02/03/2013

:00:08. > :00:14.$:/STARTFEED. We will soon be coming to the end of the Sixsmith

:00:14. > :00:18.rugby but in the end of six weeks we bring the four Welsh political

:00:18. > :00:28.spring conferences. It is Plaid Cymru today, we have two hours of

:00:28. > :00:29.

:00:30. > :00:36.the Conference for you between now and 4.00pm.

:00:36. > :00:40.Now who, better to assist me this afternoon than the Welsh Affairs

:00:40. > :00:45.Editor, who has had more conferences than I have had hot

:00:46. > :00:51.dinners, Vaughan. We have four conferences coming up in the next

:00:51. > :00:56.eight weeks but no election until 2015 and 2016. What on earth are

:00:56. > :01:01.the politicians to be concentrating on? Well, no elections other than

:01:01. > :01:04.Anglesey. Where there are local elections. That explains the

:01:04. > :01:09.Conference in Beaumaris. It is going to be about mood music rather

:01:09. > :01:13.than politics. We are a long way from the election, parties don't

:01:13. > :01:17.want to turn themselves down, especially with the economy in an

:01:17. > :01:21.uncertain state. So I think we can expect to see a lot of attacks from

:01:21. > :01:24.the parties, and when we get to Labour, a lot of attacks on the

:01:24. > :01:28.Westminster Government. That is where we are at. I think it is

:01:28. > :01:32.about the mood musics, it is about positioning.

:01:32. > :01:35.This Plaid Cymru Conference began yesterday, a speech from the leader,

:01:35. > :01:40.Leanne Wood, we will be seeing that later on. Is it difficult for a

:01:40. > :01:44.leader, do you think, when we have this vacuum if you like, what do

:01:44. > :01:47.you put in the speech? Do you take the decisions as did the

:01:47. > :01:52.Conservatives to last week to put the cards on the tables with

:01:52. > :01:56.regards to powers on tax? Leanne Wood did not do that. We are not

:01:56. > :02:01.expecting anything concrete from her? No. It is definitely about

:02:01. > :02:05.underlining the changes she wants to introduce to the party. That she

:02:05. > :02:09.has done. What you can expect is emphasis on the poverty. Plaid

:02:09. > :02:13.Cymru think in the past they have been seen as a party with a bag of

:02:13. > :02:18.chips on their shoulder. They don't want that anymore. Plus the focus

:02:18. > :02:22.on the economy. Trying to get away from the image that visits in many

:02:22. > :02:28.people's minds with the party that is obsessed with the constitution,

:02:28. > :02:30.obsessed with the Welsh language and the Welsh culture. So, she will

:02:31. > :02:35.be concentrating on bread and butter issues, the economy and

:02:35. > :02:39.education. Yesterday, the main news beyond the

:02:39. > :02:43.Plaid Cymru Conference, was a call from the Assembly presiding officer

:02:43. > :02:48.to increase the numbers of assembly members, a constitutional matter,

:02:48. > :02:52.if you will. There was not much talk of that at the Plaid Cymru

:02:52. > :02:57.Conference? That is rare, they would normally trument that sort of

:02:57. > :03:01.thing? That is delightful for them that is the contrast that they

:03:01. > :03:05.wanted to draw. That they were talking about the economy while

:03:05. > :03:09.someone else was trauking about the constitution of Wales. So they

:03:09. > :03:13.don't want to come across as a single issue party or a pressure

:03:13. > :03:17.group. We are back with you during the

:03:17. > :03:21.afternoon, Vaughan. Now, the Conference as we said it began

:03:21. > :03:31.yesterday. That is where we begin it makes sense, here is the speech

:03:31. > :03:31.

:03:31. > :03:38.of the party leader, Leanne Wood. APPLAUSE

:03:38. > :03:45.Conference, it was a pleasure to travel through Wales yesterday to

:03:45. > :03:50.reach Ynys Mon, to cross the bridge, to reach the apex of our country

:03:50. > :03:59.ready for this most auspicious day, stpfplt St David's Day, March the

:03:59. > :04:04.1st. -- St And it is the area, Ynys Mon,

:04:04. > :04:08.that is special to Wales. This is the country with the first

:04:08. > :04:18.comprehensive school, where it was set up. A great symbol of the best

:04:18. > :04:18.

:04:18. > :04:22.in our creative tradition. The first woman MP was Megan Lloyd-

:04:22. > :04:28.George. The first branch of the Women's Institute. It is a fitting

:04:28. > :04:38.place for the first woman leader of Plaid Cymru to pay a tribute to the

:04:38. > :04:50.

:04:50. > :04:54.First Minister in the history of I want to say thank you to you, for

:04:54. > :05:01.your tremendous service to Ynys Mon and to Wales for more than a

:05:01. > :05:07.quarter of a century. In 1987 your victory as an MP will

:05:07. > :05:15.be remembered as a ray of light in a dismal decade for Plaid Cymru. A

:05:15. > :05:21.borough that gave the party heart and confidence for the years ahead

:05:21. > :05:26.-- break through. In 1997 it was the telecanvasses

:05:26. > :05:32.that eped us win the greatest prize for this nation. By winning the

:05:32. > :05:40.referendum we gave birth to our democracy. It was in 1997 that we

:05:40. > :05:44.won our dignity! The icing on the cake came in 2011 when Welsh public

:05:44. > :05:52.opinion crystallised in favour of Wales.

:05:52. > :05:56.Those referendum results here, will be your most precious legacy. In

:05:56. > :05:59.2007 you took us into government. Let us be clear, that is the

:05:59. > :06:09.ultimate goal of a political party like ours.

:06:09. > :06:13.

:06:13. > :06:17.Your shining example in that government will continue to provide

:06:17. > :06:25.us with the inspiration for the years ahead. So it is fitting that

:06:25. > :06:34.here on your territory, I say, thank you, from me personally, and

:06:34. > :06:44.on behalf of this party. (SPEAKS IN WELSH).

:06:44. > :06:46.

:06:46. > :06:50.APPLAUSE Ynys Mon, it represents the

:06:51. > :06:55.nation's northern most point. It is a perfect place to get a

:06:55. > :07:01.perspective on where Wales has been and where we are heading.

:07:01. > :07:06.Since the financial crash of 2007, a lot has changed. Yet we have a

:07:06. > :07:10.Government in London ploughing ahead with its failed incompetent

:07:10. > :07:15.policies of austerity. At the same time, we have a Welsh

:07:15. > :07:20.Government in Cardiff, happy to carry on with a mentallity of

:07:20. > :07:25.nothing to do with us, gov. Thinking of where we are, and where

:07:26. > :07:29.we are going does not mean looking back and dwelling on the past,

:07:29. > :07:35.although, of course it is vital to have an understanding of our

:07:35. > :07:40.history. It is more important to look forward.

:07:40. > :07:47.I'm lying, as we say! -- (SPEAKS IN WELSH). I say it is time for us to

:07:47. > :07:52.chart our own course. We are Wales' only national party. Why? For one

:07:52. > :07:57.simple reason: We want to build this country. We want to unlock our

:07:57. > :08:02.people's potential. We want to build a path of human progress, not

:08:02. > :08:05.in the abstract, not in the comfortable and the complacent

:08:06. > :08:11.corridors of power but in the streets of every community, in the

:08:11. > :08:21.villages and in the valleys where we live.

:08:21. > :08:28.APPLAUSE Our communities are important to

:08:28. > :08:37.Plaid Cymru. TRANSLATION: The campaign for 2016

:08:37. > :08:42.starts now. Here, now, with us, with you.

:08:42. > :08:47.Why do we want to win in 2016? Because a better Wales cannot wait

:08:47. > :08:56.any longer. The problem in our communities in

:08:56. > :09:00.Wales are deep-rooted, serious and ingrained.

