population of 67 million, Britain will not be in a position to call the shots in negotiations with the US, with its population of 328 million. A trade deal with the US, if prioritised over the EU, will inevitably involve the UK following some US regulations. Plaid Cymru will work hard to ensure that any future trade policy will uphold social, health and environmental protections. We will never support deals that weaken the standards and rules on food safety and medicines. While Plaid’s Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards brought attention to the important issue of agricultural tariffs in the event of no-deal, the British Government had indicated it would follow a slash and burn approach in the event of no-deal, seeing vital protections removed. At every opportunity we will fight any attempt to open up the NHS to privatisation in future trade deals. Wales’ future is better placed within the EU with its high regulation standards, and its population of over 500 million people. Plaid Cymru will ensure that all the national parliaments of the UK are consulted throughout the negotiations on future trade deals, and that the ratification process includes endorsement by the Senedd, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Agriculture Brexit has serious implications for Welsh farmers. In Wales, more than half of a farmer’s income comes from the direct payments received through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy. If we leave the EU, the Welsh Labour Government proposes to follow the UK Conservative Government by phasing out direct payments to farmers and establishing a new environmental land management system. Meanwhile, farmers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the EU 27 will retain direct payments, creating an unlevel playing field for Welsh farmers and undermining the viability of their businesses. Ceredigion’s Ben Lake strongly made the case to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that in any future agriculture funding arrangement each country in the UK should have an equal say on the total amount of money allocated to farming. Meanwhile, if we were to leave the EU without a deal, Welsh farmers would face crippling tariffs on selling their products in their main market which is the rest of the EU. It is vital that we protect the Welsh family farm through remaining in the EU – vital for our rural communities, economy, environment and culture. 18 19 Manufacturing Uncertainty around Brexit is already impacting on manufacturing. To give three examples from just one sector, more than 1,700 job losses have been announced at Ford in Bridgend and another 220 at Schaeffler and 95 at Calsonic Kansei car components plants in Llanelli. There has also been a serious decline in inward investment since the 2016 referendum, with Wales bottom of the league table. The average fall-off in incoming new projects across the UK was 16.5%, but for Wales it was 46%. Nissan is abandoning its plans to build one of its flagship vehicles in Sunderland. The electronics giants Sony and Panasonic are moving their headquarters from London to Amsterdam and Honda is closing a factory at Swindon, which will affect up to a dozen major suppliers in the Welsh automotive industry. Meanwhile Airbus, which employs 6,000 people in Broughton in north-east Wales and another 500 at Newport, has announced that Brexit will threaten future investment decisions and job prospects. Citizens’ Rights Brexit is not merely an economic problem – it is ripping away rights from millions of people. Thousands of people from all over Europe have honoured our country by choosing to live with us, to contribute to our society, to become Welsh. They were promised from the beginning that their circumstances would not change as a result of Brexit. However, the Tories’ “EU Settlement Scheme” treats people like second class citizens, forcing millions of people across the UK to apply to stay in their own homes. The British Government’s position means that anyone who does not apply by the deadline (which is 31st December 2020 in case of no deal, or 30th June 2021 in case of a deal) will not have the right to stay in the UK and could face deportation. Plaid Cymru have led the campaign both in Westminster and in Brussels on the right of the people of Wales to keep their status as Welsh Europeans, in securing continuing European citizenship after Brexit. In 2018, the House of Commons backed a Plaid Cymru motion to allow continuing European citizenship after we leave the EU, a call that was also supported by organisations such as Open Britain, Best for Britain and the New European newspaper. Our MEP Jill Evans also secured widespread support in the European Parliament for the proposal. Plaid Cymru would change the Settled Status application system into a registration system, ensuring that all EU citizens who are resident in the UK before exit day should have the right of permanent residence, and that every person who is entitled to settled status will have the same rights. A Welsh Migration System Migrants make a valuable and important contribution to Welsh life, both economically and culturally. Migration is important for many of our key sectors. For example, migrants make an important contribution to our NHS. Thirty per cent of our doctors received their training abroad, with 6% being trained in EU countries. Remaining in the EU is the best way of protecting EU citizens’ right to work here. This Westminster Government is proposing unworkable and illogical immigration policies which will hurt the Welsh economy. Instead, we need a rational immigration policy that works for Wales, where students and job creators can come, but wages aren’t undercut. In government in Wales, Plaid Cymru will create a Welsh Migration Advisory Service so that we can have a system that plugs skills gaps, especially in agriculture and social care, and protects our health service from staff shortages. Plaid Cymru will also seek the devolution of migration policy, so that Wales can set its own migration quota according to our own needs, with greater flexibility, for example, in processing entrepreneur visas. Where there are identified skills shortages, we should be actively recruiting across the EU. In addition, international students must be taken out of net migration targets. Staying in the EU will enable our students and our researchers to study anywhere across Europe, which is in the best interests of Wales and the UK as a whole. It is crucial that all migrants are treated with dignity and regard for their basic human rights. We want to protect the rights of migrant workers and combat all forms of labour exploitation and forced labour. Plaid Cymru has consistently called for the rights of all EU citizens in the UK and UK citizens in the EU to be legally protected. 