Plaid looking to gain in assembly election

Friday, 27 April 2007 12:00 AM

With less than a week to go before the Welsh election, two opinion polls suggest Labour will lose its majority.

Labour currently holds 30 of the Welsh assembly's 60 seats after achieving 40 per cent of the vote in 2003. However, based on the latest projections, the party could see this slip to around a third.

A NOP poll for ITV Wales found support for Rhodri Morgan's Labour party has fallen four points in less than a month, achieving 32 per cent. The Conservatives have also dropped four points to 19 per cent, while Plaid Cymru have gained six to 26 per cent. The Liberal Democrats remain on 15 per cent.

This broadly compared to a Western Mail/Beaufort Research poll on regional preferences. Labour slipped to 35 per cent following by Plaid on 26 per cent, the Lib Dems and Tories on 12 per cent and others on seven.

Plaid Cymru are now tipped to see the biggest gains in next week's election, leader Ieuan Wyn Jones has delivered his last major pre-election speech. He told supporters in Cardiff that Plaid offered the people of Wales to vote for policies that would "transform the country".

With no party likely to win a majority in the assembly, any policies will be dependent on a coalition. Mr Jones insisted Plaid would still push for its core manifesto commitments in a hung government and these policies would form the basis of any agreement to form a coalition.

He pledged to push for council tax caps for pensioners, a new Welsh Language Act and a referendum on a Scottish-style parliament for Wales.

"Vote Plaid - get Plaid. Only by voting for Plaid next week can the people of Wales be guaranteed of having a government that will always put their interests first. Our innovative and ambitious policies are in stark contrast to the negative and rudderless plans of the Labour party," Mr Jones said.

He continued: "We challenged the other parties to fight on Welsh issues at the start of this campaign, but what we have seen is Labour running the most negative campaign of recent times, depending on scaremongering to boost their dwindling vote; the Conservatives have had to depend on their London leader to raise their profile; and the only thing people will remember of the Liberal Democrats' campaign is Lembit's antics.

After the Labour party tried to claim Plaid were considering forming a coalition with the Conservatives, Plaid threatened legal action against the slogan "Vote Plaid, get Tories".

Tags:
• domestic policy
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• labour
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• party politics
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• plaid cymru
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• wales