:09:00. > :09:07.We need to give our economy a boost and to create communities that are

:09:07. > :09:14.fit to face current and future challenges.

:09:14. > :09:24.We need to put all of our effort into job creation. With jobs comes

:09:24. > :09:30.confidence. With confidence everything is possible.

:09:30. > :09:34.As someone who was trying to learn Welsh, I understand how important

:09:34. > :09:38.confidence is. The language is very important to me. I want to see a

:09:38. > :09:46.Wales in the future become a nation. Where the Welsh language is one of

:09:46. > :09:52.the languages spoken in the streets in all parts of Wales.

:09:52. > :10:01.The Census brought us bad news. The figures show that the number of

:10:01. > :10:05.Welsh speakers is in decline. We are losing some 2,000 Welsh

:10:05. > :10:12.speakers every year. What is the Welsh Government doing about this?

:10:12. > :10:18.Nothing. Just delaying.

:10:18. > :10:25.It is only this week that Labour prevented the introduction of the

:10:25. > :10:30.Welsh Language Standards. The language and the economy is

:10:30. > :10:34.essential in all areas, such Assange ang.

:10:34. > :10:38.-- Anglesey. Throughout the country, we must

:10:38. > :10:44.provide opportunities for people to remain, stay, live and work in

:10:44. > :10:49.their communities. We need to create a future for our

:10:49. > :10:54.young people. They are the hope for our next generation.

:10:55. > :10:59.And that is why I have insisted on the economy and job creation being

:10:59. > :11:05.our number one priority since my election as Plaid Cymru leader a

:11:05. > :11:07.year ago. For 30 years Wales has had a poor

:11:07. > :11:16.deal from a succession of UK governments.

:11:16. > :11:22.We have seen factories come and go, inward investment, peaks and

:11:22. > :11:27.troughs and the gap between the rich and the poor has grown.

:11:27. > :11:32.Broken dreams. Broken lives. Broken families.

:11:32. > :11:36.It is time this finally stopped. It is time to put government back on

:11:36. > :11:41.the side of the people. To have a government working to make sure

:11:41. > :11:46.that the people have the basics, a decent home, with decent healthcare

:11:46. > :11:51.within a reasonable travel distance. A job with decent pay. So that the

:11:51. > :11:57.bills are affordable. It is not difficult. With people in work on

:11:57. > :12:02.decent wages, they pay in to the tax pot. The more that goes into

:12:02. > :12:07.that tax pot, the more and better quality and Social Services and

:12:07. > :12:12.social protection we can afford. The austerity drive has failed.

:12:12. > :12:20.Project ex-s for economic growth have failed. The efforts to

:12:20. > :12:25.maintain the UK's triple-A credit status has failed. Attempts to cut

:12:25. > :12:35.unemployment in Wales have failed. Failure has been the hallmark of

:12:35. > :12:41.

:12:41. > :12:46.this discredited UK Government. And where is the opposition? It was

:12:46. > :12:50.up to Plaid Cymru MPs to lead the charge on the bedroom tax this week

:12:50. > :12:54.on the floor of the House of Commons. And it is a good job the

:12:54. > :13:01.Tories in the Assembly have got their fingers on the pulse. Just

:13:01. > :13:07.this week they popped up to promise tax cuts for the better off. Plaid

:13:07. > :13:15.Cymru wants to see policies which help more businesses start up. How

:13:15. > :13:18.will cutting taxes for those on the 40% tax rate help that? Tackling

:13:18. > :13:24.business rates, better public procurement, these are the things

:13:24. > :13:28.that would make a difference. Measures that would allow our

:13:28. > :13:31.wealth creators to flourish. Measures that could be taken now,

:13:31. > :13:37.if the Tories were really interested in helping business.

:13:37. > :13:43.These are the priorities of Plaid Cymru and we will earn the right to

:13:43. > :13:47.govern our country by presenting a responsible, competent and

:13:47. > :13:54.business-friendly plan to boost the Welsh economy. We must make the

:13:54. > :14:01.most of the resources that we have. And our most precious resource are

:14:01. > :14:09.our people. The road to our future will be built by the people here.

:14:09. > :14:13.If we as Welsh people don't build it, it won't be built. We know we

:14:13. > :14:21.need better infrastructure, better communication links throughout our

:14:21. > :14:27.country, take a look at rail. Why has it taken so throng electrify a

:14:27. > :14:31.single mile of our -- so long to electrify a single mile of our rail

:14:31. > :14:37.ways. Because the switch that needed to be flicked lay Ide until

:14:37. > :14:41.London. We know we can't look to London for the answers. That has

:14:42. > :14:47.been tried and it has failed. Friends, we have spent too long

:14:47. > :14:53.waiting. That switch, or the spark to power up our nation, has to be

:14:53. > :15:01.in our hands. We can achieve anything if we have the

:15:01. > :15:08.determination to shape and craft for ourselves a future that is

:15:09. > :15:18.better than the past. And we can. We must. We will create a future

:15:19. > :15:21.

:15:21. > :15:27.We must. We will create a future that is better than the past.

:15:27. > :15:31.APPLAUSE After all, what is this Welsh democracy for? If not the

:15:31. > :15:37.possibility of doing things differently. We have worked hard

:15:37. > :15:42.for our democracy. Let's use it. It is a capacity that the Wales of our

:15:42. > :15:48.forefathers did not have. We have the chance to make the most of our

:15:48. > :15:54.lives, to do the best we can do to be the best we can be. That was the

:15:54. > :15:58.spirit that inspired the miners and quarry workers to build libraries

:15:58. > :16:03.and universitys the length and breadth of Wales and inspired them

:16:03. > :16:08.to provide scholarships four thousands, so those otherwise could

:16:08. > :16:17.not, should have a better future. Our history will be what we make it.

:16:17. > :16:22.And we can start today by imagining and believing in a different future.

:16:22. > :16:27.I have led this party for almost a year. It's ban proud and

:16:27. > :16:37.exhilarating experience and I am privileged to lead the only party

:16:37. > :16:44.

:16:44. > :16:49.which puts Wales first each and What have I learned over this past

:16:49. > :16:55.year? I have learned that the people the length and breadth of

:16:55. > :17:03.Wales have an unquenchable hope a huge appetite for a different

:17:03. > :17:07.course. And an acceptance that we cannot continue as we are. Our

:17:07. > :17:10.country contains an enormous well spring of positive creative, almost

:17:10. > :17:17.limitless social energy and I have been inspired by the people I have

:17:17. > :17:21.met who want to make a difference for their world and for Wales. We

:17:21. > :17:26.only need to look at our country's success in sport. We are punching

:17:26. > :17:31.well above our weight on a world scale in a variety of sports from

:17:31. > :17:36.cycling to rugby, football to taekwondo. I pay tribute to all of

:17:36. > :17:46.those who made last weekend such a fantastic weekend of Welsh sport.

:17:46. > :17:51.

:17:51. > :17:55.Well done to all of you for doing your nation proud. APPLAUSE. Welsh

:17:55. > :18:01.sports women and men give us a lot to be proud of. But also a to

:18:01. > :18:05.aspire to. They have shown us what can be achieved with confidence,

:18:05. > :18:10.self-belief and the right opportunities. Tran late that for

:18:10. > :18:17.our nation, for our economy w that right combination, there is no

:18:17. > :18:22.reason why Wales can't be as or more successful than the score of

:18:22. > :18:28.nations of roughly a similar size. As in team sports, if we all pull

:18:28. > :18:34.together as a team, this nation can and will do great things. People

:18:34. > :18:38.are calling out for a vision. Yes, there's scepticism, this a hardly

:18:38. > :18:43.surprising, the old models of our economy, our politics, our

:18:43. > :18:49.environment, are broken. People are looking for a new different. --

:18:49. > :18:53.direction a new start, new leadership. I am determined that

:18:53. > :19:03.they will find it here in the only party that this country of ours

:19:03. > :19:10.