20 21 Like other EU countries, we must assume our responsibilities and provide aid and support for those fleeing war or persecution. We must take a more humane approach and show greater solidarity with refugees, including those crossing the Mediterranean in precarious circumstances. We will lead the call for an EU migration policy based on solidarity, which means moving towards a migration system based on a fair allocation of asylum seekers across all Member States. Plaid Cymru wants Wales to be a nation of sanctuary for refugees fleeing war and oppression and will help refugees and asylum seekers integrate into Welsh society. The evidence is clear - Brexit would be deeply damaging to Wales’ communities. That is why we are campaigning for a Final Say referendum in which Plaid Cymru will campaign to Remain. 24 25 Welsh Green Welsh Green Jobs RevolutionWELSH Jobs Revolution We are demanding that the UK Government allocate an additional GREEN JOBS from London. In addition we will be pressing the Treasury to allow the 1 per cent of GDP per year to capital investment over the next ten years. In Wales this would allow us to invest an extra £15 billion through a Welsh Green Jobs Revolution to shift the economy away Welsh Government to borrow on its account up to £5 billion for capital investment. In Wales this will allow us to invest a total of £20 billion in our green jobs revolution These sums will allow us to create tens of thousands REVOLUTION highly skilled green collar jobs, allowing Wales to be a trailblazer in the fight to tackle the climate emergency. We understand that climate change, together with the global collapse of biodiversity, is the defining challenge of our time. The climate crisis, destruction of nature and overuse of natural resources threaten the foundations of humanity’s well-being. With declining biodiversity, polluted air and accelerating climate crisis, the time to act is now. Wales has the natural resources to become a world leader in renewable technology and address the biggest global challenge of our time. If we are serious about tackling climate change, we need to start investing in the green economy and building the workforce we need to make it a success by investing in our people. That is why Plaid Cymru will implement a Green Jobs Revolution which will ensure that Wales makes the transition to becoming 100% self-sufficient in renewable energy by 2030. Our Renewables Revolution will create tens of thousands of highly skilled jobs in Wales over the next ten years. Wales Fund for the Future This investment capacity will allow us to establish a National Reconstruction Fund to rebuild Wales. An incoming Plaid Cymru government in 2021 will embark upon the biggest programme of reconstruction our nation has seen since devolution. We have a comprehensive plan for national infrastructure and green investment designed to reverse decades of decline. Carmarthen East’s Jonathan Edwards and Ceredigion’s Ben Lake have This momentous task will take a generation, but we must start now in campaigned tirelessly with the Traws order to ensure that we leave a safe environment for our children. Link Cymru campaign to create a national rail corridor starting with Carmarthen to Aberystwyth. As a result of the Budget deal between Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Labour Government, Mott MacDonald was commissioned to undertake a feasibility study on the project. It calculated that if the rail line was up and running by 2024, it would generate 370,000 trips. That would rise to 425,000 by 2027 and 489,000 by 2037. 32 33 Caring For Everyone Caring For Everyone Opposing Privatisation People with mental health problems should not be forced to travel to outsourced and often inappropriate residential facilities. We will thus There is no place for profiteering in our health service. Plaid Cymru seek to establish Welsh based specialist services for the small numbers rejects the marketisation and privatisation of the NHS and will continue who need acute inpatient treatment, building the facilities that are to oppose any moves in that direction from governments, whether in conducive to recovery. Westminster or Cardiff Bay. We will invest in improving community mental health services, including Thanks to pressure from Plaid Cymru and trade unions, the Welsh creating more counsellors so that, where appropriate, alternatives to Labour Government was forced to accept that Betsi Cadwaldr Health medication are available in all communities. Board was planning to privatise dialysis services and even transfer NHS nurses into the private sector. They dropped the dialysis plans but came Some people with mental health problems also have problematic up with a new scheme to privatise pharmacies. We are continuing to substance use issues. Mental health professionals should be trained to lead the fight against privatisation. deal with these inter-related and co-occurring conditions. In the event of leaving the EU, we will strongly oppose the inclusion of We will restore to Wales the specialist mother and baby unit for mothers the Welsh NHS within any future trade deals with the USA, if necessary, suffering from severe mental illness that was removed by Cardiff and by promoting legislation in the Senedd. Vale Health Board in 2013. Role of Local Government Cancer Plaid Cymru recognises the essential work of local government in Wales continues to have lower cancer survival rates than most countries providing vital services to the community. From child protection in Europe. Diagnosis at an earlier stage is essential in improving long to economic development, from the maintenance of highways to term survival. Multi-disciplinary diagnostic testing that is currently only education, it is Local Authorities that are instrumental in delivering a available in south Wales will be extended to the rest of the country. We significant range of services. We will continue to support the proper will also provide screening programmes where the clinical evidence funding of council services and will continue to rebalance the Welsh shows these will be of benefit. budget towards preventative, locally-delivered interventions across health and social services, education and support for families. We remain committed to ensuring cancer patients have a key worker to support them at all stages of their cancer journey. We will develop Mental Health Services cancer pathways that enable speedier treatment, particularly for those at greater clinical risk. Plaid Cymru strongly believes that Mental Health should have parity of esteem with other NHS services. We will provide for a 5% increase in Rural Healthcare mental health expenditure every year for the next decade, doubling the amount we spend on a cumulative basis. We will improve access to rural healthcare by providing consultant- led Accident and Emergency and Maternity services within one hour’s We will establish a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis service for those in acute reach of rural and peripheral communities. We will reform NHS planning distress, that will work alongside the emergency services. We will guidance to avoid penalising rural hospitals. Clinical networks will continue to support whole population approaches towards improving enable consultants working predominantly in smaller hospitals to retain the mental