Welsh Lib Dem manifesto full of typos
Thursday, 14 April 2011 12:00 AM
By Ian Dunt
The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has apologised after admitting that the Welsh language version of her manifesto was full of errors.
Welsh language speakers reading the document found numerous errors, including a misspelling of the word general ('cyffredinol') on the front cover.
One section adds an unnecessary 'yn' to a sentence which translates as "'Wales can do better'.
The Welsh words for environment, sports and politics were also misspelt.
One unfortunate sentence reads: "We have people up and down Wales are ambitious to go green, but a government that subsidising pollution and ignoring the needs of rural areas."
Speaking to the BBC, Kirsty Williams tried to turn the mistakes around by highlighting them as evidence for the need for change in Wales.
"Well, we've proof read and proof read and proof read," she said.
"But it just goes to show, doesn't it, that we really need to do something about literacy and numeracy in our country, and I regret that some of those typos have managed to sneak their way through the system."
Writing in his blog earlier this week Lib Dem candidate Peter Black said: "I hope somebody has proof read the Welsh Liberal Democrat manifesto, which is being launched tomorrow."
The Welsh Lib Dem team have been furiously trying to convince voters that the local elections are not a good time to be influenced by events in Westminster, for fear of a backlash over Nick Clegg's support for Tory-led government policies.
"This is not about London, not about Westminster, this is about what we are going to do here in Wales," she said at the manifesto launch.
Last week, Peter Hain launched a pointed attack on the Welsh Lib Dems, saying that the "destructive" Tory policies in London could be "mirrored" in Wales
"I am not surprised that Peter Hain is talking about London because he does not want to stand there and talk about the failures of Labour for the past four years," Ms Williams added.
Welsh politics appears blighted by typos at present. A recent Plaid Cymru press release stated: "We will aim to have illiteracy rates by the end of the next Assembly term."
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