:19:10. > :19:16.rightly call its own, the party of For a vision to work, it must be

:19:16. > :19:22.credible. It must set out where we want to go and set out the first

:19:22. > :19:28.steps on the journey. Our vision is of an independent Wales.

:19:28. > :19:35.Independent in spirit and in reality. Not dependent on handouts

:19:35. > :19:41.from Brussels or London. A country fuelled not by charity, but by our

:19:41. > :19:45.own success. The question is how do we get there from here? We live in

:19:45. > :19:51.the present and it is in the present tense that we make

:19:51. > :19:56.ourselves relevant to people's daily lives. Our first steps will

:19:56. > :20:01.be outlined in our programme. And it is with the relevant programme

:20:01. > :20:11.combined with the determination to fight for our communities that we

:20:11. > :20:14.

:20:14. > :20:19.will make Anglesey proud again, when we win here in May. The work

:20:19. > :20:25.of building the new Wales starts here and it starts now and there is

:20:25. > :20:30.a lot of work to be done. This party has a raft of good policies

:20:30. > :20:36.which are right for the time we are in. So right in fact that the Welsh

:20:36. > :20:41.Government has had to adopt our ideas in the absence of their own.

:20:41. > :20:45.Our plan to tackle the Council Tax benefit gap, our plan for a public

:20:45. > :20:49.investment vehicle that we can build for Wales. Our plan to turn

:20:49. > :20:55.around our national airport and for a conversation on the Webb language,

:20:55. > :21:01.our plan for a science park here, these are all policies pushed by

:21:01. > :21:04.the party of Wales, then adopted by the Welsh Government. We are

:21:04. > :21:09.working hard, coming up with solutions that can be put in place

:21:09. > :21:12.now to the problems that people face in their lives. And I'm

:21:12. > :21:17.talking about these policies and discussing them in public meetings

:21:17. > :21:24.that I'm holding with people up and down the land. Plaid Cymru intends

:21:24. > :21:28.to talk to people in every single nook, Kuranyi and corner of Wales.

:21:29. > :21:36.And the more we talk with people in our community and listen, the more

:21:36. > :21:41.we get our policy and our programme right. I have set this party a big

:21:41. > :21:46.challenge. Between now and 2016, I want us to have a million

:21:46. > :21:51.conversations with the people of Wales. That is a two-way

:21:51. > :21:55.conversation, where we listen and take note of what people say. And

:21:55. > :22:05.during those conversations we will be positive, we will promote

:22:05. > :22:05.

:22:05. > :22:12.optimism and we will promote hope. Our campaign for the 2016 Assembly

:22:12. > :22:17.election has already begun. Our campaign will have the energy, the

:22:17. > :22:22.excitement and the integrity to offer a real alternative. It will

:22:22. > :22:28.be rooted in the participation of people in every city, in every town,

:22:28. > :22:34.in every village and in every county. A campaign that will

:22:34. > :22:44.restore people's faith in politics. Plaid Cymru, the party of Wales,

:22:44. > :22:49.

:22:49. > :22:56.must win that election. We must win that election for the children of

:22:56. > :23:01.Wales. One quarter of the children in this country are growing up poor.

:23:01. > :23:07.When they grow up, one quarter of them will be unemployed. 40% of

:23:07. > :23:12.them will leave primary school not able to read or write to the

:23:12. > :23:17.standard expected for their age. Thousands will be in schools in the

:23:17. > :23:21.quarter of all local education authorities that are currently in

:23:21. > :23:27.special measures. We can do so much better than this, where is the

:23:27. > :23:32.sense of urgency that we need in Welsh politics now? We can't afford

:23:32. > :23:36.to wait any longer before we see improvements in standards in our

:23:36. > :23:42.education system. There will be teenagers sitting their GCSEs this

:23:42. > :23:50.summer who have sent the whole of their education under devolution.

:23:50. > :23:56.There can be no excuses. Education is devolved in full. These young

:23:56. > :24:00.people have watched as Wales in the past a watch word for educational

:24:00. > :24:07.excellence, has slipped further and further behind, not just England,

:24:07. > :24:12.but behind 36 other countries in reading, and 38 in maths. It is our

:24:12. > :24:16.boys who are falling behind the furtherest. We must teach our boys

:24:17. > :24:22.the basics, because unless we get the basics right, we won't get the

:24:22. > :24:26.rest right. Plaid Cymru will implement a comprehensive literacy

:24:26. > :24:32.and numeracy programme with early intervention to specifically target

:24:32. > :24:38.boys, but aiming to make sure all children are performing to the best

:24:38. > :24:42.standard for them by the age of 11. We want to see if we can utilise

:24:42. > :24:47.willing volunteers, like retired teachers, and other professionals

:24:47. > :24:52.in this work. We want to extend the principles of foundation phase to

:24:52. > :24:56.offer a wider range of out of school and weekend activities,

:24:56. > :25:00.which promote and support classroom-braced learning. And we

:25:00. > :25:04.want to offer more vocational opportunities to young people. To

:25:04. > :25:09.try a range of trades, before committing to an apprenticeship or

:25:09. > :25:14.a college course. Making sure trades are taught alongside

:25:14. > :25:23.business skills and or co-operative skills will help to train the next

:25:23. > :25:30.generation to do the jobs that need doing. The Government's approach to

:25:30. > :25:35.education has shown nothing less than a shocking dereliction of duty

:25:35. > :25:41.and an absolute travesty. For Wales, a country where in the past great

:25:41. > :25:47.store was placed on the value of education, it is extraordinary that

:25:47. > :25:54.it has now become one of our greatest failures. The Welsh

:25:54. > :25:57.education system has become the graveyard of ambition. When a child

:25:57. > :26:04.fails their education, the consequences stay with them for

:26:04. > :26:11.life. Ask anyone who didn't sit or didn't pass their 11-plus. But when

:26:11. > :26:18.the education system fails our children, who takes responsibility?

:26:18. > :26:24.To date, no one. Not one education minister has ever been sacked for

:26:24. > :26:28.poor results. All too often failure is rewarded with promotion. My view

:26:28. > :26:34.is that the time has passed where we in Wales can blame all and

:26:34. > :26:40.sundry for our problems. Regardless of our history, we are where we are.

:26:40. > :26:50.Let's make the most with what we have got. No more blaming others,

:26:50. > :26:56.

:26:56. > :27:04.let's take the responsibility for Wales needs leadership. Wales needs

:27:04. > :27:08.a leader with the energy as well as maintaining the energy that is

:27:08. > :27:14.needed in fulfilling a country like ours. Our country needs to be doing

:27:14. > :27:17.so much better. We need someone who will work every hour and leave no

:27:18. > :27:22.stone unturned to make Wales a better place.

:27:22. > :27:28.Someone who can see the future and is prepared to champion Wales at

:27:28. > :27:33.every opportunity. Selling our strengths, not bemoong our

:27:33. > :27:38.weaknesses. Wales needs real leadership. I pledge to you that

:27:38. > :27:48.when I'm returned as First Minister in 2016, I will make sure that

:27:48. > :27:53.

:27:53. > :27:57.standards in education are raised. APPLAUSE

:27:57. > :28:02.A Plaid Cymru Government will work to provide opportunities for all to

:28:02. > :28:12.reach their best potential. We will make sure that the brightest

:28:12. > :28:14.