health of everyone and preventing illness through better sufficient skillsets. education in schools, access to green spaces, and the tackling of stigma and discrimination experienced by so many. 3838 A FAIR DEAL FOR FAMILIES Lifting Children out of Poverty such as increased risk of homelessness, lower earning potential and greater likelihood of Every child deserves to have the best start in limiting illnesses. life. Plaid Cymru want our children to live in warm homes, have enough food, to receive The time has come to take bold action. If high-quality education and to be happy. we do not, we risk a whole generation of Welsh children in low-income families being The reality is that Wales has the highest rates left behind. In Government, Plaid Cymru will of child poverty of any UK nation, with one in introduce a comprehensive plan to tackle child three children living in poverty. The Institute for poverty which will include: Fiscal Studies have indicated that if nothing changes, this figure is likely to increase to A new £35 a week payment for every 40% of Welsh children by 2020, with welfare child in low income families, lifting 50,000 reform a significant factor. This is a damning children in Wales out of poverty. indictment of the impact of the Conservatives’ Free Care and Education for all 1-3 year cruel austerity agenda and consequent cuts olds – we will provide free full-day early to welfare, together with twenty years of years childcare and early years education inefficient governing of Wales by Welsh Labour. to all children between 1-3 years old. We will offer seamless care from early years Beyond the statistics, poverty has real into school. Our aim will be to use this consequences for the lives of children in Wales first stage of education to ensure that all today. Children are being forced to go to school Welsh children become bilingual. hungry and to bed cold, resulting in a negative We will impose statutory targets for impact on their health and education. Poverty reducing child poverty. can have lasting impacts long into adulthood 39 A Fair Deal For Families Early years interventions are vital. We will ensure that coordinated national and local multi-agency early intervention strategies will create a level playing field for each child, whatever their background or circumstances. Plaid Cymru will use schools as family support hubs with multi-agency early intervention for vulnerable children and their families from birth. Raising Education Standards We will raise education standards and create more opportunities for our children by tackling the funding emergency faced by our schools that sees £324 less being spent in real terms per pupil during 2018-19 compared with the corresponding figures in 2009-10. Plaid Cymru will provide an extra £300million a year for our schools and colleges, allowing for long term planning. It will enable us to expand capital investment in new school-community hubs, together with developing new Welsh medium schools and 3-14 and 3-19 throughschools where there is local demand. We will make sure resources reach the frontline in an effective and timely manner, moving away from specific grants, and last-minute allocations. We will work with childcare providers, such as Mudiad Meithrin, to ensure that sufficient Welsh language childcare is available in all parts of Wales. Teachers inspiring children in our schools are crucial to raising standards and producing a prosperous and fair Wales. We will encourage a close connection between teacher and pupil and give it space in which to flourish. We must pursue all avenues in order to promote and protect this important relationship, removing all unnecessary interference. Good teaching makes all the difference. However, we are currently facing a crisis in our education system with an estimated one in three teachers quitting the classroom within their first five years. Therefore, a Plaid Cymru Government will implement a series of measures to give teachers and auxiliary staff a supportive workplace, allowing them to make their relationship with their pupils the primary focus of their work. This will be done by: Fully utilising devolved powers over work conditions in the classroom to ensure teachers are allowed to dedicate their time to teaching and inspiring their pupils, making the needs of the child and young person central to all they do. 42 43 ACTION Action On Housing ON build new Council Housing. We will ensure that all new-build housing will A Plaid Cymru government in Wales will create a National Housing Company which will borrow against rents to build a new generation of public rental housing in Wales, with a target of achieving 20,000 new homes over five years. We will also support Local Authorities wishing to be insulated to the highest standards and equipped with photovoltaics for electricity generation and solar water-heating. HOUSING Homelessness The slashing of public provisions and benefits by consecutive Conservative Governments in Westminster, together with a policy of ‘managed decline’ by the Welsh Labour Government, has led to huge increases in homelessness. Across Britain, more than 12,300 people sleep on the streets each night, with a further 12,000 spending the night in cars, trains, buses or tents. Homelessness increased by 63% in Wales between 2012 and 2017, with 10,373 households threatened by homelessness between 2018 and 2019. Plaid Cymru believe that no society can legitimately call itself Help for people in the rented This leaves over 100,000 households with civilised if a person must sleep on the street. Above all, tackling this sector very little to spend on basic living expenses problem is a question of political will. like food, heating or transport. Rent is We support a new tax credit for people who becoming more and more expensive while We support the comprehensive and detailed plan produced by pay more than 30% of their income on rent wages are stagnating. the homelessness charity Crisis which, if implemented would end and utilities. homelessness and bring overall savings to UK public services of around Plaid Cymru will help those people by £34.6 billion by 2041. In Wales it would entail savings of about £70 Renters in Wales have a bad deal: 37% creating a new tax credit of up to £25 a week million a year. of private renters in Wales earn less to households paying over 30% of their than £15,000, and almost half of private income on private rent. Plaid Cymru will adopt a ‘housing first’ philosophy - as implemented in households in Wales spend more than 30% of countries like Finland – to support those that are homeless. Recovery their income on housing costs. Everyone needs safe, stable and suitable housing to stay well, but in Wales, that is becoming the privilege of fewer people every year, due to soaring prices and limited public sector budgets. Investment in Affordable Homes programmes are more successful after an individual has been housed. Being asked to be abstinent and/or sober whilst homeless prior to Alongside the new tax credit, we need an receiving housing is impractical. overhaul of housing policy in Wales. The supply of new units of social housing remains We are committed to abolishing the archaic Vagrancy Act of 1824, a lower than it was in the 1990s, most of the pre-Victorian law that makes homelessness a crime. Not only is fining 1980s, and substantially lower than the second or imprisoning those on the streets cruel, it leads to their being actively part of the 1970s. This reflects successive discouraged from engaging with the police for fear of enforcement governments’ lack of willingness to invest in measures being taken. This does not help anyone. new social housing over the period. 