Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth is meeting Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney in Edinburgh today (Thursday, 30 October) to discuss forming a “progressive alliance” between their parties, aimed at offering a “positive alternative” to what they describe as Westminster’s “race to the right”.
The talks between the two nationalist leaders will focus on strengthening co-operation between Wales and Scotland, developing joint approaches to tackling child poverty, and finding ways to ensure both nations’ voices are better heard in Westminster.
Mr ap Iorwerth, whose party recently achieved a historic by-election victory in Caerphilly, ending decades of Labour dominance, said the discussions were an opportunity to demonstrate “the power of progressive politics”.
Mr ap Iorwerth said: “I am looking forward to meeting with the First Minister of Scotland John Swinney to discuss our shared vision for the future of our nations. A Plaid Cymru Government would be eager to adopt best practice from around the world when it comes to adopting policies to improve people’s day-to-day lives, and where better to start than with one of our closest allies in Scotland. The Scottish Child Payment is a radical and exciting policy which we are committed to introducing as a Welsh pilot should Plaid Cymru form the next government in May. Thanks to measures like this, Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty rates are set to drop in the coming years. I want that to be the case in Wales too. We have a genuine opportunity to show the power of progressive politics through close and continued cooperation between Scotland and Wales. With an SNP Government in Scotland and a Plaid Cymru Government in Wales next May, our nations will have the strongest voices possible that Westminster can simply no longer ignore.”
Ahead of the meeting, Mr Swinney pledged to work closely with Plaid Cymru to provide “a positive alternative to Westminster’s despair and decline”.
Mr Swinney said: “Bills are going up, people are struggling and the UK Labour Government’s answer is racing further and further to the right to keep up with Nigel Farage. That is not a status quo I am willing to accept and I will be delighted to work with my friends in Plaid Cymru to show the people of Scotland and Wales that there is a positive alternative to Westminster’s despair and decline.”
The Scottish First Minister added that both parties shared a vision of “a society in which we support people with the cost of living rather than leaving them to languish while the rich get richer.”
Mr ap Iorwerth described the meeting as an important step towards shaping a new, collaborative approach to governance that prioritises fairness, equality and opportunity across both nations.
As political debate in Westminster continues to be dominated by division and a shift to the right, the proposed alliance between Plaid Cymru and the SNP seeks to present a united front for those calling for progressive change across the UK’s devolved nations.