:28:14. > :28:18.children are able to excell. So far in the fourth assembly there have

:28:18. > :28:23.been 59 task and set up groups set up by the Government. That is

:28:23. > :28:27.almost as many reviews in the two years as in the whole of the

:28:27. > :28:36.homeowner of devolution. Why so many reviews? When the few targets

:28:36. > :28:42.that have been set have been so badly missed. 90% of UK GVA by 2010,

:28:42. > :28:46.missed badly. 25% of people speaking Welsh by 2011, missed,

:28:46. > :28:53.badly. Welsh ambulances arriving within

:28:53. > :28:58.eight minutes of an incident in 65% of cases, missed, month after month

:28:58. > :29:04.after month. Our Assembly is meant to fill the accountability gap. We

:29:04. > :29:09.should not be caught in a one-party state of denial, immune to

:29:09. > :29:16.criticism. Refusing to take responsibility. 59 task and finish

:29:16. > :29:23.groups since May 2011 can only mean one thing, a Government devoid of

:29:23. > :29:28.ideas. APPLAUSE

:29:28. > :29:33.Well, I know the source of the problem and I have a simple

:29:33. > :29:43.solution. It is time this Government was tasked and finished

:29:43. > :29:45.

:29:45. > :29:50.off! APPLAUSE Plaid Cymru wants a Wales that

:29:50. > :29:54.takes control of its own decisions. A Wales that has control over its

:29:55. > :29:58.own affairs so that we can implement our comprehensive,

:29:58. > :30:02.economic plan. As we stated in our evidence to the Silk Commission

:30:02. > :30:10.this week, the Criminal Justice System, the police, broadcasting,

:30:10. > :30:17.energy and one of our most precious resources, water should all be in

:30:17. > :30:26.Welsh hands. (SPEAKS IN WELSH). APPLAUSE

:30:26. > :30:31.Transfer these responsibilities now. No hesitation. No excuses. No

:30:31. > :30:37.exception. No delay. Wales should not be prepared to trust the UK

:30:37. > :30:43.Government with any powers. It is time now to do things differently,

:30:43. > :30:46.for ourselves. It is time for Wales to have the tools to do the job of

:30:46. > :30:51.turning around our economy. To anybody better shape for business,

:30:51. > :31:00.the party of Wales wants a connected country. An improved trth

:31:01. > :31:09.and IT network. We want to make yues of rail electrification. To

:31:09. > :31:14.reduce rail travel times between bang -- Bangor and Cardiff. We need

:31:14. > :31:18.better investment, to connect Wales to the world with our ports and

:31:19. > :31:22.airports. High-speed broadband for all, not just the lucky few. I want

:31:22. > :31:27.a country where people have opportunities to do well. Plaid

:31:27. > :31:31.Cymru wants to see improvements in the skills of our people to build a

:31:31. > :31:37.new, suss takenable manufacturing economy. To push green engineering

:31:37. > :31:42.skills. That is why we have focused on apprenticeships in our budget

:31:42. > :31:47.negotiations and why we proposed a Green Skills construction college.

:31:47. > :31:53.We want to train people in Wales and innocent vise them to stay. I

:31:53. > :31:58.want to see more of the Welsh pound invested in Welsh companies and

:31:58. > :32:01.better local procurement to lock that money into the local

:32:01. > :32:06.communities. To help create more opportunities for people to do well.

:32:06. > :32:11.This is just a flavour of the policies Wales needs to succeed and

:32:11. > :32:16.to flourish. We are an ancient country, with a

:32:16. > :32:26.young democracy. Proud of its past, and deeply

:32:26. > :32:26.

:32:26. > :32:30.frustrated by its. -- present. Fortunately, the old country has a

:32:30. > :32:32.young party, whose members are brimming with ideas, with

:32:32. > :32:38.enthusiasm, with hope and confidence for a future that is

:32:38. > :32:46.better than the past. It is a future we have yet to shape.

:32:46. > :32:50.The shape is up to us. Political parties are sometimes

:32:50. > :32:55.blunt instruments. Far from perfect, but in a democracy political

:32:55. > :32:59.parties are the only way we have so far invented to create policies to

:32:59. > :33:05.improve our lives and the lives of our communities. We ask the people

:33:05. > :33:15.of Wales not just to put their faith in us but to invest their

:33:15. > :33:15.

:33:15. > :33:21.faith collecttively, together with our own. To become the co-creators,

:33:21. > :33:26.co-protectors, co-builders of our country. I ask you to imagine, just

:33:26. > :33:34.for a moment, suspend reality, picture in your mind a different

:33:34. > :33:38.future. Can you visualise a successful Wales? A strong economy?

:33:38. > :33:44.A public service infrastructure that people are not dependant upon

:33:44. > :33:50.but one which enables them instead, to flourish? Can you imagine with

:33:50. > :33:54.us a different future? Can you believe that achieving that

:33:54. > :34:00.different, successful future is possible? Can you see it in your

:34:00. > :34:04.own mind? Can you imagine what success might feel like? I know

:34:04. > :34:10.it's possible. It is why I do what I do.

:34:10. > :34:16.But we need more people in Wales to see this vision.

:34:16. > :34:22.Come with us, the party of Wales. The only party that puts this

:34:22. > :34:28.country first without fail. Join with Plaid Cymru on this

:34:28. > :34:34.journey. Help us build our country up. If together enough of us want

:34:34. > :34:44.that vision, we can make that future our own.

:34:44. > :34:45.

:34:45. > :34:49.APPLAUSE Well, the standing ovation for the

:34:49. > :34:53.party leader, that was Leanne Wood speaking. Vaughan, I think that the

:34:53. > :34:59.last time Leanne Wood gave a speech in September it was very much to

:34:59. > :35:04.people beyond the Conference Hall. That felt like she was talking to

:35:04. > :35:11.people in the hall. Talking about what Plaid Cymru could do. How they

:35:11. > :35:18.could get involved? You are right. Partly as she is geeing up people

:35:18. > :35:22.for the elections when they take place. A lot of the members there,

:35:22. > :35:27.are from Anglesey, she wants those people out pounding the streets

:35:27. > :35:32.over the next couple of months, but interesting things there. By and

:35:32. > :35:37.large if you listen to Leanne Wood in the Assembly Chamber, she tends

:35:37. > :35:41.not to launch vitriolic attacks on the Government's record, but she

:35:41. > :35:46.was vitriolic there. It is interesting there, while Plaid

:35:46. > :35:50.Cymru is free to attack the Welsh situation on education and health,

:35:50. > :35:53.they have to tread carefully, because there are other portfolios

:35:53. > :35:59.which were held by Plaid Cymru ministers a few years ago. So they

:35:59. > :36:03.are not able to have a go on transport, agriculture, language

:36:03. > :36:06.and culture, that they would perhaps like to do. So they are

:36:06. > :36:12.hamstringed still by the fact that they were in government with Labour

:36:12. > :36:17.until recently. She referred to a one-party state in denial, but as

:36:17. > :36:21.you alluded to it has not been a one-party state as played Plaid

:36:21. > :36:25.were in there for the four years. I think that the time has past now.

:36:25. > :36:29.They have made the break from Government. They see themselves as

:36:29. > :36:33.the opposition, taking on the Government. She said that the 2016

:36:33. > :36:37.election campaign started now. That is not great news for political

:36:37. > :36:43.journalists but there was no detail as to what it may mean for Plaid

:36:43. > :36:48.Cymru? But what is interesting is she started the koundown to 2016,

:36:48. > :36:55.not to 2015. A straightforward amission that Plaid's attention

:36:55. > :37:00.will be on the Westminster elections. One of the lessons that

:37:00. > :37:04.they learned from the SNP is that they almost discount how they do in

:37:04. > :37:09.Westminster elections, other than how it helps them in the next

:37:09. > :37:12.Scottish elections how to raise a candidate, so on. It is obvious

:37:12. > :37:17.that Plaid have adopted that strategy. Westminster is a

:37:17. > :37:21.distraction, and the next general election is really the starter for

:37:21. > :37:24.the battle that they consider really important, which is the 2016

:37:24. > :37:26.Assembly elections. That is different from the other three

:37:26. > :37:30.parties. Leanne Wood has laid her cards on

:37:30. > :37:34.the table with that election. She is saying she will stand in a

:37:34. > :37:39.constituency seat. Saying when she is returned as the First Minister.