46 47 Combating Crime COMBATING Crime Prevention In recent years we have come to understand more about the relationship CRIME study showed that people who have experienced four or more ACEs are between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – traumatic events such as sexual or physical abuse, domestic violence, and parental separation – and future offending and imprisonment. The Welsh ACEs 14 times more likely to have been a victim of violence over the last 12 months, 15 times more likely to have committed a violent crime, and 20 times more likely to have been imprisoned at any point in their lifetime. Devolution of Police and Justice It is unacceptable that Wales is the only nation in these islands without powers over its policing and justice policies. Plaid Cymru is committed to the devolution of policing and justice to Wales to empower us to implement and pursue policies that serve the interests of our citizens and communities. As argued by the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales, this will allow us to create integrated people-centred services – from prisons to counselling to housing – to replace the present callous approach that prioritises targets over people’s needs. Police budgets have been slashed, putting far fewer officers on the street. Welsh forces have been hit harder than those in the rest of the UK, due to an unfair funding formula. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of police officers in Wales decreased by 9%. Eight in ten prisoners in Wales had at least one ACE and nearly half had four or more ACEs. Within the general population, around 46% have one ACE and 14% have four or more. Community-based interventions are more effective at reducing reoffending and social exclusion than short-term imprisonment. Short custodial sentences offer limited opportunities for rehabilitation and many people leave custody with the same underlying issues as when they entered. More Police in our Communities We believe that a preventative approach across health, criminal justice, education and other settings is more effective in tackling Plaid Cymru will recruit an extra 1,600 police youth offending. Addressing the underlying causes of crime, such as officers – two for each community – to keep protecting children from abuse or neglect, is proven to reduce criminal us safe. This would mean that our officers behaviour. In civil matters, early intervention and sound advice can will be better rooted in our communities, prevent the involvement of the courts and can reduce hardship for many instead of being stretched to cover large people. geographical areas with fewer resources. This would give the police the ability to focus As part of our preventative approach, we will implement a long-term on the priorities they need to keep us safe. substance use harm reduction strategy. Problems and deaths from substances are more prevalent in Wales than other parts of the UK. The extra police officers will help facilitate We want to reduce substance use and substance related deaths by community engagement in which the police investing in a long-term strategy. This should focus on harm reduction and the community can relay issues of through a wide range of services and education programmes that treat mutual concern. Targeted, community- problematic substance users as patients rather than criminals. based problem-solving approaches improve crime reduction and rehabilitation. 48 49 Combating Crime Combating Crime Domestic Abuse Prisons Whilst a member of the Domestic Abuse Bill Committee and co-chair of Wales has the highest incarceration rate in western Europe, with one the Justice Unions and Family Courts Parliamentary Group, Liz Saville in every 667 people in the country behind bars. The prison-industrial Roberts was the leading voice in Parliament for an overhaul of family complex in the UK has meant that four of the five prisons in Wales are courts in order to protect victims of domestic abuse. overcrowded, leading to a deterioration of conditions for both staff and inmates. Liz Saville Roberts’ Ten-Minute Rule Bill highlighted the issue of cross- examination by perpetrators, particularly in vexatious court claims One of the most effective ways of ensuring the rehabilitation of an received cross-party support, and successfully put pressure on the UK inmate is to house them close to their local community and families. Government to include the change in the draft Bill. However, 39% of Welsh prisoners are held in England and 30% of prison spaces in Wales are for English inmates. We believe that inmates However, due to Boris Johnson’s reckless parliamentary games, all the should be placed as close to their local communities as possible. progress achieved on the Domestic Abuse Bill has been lost. We do not believe that super-prisons are the most effective way of In the next parliamentary session, Plaid Cymru will continue to work combating crime nor the best use of our resources. That is why we hard for a robust piece of legislation including: opposed the building of the Berwyn super-prison in Wrexham and the proposed super-prison in Port Talbot which was scrapped due to our A register for repeat domestic abuse register where abusers have opposition. been convicted of abusing two or more victims, administered by a properly resourced police force. Entering the criminal justice system can either be a symptom of or Prevent the police or prosecutors from disclosing the address of a cause longer-term issues. These include homelessness, mental health victim or witness of domestic abuse, coercive control or sexual issues and substance misuse. Almost 25% of Welsh inmates were assault to the person accused of the offence. homeless when they entered prison, over 90% of prisoners have at least Proper training for Police forces on Domestic Violence. one of five psychiatric disorders, and there was a 475% increase in drug Ensuring that Accident and Emergency Departments have trained finds in prisons over the last year. Domestic Violence advisors who can advise doctors to refer cases to the Police. Poverty and poor health are being criminalised. This needs to change Ensuring that migrant and BME victims of domestic violence receive by ensuring that support services are well-funded and by tackling the tailored support from authorities underlying issues that can lead to criminality. Courts and Legal Aid According to research by the Wales Governance Centre, those from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic backgrounds are disproportionately Plaid Cymru has been vociferously opposed to the British Government’s represented in prisons and the criminal justice system. In 2017, black reforms to the legal aid budget which have stripped thousands of people people were 4.5 times overrepresented in prison, Asian prisoners were of access to legal aid. