Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan will today unveil the party’s Senedd election pledges with a promise to introduce easy-to-access, same-day mental health services for all.
With just over two months until the election, the First Minister will address an invited audience in Newport including new Senedd candidates, setting out her priorities for the campaign and her vision for a fairer future Wales.
As part of her speech, she is expected to say: “Fairness today cannot mean permanent patience. It cannot mean ‘bear with us’. It cannot mean ‘it’s complicated’. It cannot mean ‘come back in five years’.”
Ms Morgan is also expected to liken Labour to the Chartists, a working class movement for political reform during the 1830s, 40s and 50s which attracted strong support in the south Wales valleys. In 1839 the “Newport Rising” saw thousands of Chartists march on the town and were met by gun fire from soldiers.
Among the policies due to be revealed are a £2 bus fare cap and 100 additional bus routes; a lifelong retraining guarantee; a crackdown on flytippers; and a vision for an “energy-independent Wales”.
The speech will say: “Fairness today must mean progress you can see, progress you can measure, progress you can feel. That is the promise I am making today. That is the promise of this new chapter for Wales.
“We will focus on the things that make the biggest difference to daily life, and we will deliver them with the seriousness that government demands.
“The Labour Party, like the Chartists before us, would be nothing if it did not represent the true needs of the people. Because slogans are easy. Running Wales is harder. And here’s a message to our competitors in this election. You cannot fix waiting times with a hashtag. You cannot grow wages on TikTok. You cannot build a hospital with a committee. You need a plan. You need priorities. You need delivery. That’s what Welsh Labour is offering.”
As part of the launch, the Welsh Labour leader will announce a pledge to provide easy-to-access, same-day mental health services. The new “open access” model of care will be tested by all health boards in demonstrator sites with Labour saying it will make Wales the first country in the world to have such a system.
Among the other policies to be announced are:
- A £2 bus fare cap, adding to existing offer of £1 for under 21s and free bus passes for over 60s, and an additional 100 new bus routes
- A Clean Water Bill, working with campaigners and others to make water regulation simpler and stronger and creating a brand-new standalone regulator focused on economic regulation
- Introducing year-round pay for all school support staff benefiting teaching assistants, cooks, cleaners, and caretakers, through a new School Support Staff Negotiating Body established in law
- Improving access to hospital transport and ensuring all health boards develop a transport plan, including plans for public transport, car parking and active travel
- A lifelong retraining guarantee, ensuring workers get access to retraining to help them stay in work or get back into work
- Cracking down on flytippers by increasing fines
- A vision for an “energy-independent Wales” designed to keep energy bills as low as possible, create new jobs, ensure renewable energy projects benefit communities, and protect Wales from unstable global energy markets.
Wales goes to the polls on May 7 to elect a new government. The election will see big changes for voters with a new voting system, new constituencies, and an increase in the number of members from the current 60 to 96. You can read our guide to the changes here
Research suggests Labour is likely to have a fight on its hands to return to power in Cardiff Bay with polls consistently showing them in third place. The most recent YouGov poll, carried out on behalf of ITV Cymru Wales/Barn Cymru, projected Plaid will take 37 per cent of the vote share to Reform’s 23 per cent and Labour’s 10 per cent.