:37:39. > :37:45.It is all or nothing for her, this election? It is difficult for a

:37:45. > :37:50.party leader if you don't have ambition people will say, well, you

:37:50. > :37:53.know, why should we take you seriously? But if you raise

:37:53. > :37:59.expectations or paint pictures that people think are unreasonable, you

:37:59. > :38:04.can get laughed at. Remember Kirsty William' Project 30. The aim for

:38:04. > :38:09.the Lib Dems to win 30 seats in the National Assembly. For Leanne Wood

:38:09. > :38:12.there is good news. I understand from talking to someone, that the

:38:12. > :38:16.Westminster Government, in charge of the Assembly voting system is to

:38:16. > :38:19.announce shortly that they are getting rid of the rule that says

:38:19. > :38:24.you cannot stand in the constituency and the regional lists

:38:24. > :38:29.system. A rule that Labour brought in 2006. That is almost certainly

:38:29. > :38:33.go to go. That means she can keep her word, stand in her constituency

:38:33. > :38:38.and have her insurance policy of the list. So she may have sensed

:38:38. > :38:43.that was on the way and that gave her comfort in making her original

:38:43. > :38:46.announcement, who knows? But it looks as though she is off the hook

:38:46. > :38:50.in terms of possibly losing a seat in the Assembly.

:38:50. > :38:56.We will put that to her later. See if she is thinking of standing, I'm

:38:56. > :39:01.sure he is will not tell us. I can hazard a guess. In terms of

:39:01. > :39:04.the main focus of the speech. I was looking at the online pages it went

:39:04. > :39:08.heavily on the education attack that she made on the waech

:39:08. > :39:12.Government. That is a diversion -- on the waech Government that is a

:39:12. > :39:16.diversion on the path which has very much been, let's grow the

:39:16. > :39:21.economy, since she has taken the job? We are beginning to see the

:39:21. > :39:26.emergence of a narrative from the opposition parties. Not just Plaid

:39:26. > :39:31.but from the Liberal Democrats, and from the Conservatives. Of painting

:39:31. > :39:34.Carwyn Jones' Government government as a do nothing government. That is

:39:35. > :39:38.doing nothing to transform public services or the economy in Wales

:39:38. > :39:42.that is a narrative that the opposition parties, they are not in

:39:42. > :39:46.cahoots on it, I think that they reached the same conclusion,

:39:46. > :39:51.individually, that this is where the Government could be vulnerable.

:39:51. > :39:56.If they paint it as a Government that is content to sit back, that

:39:56. > :40:00.is a bit lazy, that is a bit idle, that is where the Government could

:40:00. > :40:04.be vulnerable. There is three years for them to

:40:04. > :40:08.develop that narrative. Now, we have heard some of yesterday's

:40:08. > :40:12.business. Today's business began with a speech from the party chair,

:40:12. > :40:16.Helen Mary Jones. She said that Wales needed Leanne Wood as First

:40:16. > :40:19.Minister. So it is our job as the party

:40:19. > :40:25.members Conference to deliver that government and that leader for

:40:25. > :40:31.Wales. Well, what must we do? For a start let's accept we can all do

:40:31. > :40:35.something. Big or small it all makes a difference. St David

:40:35. > :40:41.reminded us, after all, and I can think of no better place to have

:40:41. > :40:45.spent St David's Day, he reminded us to remember the small things.

:40:45. > :40:49.For our economy and for the communities there are things to do

:40:49. > :40:55.now. We can use the local shops. It can take longer bus does not always

:40:55. > :40:59.cost more. We can ask in the cafes and the restaurants where the food

:40:59. > :41:03.comes from. To ask to volunteer in the community groups, in the

:41:03. > :41:07.nurseries, in the sports club. In doing so, that people know when we

:41:07. > :41:12.do that, when we make that contribution it is a reflection of

:41:12. > :41:16.values at Welsh citizens and Plaid members. These are things to do to

:41:16. > :41:19.help. Practical and small in the here and the now. Things that we

:41:19. > :41:25.all do. But there is one thing that we must

:41:25. > :41:30.do, that is to do whatever we can to win for Wales that Plaid Cymru

:41:30. > :41:36.Government. We will all contribute in different ways. Lindsey Whittle,

:41:36. > :41:41.it is nice to see her this morning, reminded us we cannot fight a bat

:41:41. > :41:45.well an empty war chest. Can which give a little more? Can we raise a

:41:45. > :41:49.little bit more cash? And some of us will stand for office. Think

:41:49. > :41:53.about it. Could you be a councillor? An Assembly member? A

:41:53. > :41:57.member of Parliament? A member of the European Parliament? We have a

:41:57. > :42:02.wealth of talent in this party that I believe is sometimes underused.

:42:02. > :42:06.We need a strong team of candidates of all levels. A team that reflects

:42:06. > :42:10.the rich divert of all of the communities in Wales.

:42:10. > :42:13.I would like you to think about it. Could you be a part of that team.

:42:13. > :42:20.There is help and support if you want to give it a go.

:42:20. > :42:26.And there is one thing, one thing that all of us must commit to do,

:42:26. > :42:31.every single member of this party, we must play our part in making

:42:32. > :42:41.sure that as a party we have those million conversations with our

:42:42. > :42:48.

:42:48. > :42:53.fellow Welsh citizens. We must meet We need to listen, to challenge to

:42:54. > :42:58.support. We need to build our confidence as a nation, to speak to

:42:58. > :43:02.our fellow Welsh women's and men's imaginations, to allow them to

:43:02. > :43:10.grasp our vision of that fair, prosperous nation that we all

:43:10. > :43:17.deserve to be. Face to face, heart- to-heart, let's share our fears and

:43:17. > :43:21.face them down. And let's share our hopes and make them real. It is

:43:21. > :43:26.time for Wales. To have a government that is truly of the

:43:26. > :43:31.people, by the people and for the people. And that can only be a

:43:31. > :43:38.Plaid Cymru, the party of Wales, Government, led by Leanne Wood. Are

:43:38. > :43:48.we ready to do all that we have to do, every single one of us to make

:43:48. > :43:50.

:43:50. > :43:55.that happen? I believe we are. live to the conference for first

:43:55. > :44:00.time. Our reporter James Williams is there. Afternoon. Good afternoon.

:44:00. > :44:04.How are you? Very well. You have been a busy boy. I have seen you

:44:05. > :44:10.all over the television. What have you been up to this weekend? Well,

:44:10. > :44:17.of course things kicked off yesterday, we had the leader's

:44:17. > :44:23.speech, Leanne Wood. She focused on the economy and the need for jobs,

:44:23. > :44:27.but also a stinging attack on the Welsh Government's record on

:44:28. > :44:33.education. A bit of positive and a bit of negative. Today, as you have

:44:33. > :44:38.heard the chair of Plaid Cymru, Helen Mary Jones, kicking off the

:44:38. > :44:43.day and calling for people to pull together and for people to get

:44:43. > :44:48.things done. And a question and answer session with the new

:44:48. > :44:52.leadership team that has been in place for a fortnight after a

:44:52. > :44:58.special conference, Plaid Cymru, which formalised a new team at the

:44:58. > :45:03.top. They were asked questions about the skesh referendum and the

:45:03. > :45:08.Silk Commission and give them a chance for members to get their

:45:08. > :45:18.teeth into the issues. -- Scottish referendum. I am joined by two of

:45:18. > :45:19.