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of 1.7 times overrepresented and individuals from mixed ethnic group were Offenders Act 2012 effectively reversed the previous legal aid scheme, 2.4 times overrepresented. removing most civil legal matters from the scope of legal aid. Plaid Cymru will fully implement the recommendations of the Lammy Plaid Cymru will reverse the harsh cuts so that people who are currently Review to address the disparity of treatment and outcomes for black unable to access legal aid can exercise their right to justice. This should and minority ethnic people within the criminal justice system, together include the establishment of a simpler and more generous assessment with the Angiolini Review on deaths and serious incidents in police scheme for civil legal aid, ensuring all benefit recipients automatically qualify custody. for legal aid, and making the contributions to legal aid more affordable. 50 51 Combating Crime Combating Crime Women in Wales are especially ill-served by the justice system, with all More needs to be done to tackle this heinous crime and our approach Welsh female prisoners being held in one of the twelve women’s prisons will be multidisciplinary and work across a plethora of institutions. From in England. This often results in the separation of young children from an early age we will teach our children about respectful relationships their mothers and makes family visits difficult. Moreover, there is a and consent in schools whereby they can be informed about what complete absence of Welsh language services for women prisoners. constitutes a healthy relationship and what is permissible. We will also launch a public information campaign to make clear what constitutes as The crimes committed by men and women can vary significantly. consent and tackle rape culture. For those that have already committed Women’s offending tends to be of a less serious nature, which means sexual assault we will ensure that perpetrator programmes are well they tend to serve a shorter sentence. In 2016, 74% of all women funded in prisons and within probation teams in order to minimise the convicted were sentenced for less than 6 months. risk of this crime happening in future. Short-term sentences often bring considerable chaos and disruption to We will ensure that the police, magistrates and juries have the correct the lives of women and their families, Conversely, women who complete information with regards to the handling of complaints and the correct short-term sentences are more likely to re-offend than those sentenced information with regards to what constitutes rape. Only a tiny minority to a court order. of cases fit under the ‘textbook’ definition of rape and those within the Criminal Justice System must be aware that rape can be between Women are also overwhelmingly sent to prison for theft rather than partners or between those that have been intimate in the past. violent offences. Often, women are stealing to feed their children or to support a partner’s drug habit. According to the Prison Reform Trust For those that have been a victim of this crime we will ensure that around half of women have been victims of crimes that are more serious Sexual Assault Referral Centres are properly funded with adequate than the ones for which they are being imprisoned. training for the professionals that work there. We will also ensure that counselling services are available and well-funded as victims of rape We will use suspended sentences for those women who are charged can suffer from co-occurring issues relating to mental health and drug with non-violent crimes, dampening the disruption caused to them and and alcohol abuse, especially due to self-medication. their family. Rather than being ‘soft’ on crime, this is in line with best practice as it lowers reoffending rates in comparison to short-term custodial sentences. Knife crime Plaid Cymru will support a dedicated, small, prison or secure centres for Rising knife crime has coincided with austerity, having increased to female prisoners in Wales, to ensure access to family support networks record levels, with 1,353 in the UK in 2018, a 23% rise on the previous as we accept that there will be occasions where a custodial sentence is year. This is a reflection of the impact of Tory cuts to policing at appropriate and justified. Westminster and Labour cuts to local government in Wales. The Welsh Government’s total spend on youth work has fallen from more than £40m five years ago to £32m in 2017-18. Rape We will work with youth clubs, sports governing bodies, schools, An estimated one in five women have experienced some form of sexual community groups, voluntary organisations and youth workers to violence since the age of 16. Rape is still an under-reported crime and it improve youth services and to increase the availability of both formal is estimated by the Crime Survey for England and Wales that only one in and informal activities. six victims of rape report the incident to the police. There were only were three convictions for every 100 rape cases recorded by the police in England and Wales in the past year. Although the number of alleged rapes recorded by the police increased by 9%, the number of charges fell by 38%, prosecutions by 33% and convictions by 27%. 58 FINANCE AND TAXATION The UK is one of the most unequal states in Europe. The richest region in the UK, In Parliament, our Treasury spokesperson Inner London, has a GDP of 614% of the Jonathan Edwards has used every EU average, compared to the UK’s poorest opportunity to highlight the inequality at region, West Wales and the Valleys, with a the heart of the British State, and to fight GDP of 68% of the EU average. This is a for fiscal fairness for Wales. shocking indictment of a financial system that has impoverished Wales for the benefit To begin addressing the imbalance, of a select few in London. Jonathan presented a Ten Minute Rule Bill at Westminster seeking to Nine of the twelve countries and regions establish an Office for Fair Funding, of the UK are persistently in deficit. The with a statutory obligation to deliver current UK economic and fiscal model is geographic wealth convergence. It broken. Policies pursued by successive UK would be a neutral and expert arbiter in governments, both Conservative and Labour, disputes so that Wales would stand on underpin the high concentration of political an equal footing with London and the and economic power in London and south South East of England when it comes east England with public investment being to funding. disproportionately concentrated in those areas at the expense of the rest of the UK. 59 Finance And Taxation Public investment