:45:19. > :45:23.the party's party members. What did you make of the speech by Leanne

:45:23. > :45:27.Wood yesterday? Well, you know making a leader's speech is not the

:45:28. > :45:32.easiest thing in the world. The expectation, as I know from many

:45:32. > :45:35.years experience, is high. I think she delivered it well. She had the

:45:35. > :45:40.right balance in that speech between saying what a Plaid Cymru

:45:40. > :45:44.government would do and adrawing attention to the problems the

:45:44. > :45:49.current government has over the economy and education. Well

:45:49. > :45:55.balanced, but a very well delivered speech. Were you surprised by the

:45:55. > :46:00.tone of the speech? Before we saw her extend an olive branch to the

:46:00. > :46:05.Labour Party when she started, but a sing -- stinging attack on them

:46:05. > :46:09.yesterday. Do you want to see more? No, the balance is between saying

:46:09. > :46:13.what you would do if you were government, but drawing attention

:46:13. > :46:17.to the problems with the economy and education. Right to draw

:46:18. > :46:23.attention to that. When you say there was an attack. There was also

:46:23. > :46:27.a real offer to have a new direction and saying when she

:46:28. > :46:31.becomes First Minister, education will be a priority. That is right.

:46:32. > :46:35.When she becomes First Minister. That is what she said. Very

:46:35. > :46:40.ambitious? Yes, but you have got to be ambitious. You have to be

:46:40. > :46:44.ambitious. That is why wept into government in youpbtd 7, because we

:46:44. > :46:48.were ambitious and wanted to do things. You can do things in

:46:48. > :46:52.coalition, but you do more if you have a Plaid Cymru First Minister.

:46:52. > :47:00.If she fails to become First Minister, is that a slur on her

:47:00. > :47:04.record? Not really. It depend -- depends, the circumstances change.

:47:04. > :47:11.She is well established. It takes time to establish yourself as a

:47:11. > :47:17.leader. I think that she's done well in a very short space of time.

:47:17. > :47:22.You mentioned the need to focus on education and that is something

:47:22. > :47:27.that will become a running theme, there wasn't much else in policy

:47:27. > :47:35.detail. She told us that before that we weren't going to expect it.

:47:35. > :47:38.But as we get closer to thaection l -- election you need some meat on

:47:38. > :47:43.the bones. Yes, you're not going to do that so far from the election.

:47:43. > :47:47.She has set up commissions to look at policy options. Remember, this a

:47:47. > :47:50.important. One thing this current Government is short of is really

:47:50. > :47:55.distinctive policy options. If you look at their programme for

:47:55. > :48:02.Government, it is managerial in tone, where does the ambition. What

:48:02. > :48:09.Leanne is saying is Plaid Cymru has to drive up the ambition for Wales.

:48:09. > :48:14.Now turn Alun Ffred Jones. The party is using this conference as a

:48:14. > :48:18.way of starting that campaign towards 2016 and we have had the

:48:19. > :48:23.special conference. It is about gearing up for the election?

:48:23. > :48:28.the word ambition for Wales is the key word. You have to be ambitious,

:48:28. > :48:32.because we face a number of we call them challenges these days in

:48:32. > :48:38.politics, in the field of education, in the health word and of course

:48:38. > :48:45.with the economy in terms of getting jobs for young people and

:48:45. > :48:50.also the variety of jobs the length and breadth of Wales. Some parts

:48:50. > :48:56.are doing reasonably well. But we have to get the economy in such a

:48:56. > :49:02.state that it offers proper work with well renumerated work for

:49:02. > :49:05.young people in Wales. No party's likely to disadegree with the --

:49:05. > :49:11.disagree with the need to improve the economy. What does Plaid Cymru

:49:11. > :49:14.offer this a unique? This will come to the forewhen these commissions

:49:14. > :49:19.report and they will put meat on the bones, because as we get closer

:49:19. > :49:24.to the election, people will ask what are you going to do. But first

:49:24. > :49:29.you have to be ambitious and there is a managerial tone about the

:49:29. > :49:34.Labour Party, always has been in a sense. Rhodri Morgan used to admit

:49:34. > :49:39.that policy was not their strength. That has come, chickens are coming

:49:39. > :49:46.home to roost. 12 years after the first Assembly was set up and some

:49:46. > :49:49.of these issues in education have to be laid at the feet of Labour

:49:49. > :49:53.Party ministers and the Labour Government. We share some of that

:49:53. > :49:59.responsibility in those areas, specially we had control over, but

:49:59. > :50:03.the Labour Party have to answer how come they have ended up here after

:50:03. > :50:10.what is in fact of course Labour Party governance since 1997 in

:50:10. > :50:19.Wales and yet still we see these quite sizeable pockets where there

:50:19. > :50:21.is huge underachievement. Plaid Cymru suffered a bad result in the

:50:21. > :50:26.last elections, and Leanne Wood said she wants to be a First

:50:26. > :50:31.Minister, that is a massive hurdle, how will the party go from that

:50:31. > :50:36.result to a success in 2016? Because politics is volatile these

:50:36. > :50:42.days. We have seen that all over the UK. Many of the old traditional

:50:42. > :50:48.support is not there for any party. I know we all have our heartlands,

:50:48. > :50:51.but in fact the position is volatile and if we, and it is a

:50:51. > :50:55.huge challenge, I'm not playing it down, I don't think people will

:50:55. > :51:00.will just switch to Plaid Cymru, because we say the right things. We

:51:00. > :51:05.have to prove that we can lead and that we want to lead and that we

:51:05. > :51:08.are ambitious for Wales and if you don't have that ambition and proper

:51:09. > :51:14.policy, people won't vote fours. It is a huge challenge, but what else

:51:14. > :51:21.are we there for? Plaid Cymru was set up to put Wales first and make

:51:21. > :51:25.the best of our own position, our own values in Wales, to make it a

:51:25. > :51:30.successful country, a confident country. Who wouldn't want that?

:51:30. > :51:35.One final question, there is no coincidence that we are in Anglesey,

:51:35. > :51:42.there are local elections in May. The party's made its pitch, making

:51:42. > :51:48.Anglesey proud again. How will it do and before the last elections we

:51:48. > :51:56.with told it was too early to use it as a record of Leanne's tenure,

:51:56. > :52:01.is it fair to judge her now? this is a unique election, it is

:52:02. > :52:05.like no other election since 1884. You have had a failing local

:52:05. > :52:10.authority and commissioners have been brought in. It is a unique set

:52:10. > :52:14.of circumstances. What I think people are expecting is for us to

:52:14. > :52:18.make the council, make them feel proud of the council again. That is

:52:18. > :52:22.the prime task and to have vision for the future, but to manage this

:52:22. > :52:27.council well, the services there, the education, Social Services and

:52:27. > :52:32.so on. I think that Plaid Cymru by standing as we are in all the wards

:52:32. > :52:36.where we are in a position to do that. Thank you. Plaid Cymru are

:52:36. > :52:43.the second party on Anglesey council. Those elections in May and

:52:43. > :52:52.they have a tough job to lead that council after the elections. Thank

:52:52. > :52:59.you. Eammon Jones described the election like no other election he

:52:59. > :53:04.has seen. He gave us a brief explanation. Explain why this an

:53:04. > :53:12.election and there wasn't last year. Anglesey has a particular problem

:53:12. > :53:18.that goes back Deccan Mujahideen Kades. -- back decades. They have

:53:18. > :53:24.council who stand as dth and then they get into various groups. The

:53:24. > :53:30.trouble is there has been vicious personal rivalries between various

:53:30. > :53:36.factions, this endless changing mix of groups. Commissioners were sent

:53:36. > :53:42.in to run the council and the Welsh Goth decided we have got to norm

:53:42. > :53:46.lies Anglesey politics and get the political parties to engage with

:53:46. > :53:50.Anglesey. There are party representatives on Anglesey council,

:53:50. > :53:55.but they're small in number. What has happened is they postponed the

:53:55. > :53:59.elections from last year and reduced the number of councillors

:53:59. > :54:06.and divided Anglesey, which was a jigsaw of single member wards into

:54:06. > :54:09.a small number of larger wards. The Government believe it will make it

:54:09. > :54:11.difficult for the independents to compete with the political party.

:54:12. > :54:15.Particularly if you have more independents standing in a ward

:54:15. > :54:20.than there are seats. That is what is happening and all the party are

:54:20. > :54:24.piling in, the Conservatives, Labour, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal

:54:24. > :54:29.Democrats, all aiming to field candidates, UKIP as well. Whether

:54:29. > :54:36.it will work and Anglesey will change, who knows? Independence can

:54:36. > :54:41.be tough people and won't be got rid of easily. The Welsh Government

:54:41. > :54:47.decided to take action and they have done here, it seeps to have

:54:47. > :54:51.paid off, or can we not tell it until the results of election?

:54:51. > :54:54.sense, the election will be a referendum on whether it's worked.

:54:54. > :54:58.Although to be fair, if you listen to what the commissioners are

:54:58. > :55:03.saying, they are saying the atmosphere has improved, they have

:55:03. > :55:06.been giving more responsibility back to the councillors. So in a

:55:06. > :55:08.sense, they're saying the intervention has worked in the

:55:08. > :55:12.short-term. The question is whether the culture has changed

:55:12. > :55:16.sufficiently for the elections to produce the sort of council the

:55:16. > :55:21.Welsh Government would like to Psy see. But having said that, there

:55:21. > :55:28.are rumours that we could be approaching a local government

:55:28. > :55:31.reorganisation and there could be a reemergence of at least a larger

:55:31. > :55:35.Gwynedd that Anglesey and Gwynedd could be brought together. I am

:55:35. > :55:40.sure that will go down well on Anglesey. Now we heard from Plaid

:55:40. > :55:45.Cymru on the elections in May and we will hear from the other main

:55:45. > :55:49.parties at their spring conferences. Now here is a flavour of what

:55:49. > :55:54.they're saying about the Anglesey council election. At the moment, I

:55:54. > :56:04.think the main priority for the Ide has to be the economy. It suffered

:56:04. > :56:04.

:56:04. > :56:08.a lot of job losses. I think there is also need that if the renewable

:56:08. > :56:11.projects that are in the Irish Sea, that the island's industry is able

:56:11. > :56:21.to take advantage of the opportunities. So certainly there

:56:21. > :56:23.

:56:23. > :56:27.is a big economic development job Yes, the candidates in Anglesey

:56:28. > :56:31.will be fighting against a difficult backdrop, but the policy

:56:31. > :56:36.has always about about the island. There is a strong feeling that they

:56:36. > :56:40.need to get it right. The local authority has been badly performing

:56:41. > :56:44.from the democratic point of view for a long period of time. A strong

:56:44. > :56:49.group of Conservative candidates will have the opportunity to offer

:56:49. > :56:53.the people of Anglesey different viewpoints on how to move forward.

:56:53. > :56:59.I am confidence, we come from a very lose base. That has been part

:56:59. > :57:03.of the problem. I think that the solution is better party politics

:57:03. > :57:06.and policies. Instead of personalities. We have seen the

:57:06. > :57:10.council implode through rows because of personalities. I think

:57:10. > :57:14.that Labour can play a big part in this. For the first time, a

:57:14. > :57:16.manifesto and a proper programme to include jobs, education and the

:57:16. > :57:21.issues important to the people of Anglesey.

:57:22. > :57:25.Let's go back to another of yesterday's speeches. This time

:57:26. > :57:34.from the North Wales Regional Assembly assembly member, Llyr Huws

:57:34. > :57:41.Gruffydd. He said that Wales needs to stand up for themselves.

:57:42. > :57:48.We only have to look to see how they would rather hoist the white

:57:48. > :57:54.flag than adopt a can-do attitude to deliver the services that we all

:57:54. > :57:58.deserve. The decision to move the neonatal cots from North Wales a

:57:58. > :58:03.England is not standing up for Wales, it is giving up on Wales. We

:58:03. > :58:09.are told that the decision is made on the grounds of safety. How can a

:58:09. > :58:14.service that means a 140-mile round trip for criticallically ill babies,

:58:14. > :58:18.when there is a proven link between distance and mortality rates? How

:58:18. > :58:23.can tb safer when the ten cots we have in North Wales will be reduced

:58:23. > :58:29.to just six? And how is it safer when the nurses to cots ratio, that

:58:29. > :58:34.we have of one nurse to every one cot in North Wales, become one

:58:35. > :58:40.nurse to every two cots at Arrow Park. As for sustainability. We

:58:40. > :58:44.know it will cost more and also to put a huge additional strain on a

:58:44. > :58:49.creaking Ambulance Service. Not to mention once you shut down the

:58:49. > :58:55.service in North Wales, Arrow Park will charge what they like as we

:58:55. > :59:01.have no other option. Who is to say that in the years to,the NHS will

:59:01. > :59:06.reconfigure and the services moved further away again? We have had an

:59:06. > :59:10.unprecedented coming together of the British Medical Association,

:59:10. > :59:14.the royal candle-lit vigil of midwives and Royal College of

:59:14. > :59:19.Nursing to oppose the moves, the doctors, the clinicians and of

:59:20. > :59:24.course the patients, but still they plough on and do so with the

:59:24. > :59:27.shocking endorsement of the community health board in North

:59:27. > :59:32.Wales. What they don't tell suss that they

:59:32. > :59:36.have only tried twice to recruit in the last five years, and with the

:59:36. > :59:40.threat to the future of those posts hanging over them, well, who in

:59:40. > :59:45.their right mind would want to apply? We need to be more creative.

:59:45. > :59:49.To show some of the vision and the ambition that Plaid Cymru

:59:49. > :59:54.demonstrated in our debate on the very subject in the Assembly last

:59:54. > :59:57.week. Rather than hoist the white flag. Why not develop a Centre of

:59:57. > :00:03.Excellence, based on medical research here in North Wales. We

:00:03. > :00:07.know that the clinicians can choose where to work. Many junior doctors

:00:07. > :00:12.have ambitions and want a career path that is challenging and

:00:12. > :00:17.fulfilling. Many want to carry out clinical trials, to be published to

:00:17. > :00:22.advance their careers. Offering the opportunity to do so to do so here,

:00:22. > :00:25.will make it more attractive to the area and attract investment from

:00:25. > :00:30.research councils, industries and the life sciences. We have to do

:00:30. > :00:34.more to encourage universities to form links with health boards for

:00:34. > :00:39.conducting research and medical staff to be made aware of the

:00:39. > :00:44.opportunities to participate in the research. Why not establish a Welsh

:00:44. > :00:48.Journal of Medicine for the recording and the publication of

:00:48. > :00:53.trial results? This could help stimulate our economy. Private

:00:53. > :00:57.companies would view Wales as a location where research happens.