needs to have rebalancing the UK economy as a goal. What is needed is sustained, additional funding: to replace EU funds if Brexit happens – to help sustain the economy through the Brexit headwinds and, crucially to pump-prime the economy to redress the current and long-standing geographic imbalances. It is only by pursuing such a strategy that the full economic potential of Wales and the rest of the UK outside London and south east England can be realised. Fair Funding for Wales The present Barnett Formula for distributing funding to the devolved nations has been largely unchanged for forty years and is not fit for purpose. Tied to an outdated population-based formula it has been widely discredited as failing to relate to relative need. Plaid Cymru believes it should be replaced by an Office for Fair Funding, with a statutory obligation to deliver geographic wealth convergence across the UK. It would be an independent and expert arbiter in disputes. Capital Investment For too long Wales and the rest of the UK has suffered from low capital investment resulting in low productivity and low pay. At a UK level, funding for increased capital investment should be at least an additional 1 per cent of GDP per year (£20bn) for a minimum of ten years. Such investment would be funded by increased borrowing. The funding should be allocated on a needs basis with Wales being allocated at least an additional £1.5bn a year to fund the investment programme set out in this manifesto. Increasing Revenue Plaid Cymru believes that everybody should pay a fair share of tax so that we can all share excellent, world-class public services. That means that those who earn most – as individuals or as companies – must make a fair contribution. 62 63 ENVIRONMENT Environment And Climate Change Global Deforestation AND CLIMATE trend. We will: Though forests are the lungs of our planet, they are being decimated across the world at an alarming rate. Wales has a role in resisting this Legislate to end the importation of goods that have caused CHANGE ecologically friendly farming. Require that imported palm oil comes from sustainable sources. deforestation. Invest in Overseas Development Aid that supports a transition to Ban imports of soy, beef and other agri-commodities from illegally deforested land. Biodiversity Widespread loss and degradation of habitats across Wales is now as obvious to us as climate change. We must act swiftly and with determination if we want to halt the effects of the ecological crisis on our wildlife and begin to see recovery. This calls for action close to home and globally. Plaid Cymru will bring forward legislation to tackle the extinction crisis, placing a legal obligation on this and future governments to act for the recovery of nature. Furthermore, we will secure robust, independent governance and accountability processes to uphold the law and stand up for our environment. Protecting our Seas Plaid Cymru supports a strong UN Global Ocean Treaty capable of creating a network of ocean sanctuaries covering at least 30% of oceans by 2030. This should involve an immediate moratorium on deep sea mining. All further activity within UK exploration contracts should be halted. We will support greater transition to organic and other sustainable farming systems. International Trade We will develop plans for renewable energy that operate in harmony with nature by Future trade deals undertaken by the UK, whether inside or outside the identifying ecologically sustainable sites EU, should maintain and enhance environmental standards, minimise for offshore and onshore wind energy the environmental footprint of trade and make trade terms explicitly development, as well as potential areas for subject to environmental and human rights commitments. There should solar and tidal energy development. This be specific protections for vital global ecosystems and habitats such as will be a cornerstone of our ‘Welsh Energy the Amazon, and for indigenous people. Atlas’. It will show where different forms of energy resources would have the least ecological impact, as well as potential sites for nature redevelopment and conservation. 6868 FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND FISHING Food Plaid Cymru MPs will also seek to ensure that any future trade deals secure geographical The Welsh food and drink sector is integral indications for key Welsh food such as Welsh to the prosperity and health of communities Lamb and Beef, Halen Mȏn/Anglesey Sea throughout Wales. The food supply chain Salt, Pembrokeshire early new potatoes, is worth £7 billion to the Welsh economy, Conwy Mussels, Carmarthen Ham and Welsh while the food and drink industry employs Wine. an estimated 240,000 people. We will seek to create a stronger domestic food market Agriculture underpinned by a more resilient processing capacity supported by more pro-active Farming is the backbone of rural communities public procurement policies. We will also across Wales and agriculture is an important protect and grow the Welsh brand, building sector in terms of the broader Welsh economy. on the highest environmental and animal Currently, well over half of most Welsh farmer’s welfare standards. We support a GMO-free incomes come from the direct payments they Wales and the continuing moratorium on GM receive through the EU’s Common Agricultural crops in the EU. Policy. Direct payments provide stability and security to farmers and are crucial in ensuring Plaid Cymru will fight for full powers for the vitality of Welsh farms and the wider rural the Senedd over food labelling. This would economy. allow us to build on and enhance the Welsh brand, helping promote and add value to our internationally renowned Welsh produce. 69 Food, Agriculture And Fishing The Welsh Labour Government intend phasing out direct payments if we leave the EU, which would have a devastating impact on the rural economy and the fabric of rural communities. A Plaid Cymru government will retain a direct payment scheme. We can also protect this funding for Welsh farmers by remaining in the EU. This general election has added more uncertainty around Brexit, since before it was called the UK government had guaranteed payments until the notional end of the Parliament, that is until 2022. Plaid Cymru believes that more must be done to tackle bovine TB. Experience from other countries shows that we must be more effective in tackling TB in wildlife if we are to get a grip on the situation. Evidence from the Downs study recently underlined the contribution that removing badgers can have on TB breakdowns, which is why Plaid Cymru believes it has to be part of the answer in Wales. Plaid Cymru is calling for the devolution of powers relating to dog attacks on livestock. In the north of Wales alone, there were 449 recorded cases of dog attacks between 2013 and 2017. As well as causing distress to animals they incur a large financial burden on farmers. The four main pieces of legislation that currently cover livestock attacks are antiquated and do not fit with current agricultural practices or the seriousness of the offence. Devolution and a change in the legislation is necessary to ensure the seriousness of this offence is understood, and that Welsh police forces have the powers to properly trace and deal with offenders. Fishing The Welsh fish and shellfish sector is worth £25 million to Wales and exports 90% of its produce, much of it to the EU. The vast majority catch shellfish, exporting them live to the continent or further afield via EU trade deals. Welsh capture fisheries, aquaculture producers and seafood supply chains are particularly vulnerable to any hold-ups in the transporting of their produce. If they are held up in ports, they can deteriorate and lose value. Any tariff barriers or non-tariff barriers would have an immense impact on their viability. The frictionless trade which is a benefit of EU membership is therefore crucial. Remaining in the EU will help protect the future of our fishing families. 72 73 The Welsh Language THE WELSH or embedded within the Welsh Government. This body will have We will establish a new high-status organisation, either at arms’ length responsibility for comprehensive language planning, the promotion and facilitation of the language in the community, and will be empowered to guide policy development across all sections and levels of government. LANGUAGE We will create an Economic Agency responsible for developing the economy of the western and northwest counties of Wales. As one of Europe’s poorest regions, improving its prosperity is essential for underpinning the Welsh language and culture. It is also crucial that Welsh speakers are able to access and use the digital world in Welsh so that they are not excluded from an increasingly digitized society. There is already ground-breaking work taking place in Wales and Plaid Cymru will support this work, including establishing a Digital Menter Iaith to ensure that we address the problem of digital language barriers. Plaid Cymru want a genuinely bilingual Wales where citizens can choose which language to use in their daily lives. There is wide support for the goal of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050. The education system has a key role to create the growth that is needed and to make fluency in both our national languages the norm. To achieve that, we need to substantially increase the number of Welsh speakers across the country and ensure that speakers have opportunities to use the language wherever they choose to do so. We want to encourage a greater use of Welsh in the workplace in the public, private and third sectors, and in government. We will use procurement contracts and apprenticeships to promote the use of Welsh. The Welsh language belongs to everybody in Wales and it is important that everyone has the opportunity to become bilingual. We will increase the availability of Welsh language education from nursery, to further and higher education, right through to adult learning. We will achieve a world-class education system that is truly bilingual, giving everyone the opportunity to learn through the medium of Welsh. A Welsh Education Act would ensure that everyone in Wales has the right to receive Welsh-medium education. Through this new law, Plaid Cymru will ensure that our citizens have the opportunity to develop skills in the Welsh language at every level as well as ensure the right to receive Welsh-medium education whatever a person’s age or background. Plaid Cymru will retain the post of Welsh Language Commissioner, ensuring that the Commissioner focuses chiefly on activities relating to setting and regulating Welsh Language Standards. New robust standards would also be introduced in the NHS which would secure the right to receive face-to-face services through the medium of Welsh. 76 EQUALITIES Plaid Cymru believe in a fair and just society We are committed to encouraging women’s where everyone is treated equally and enjoys full and equal participation in the economy by the same rights, regardless of their gender, ending gender segregation in the workplace ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. and promoting more flexible working Against the backdrop of a Tory Party who patterns. Our policy of providing 40 hours are intent on undermining the Human Rights free universal education and childcare to Act, we will publish a human rights charter children above one will ensure that parents for Wales to protect the most vulnerable have the option of returning to work and save members of our communities. We will also on the cost of childcare. seek devolution of responsibility for equalities legislation to Wales. A Plaid Cymru Government will promote all careers as being available to men and Plaid Cymru understands that despite the women. We will support women and girls to significant progress made, on average, follow careers in key growth areas, especially women are paid at lower rates per hour than in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering men for work of equal value and are more and Maths) fields. We will create mentorships likely to be in part-time employment or under- schemes to increase the visibility of women employed. in non-traditional occupations and senior roles and to increase girls’ awareness of the many different paths available to them. We will also introduce gender balanced management boards in Welsh Government funded organisations. 77 Equalities Plaid Cymru will address the impact of austerity-led cuts on funding for specialist services for women who have experienced domestic violence or abuse and ensure continued support to marginalised and vulnerable groups in society. We believe that LGBTQI+ voices and experiences need to be heard and affirmed. Having secured recurrent funding for the Gender Identity Clinic, Plaid Cymru will work to improve the provision and ensure timely access to the service. Schools in Wales will be required to keep a register of bullying incidents related to sexuality, to take action where necessary and to involve students in anti-bullying initiatives. We will promote LGBT participation in sport, as part of broader efforts towards healthier lifestyles, and work with clubs and organisations to reduce homophobic, transphobic and sexist behaviour. Whilst we believe that disabled people should be encouraged and supported into employment, we do not believe it is appropriate to require disabled people to face the same obligations and threats of sanctions in looking for employment. We will establish sheltered employment schemes for those people who need a more supportive environment to return to work, as a stepping stone towards full participation in employment, and will work with accredited employers to create such schemes. We will ensure local authorities and social landlords provide more disabled friendly and lifetime housing suitably adapted to people’s needs. All schools will have appropriate access for physically disabled pupils. We will ensure that better support is available for people with learning difficulties, including increasing the number of specialist nurses in hospital settings to address inequalities in the provision of health services. Plaid Cymru is committed to working with blind, partially sighted, and deaf people and those experiencing hearing loss, the organisations representing them, and professionals, to develop national strategies to ensure co-ordinated and equitable access to services. Plaid Cymru will support the reform of the Gender Recognition Act to introduce a streamlined, de-medicalised process. We will support efforts to reform the Equality Act to include ‘gender identity’ as a protected characteristic and to remove the use of the terms ‘gender reassignment’ and ‘transsexual’ from the Act. 80 WESTMINSTER REFORM The Brexit crisis has demonstrated that Plaid Cymru is committed to overhauling Westminster is broken, and the people of the Westminster voting system, getting Wales are paying the price. We are best rid of First-Past-the-Post and turning it served by our own National Parliament – the into a parliament elected under the Single Senedd which is more inclusive and more Transferable Vote proportional system, in representative than Westminster. which all votes count equally. Global Deforestation Plaid Cymru supports reform of the House of Plaid Cymru were the hardest Lords so that it becomes a directly elected Though forests are the lungs of ourworking party at Westminster. In the planet, they upper chamber representing the regions of last parliament, Plaid Cymru MPs England, and so long as they remain part of asked more parliamentary questions the UK state, Wales, Scotland, and Northern and made more speeches than Ireland. the Labour, Tory and Lib Dem MPs representing constituencies in Wales. We will lead efforts to extend the right to vote to sixteen and seventeen-year-olds for Westminster elections, and we will But we also have a duty to the people campaign to give EU citizens and all those of Wales to protect their interests in the with permanent residency the right to vote in institutions that currently exist. That’s why all elections. we have led the way in efforts to protect representative democracy against Boris Johnson’s undemocratic shutdown of parliament and worked closely with other parties to block a no-deal Brexit. 81 Westminster Reform Westminster’s faults are fundamental. The confrontational architecture of the chamber encourages antagonism and distrust between political parties. Plaid Cymru were at the forefront of the legal fight against Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of Parliament, with Hywel Williams, Liz Saville Roberts, Jonathan Edwards and Ben Lake all petitioners to the case to the Scottish Court of Session. We will continue to work across the parties to defend democracy at every opportunity. We will cancel plans for the £5bn restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster. Instead of building a replica of a parliament that has seen barely any reform since the Nineteenth Century, we will campaign to move the Parliament out of London, in order to build a chamber that encourages civilized debate and which holds enough seats for all 650 MPs. We will also support abolishing the archaic and inefficient voting procedure in Westminster whereby MPs walk through lobbies for hours. Instead, we will support electronic voting, freeing up time for MPs to represent their constituents. Currently, nearly one in five MPs has regular paid work outside parliament. We will lead efforts to strengthen the MPs’ code of conduct, to include an upper limit of extra earnings pegged at no more than half of their regular salary. Currently, there are 17 Assembly Members and seven Welsh MPs who employ members of their own families at the public’s expense. Whether in the Senedd, Westminster or Brussels Plaid Cymru politicians will not employ family members. As members of the Welsh Affairs Committee over the last two years, Plaid’s Ben Lake and Jonathan Edwards have scrutinised the British Government on issues such as the proposed closure of Ford’s Bridgend plant, City Deals and Growth Deals in Wales, Wales and the Armed Forces, the devolution of Air Passenger Duty to Wales, and the impact of Brexit on Wales. 86 87 Wales And The World WALES AND in Wales, taking inspiration from countries such as Catalonia and We will encourage other countries to establish diplomatic representation Québec, whose capital cities host dozens of Consulates-General and THE WORLD Whilst chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Catalonia, Consulates, and have emerged as thriving international hubs. Arfon’s Hywel Williams was the leading voice in Westminster against Spanish state repression in Catalonia. Hywel’s urgent question in October 2019 led to cross-party support for the defence of freedoms and civil liberties in Catalonia, and In government, Plaid Cymru will develop an international policy for Wales that restores our position as a great trading nation. We will introduce a Wales International, responsible for attracting new businesses, talent and industry from around the world, but also for putting Wales onto the global map for our exports. We will also establish, as in Ireland, a separate National Enterprise Agency, responsible for development inside Wales. A particular responsibility for this new body will be to ensure equitable investment and sustainable development throughout Wales. gained international press attention. We will establish a formal relationship between the Welsh Government and the Consular Association in Wales as a starting point for developing a strategy to encourage more diplomatic representation in Wales, bringing together key businesses, with a shared objective of enhancing the Welsh economy. We will call for Welsh associate membership of UNESCO, the Food and Plaid’s Ben Lake has forged Agriculture Organisation, and the International Maritime Organisation. connections with the Consular Association in Wales in order to emphasise the importance of Tourism diplomatic representation. He raised the issue through a Westminster Hall Plaid Cymru recognises the importance of the tourism industry across debate in June 2019. Wales as an employer and in attracting investment into the country. We want to promote Wales as a high quality, sustainable tourism destination with activities and experiences based on our natural resources, our Plaid Cymru will continue to support strategic produce, our unique coastline and landscape, and our language, culture trade missions across the world to foster and heritage. awareness of Wales in new territories and take advantage of new opportunities that We will increase funding for tourism promotion for Wales to take its this provides to create jobs. We will publish a place amongst the best destinations world-wide. set of trade negotiation principles, including for labour and environment standards, Currently, the tourism industry is held back by unfair taxes and and protection of the rights of cultural and a Government that is failing to promote Wales as a global tourist language minorities. destination. Plaid Cymru want to see tourism VAT on hospitality cut to 9% to put Wales ahead in the international tourism market.