:00:57. > :01:01.The SNP has made attractive funding and mainstreaming the health

:01:01. > :01:04.service a key part of its economic strategy. They are seeking out the

:01:04. > :01:11.experts, asking them to set up research teams in Scotland. One

:01:11. > :01:15.example is the work of Professor Philip Coin. Working in the UK

:01:15. > :01:21.higher education sector today. He has been the key ins fluens in

:01:21. > :01:25.developing the College of Life Sciences in Dundee. From a

:01:25. > :01:30.converted stable block with 11 scientists to what is today a

:01:30. > :01:35.complex housing with 800 staff from 53 countries. His work has been the

:01:35. > :01:38.catalyst for the economic generation of Dundee. He has

:01:38. > :01:43.developed a strategy for attracting some of the best scientists to

:01:43. > :01:47.Dundee. More than 1% of the world's most cited scientists in their

:01:48. > :01:52.field are located there and he has been able to raise more than �35

:01:52. > :01:58.million to ensure that world - class facilities and scientists are

:01:58. > :02:01.the norm in Dundee. He has been able to attract Bayeux tech and

:02:01. > :02:09.pharmaceutical companies to set up headquarters there, resulting in

:02:09. > :02:13.more than 15% of the local economy derived from live sciences. Many

:02:13. > :02:16.stream research would help address our staffing shortages. Consultants

:02:16. > :02:21.build careers through carrying out and publishing research, that

:02:21. > :02:25.research can mean access to more modern treatments and more modern

:02:25. > :02:30.technologies. So it would help attract top clinicians, that

:02:30. > :02:35.helping to attract post graduates, undergraduates, to allow us to

:02:35. > :02:39.maintain many services, improve efficient outcomes and have a

:02:39. > :02:44.knock-on effect on employment and the wider economy. About no, Carwyn

:02:44. > :02:51.Jones, who spends his time telling us how the Westminster coalition is

:02:51. > :02:55.decimating the NHS in England seems happy enough to have the sickest

:02:55. > :03:02.and the youngest born in North Wales, sent into that failing

:03:02. > :03:07.system. I tell you, I'm a member of Plaid Cymru, the party of Wales, I

:03:07. > :03:12.am not happy for the party to settle for Wales as it is. I want

:03:12. > :03:16.something essential to the future success of our nation. To build an

:03:16. > :03:20.approach to economic, social, environmental and regenerative

:03:20. > :03:25.policies to. Reconsider how to rebuild and strengthen the

:03:25. > :03:29.communities. To ensure that the natural resources of our nation are

:03:29. > :03:33.long -- are there with the talents of all of its people.

:03:33. > :03:37.That was Llyr Huws Gruffydd's speech at the Conference. Vaughan,

:03:37. > :03:42.let's major on what you were talking about at the start. Health

:03:42. > :03:47.reorganisation. A big issue in North Wales. He is speaking on the

:03:47. > :03:51.long-term, giving what one would imagine the Plaid Cymru view, but

:03:51. > :03:58.there is a suggestion that not all agree with the level of opposition

:03:58. > :04:02.that he seems to be stating there? There is broad cross-party support,

:04:02. > :04:09.including Labour AMs for the disagreement for the protests

:04:09. > :04:13.against some of the plans that have gone to past, but there are others

:04:13. > :04:18.who are a little more caution, going along with the Carwyn Jones

:04:18. > :04:22.line to censure that the decisions are taken on medical grounds, not

:04:22. > :04:26.political. Plaid Cymru wants these decisions to be called in, to make

:04:26. > :04:29.them a political decision. There are people within the party who

:04:29. > :04:33.disagree but not many, one has to say.

:04:33. > :04:37.And almost to take the decision out of the hands of the Community

:04:37. > :04:44.Health Council. Carwyn Jones said to the BBC it was unreasonable for

:04:44. > :04:49.people to expect that all health services are within Wales.

:04:49. > :04:57.It seems that there is argument against that, in terms of the

:04:57. > :05:02.decision to move from Arrow Park on the Wirral Wirral? Well, he did

:05:02. > :05:05.seem to admit that Plaid had a point. The reconfiguration of

:05:05. > :05:11.health services in England. He think it is is going to fail. Do

:05:11. > :05:14.you want to put Welsh patients into the services? Of course lots of

:05:14. > :05:18.Welsh patients use the English health service facilities.

:05:19. > :05:23.Especially in areas like Powys, where many go over the bored tore

:05:23. > :05:26.Shrewsbury and so on, but on the question of specialist services it

:05:26. > :05:31.does seem that the Welsh Government is concerned about it and may well

:05:31. > :05:36.call it in, but that is not certain yet. We leave it there for now. We

:05:36. > :05:40.can now head to the Conference where the Plaid Cymru Parliamentary

:05:40. > :05:48.leader, Elfyn Llwyd is speaking now. The Scottish referendum and the

:05:48. > :05:53.local European and the general elections are fast-arofing. We --

:05:53. > :05:57.approaching. We are here in Plaid in a strong position to face each

:05:57. > :06:01.challenges head on, but it seems to me that conferences are not only a

:06:01. > :06:05.time for battle cries but also a time to reflect on our present

:06:05. > :06:09.position. The upcoming second reports of the

:06:09. > :06:17.Silk Commission and indeed the results of the Scottish referendum,

:06:17. > :06:24.whatever the outcome, will indicate a new era for devolution in Wales.

:06:24. > :06:27.And the pending elections provide our party with the opportunity to

:06:27. > :06:31.put forward our proposals to change our nation for the better. With a

:06:31. > :06:37.few weeks before the people of Anglesey go to the polls I would

:06:37. > :06:42.like to pay tribute to the candidates and the unsung heroes,

:06:42. > :06:46.the organisers and campaigners who show conviction to go out in the

:06:46. > :06:53.rainy days, to knock on doors and deliver leaf llts and inspire

:06:53. > :06:58.confidence in us all, but now is a good period to take stock. Shortly

:06:58. > :07:03.after the resounding "yes" result in the 2011 referendum, your

:07:03. > :07:08.excellent local AM, Mr Jones, pronounced that this signalled the

:07:08. > :07:14.beginning of the decade to deliver in Wales. So how far have we come

:07:14. > :07:18.in the dawning years of this decayed as a nation? The referendum

:07:18. > :07:24.signalled change but change we know has been slow, and it comes because

:07:24. > :07:28.of a tired and uninspired Labour Government in Cardiff Bay. Time

:07:28. > :07:36.after time, our group in Westminster witnessed Labour fail

:07:36. > :07:40.in their duty, fail miserabley in the duty in the situation, in to

:07:40. > :07:45.the people of Wales, to be successful here.

:07:45. > :07:50.Labour could have helped to cut structure funds and the CAP, there

:07:50. > :07:54.has been betrayal of the majority of members of the vulnerable of the

:07:54. > :07:56.abSteyning on the Welfare Reform Bill, serving to demonstrate whose

:07:57. > :08:06.priorities come first for the Labour Party in Wales.

:08:07. > :08:11.

:08:11. > :08:15.It is not Carwyn Jones to who at the are an yaebl, like the liberals

:08:15. > :08:20.before them, Labour are the latest party to turn their backs on the

:08:20. > :08:25.people of Wales. As they are seemingly seduced by the prospect

:08:25. > :08:29.of power in Westminster. Again like the liberals before them, they have

:08:29. > :08:35.forgotten the needs and aspirations of people that seven them there and

:08:35. > :08:38.to whom they are supposed to be answerable. Plaid is the only party

:08:38. > :08:42.free from this insidious Westminster influence. A party that

:08:42. > :08:46.will always put the interests of Wales and her people first. A party

:08:46. > :08:50.from Wales. The party of Wales. That is why it is so important to

:08:50. > :08:54.retain the strong voice in Westminster, for as long as the

:08:54. > :08:59.current constitutional make-up of the UK remains in place.

:08:59. > :09:03.I would like at this junction to take this opportunity to pay

:09:03. > :09:08.tribute to my colleague, Jonathan Edwards and Hywel Williams for the

:09:08. > :09:18.tireless work that they do for their constituents and for the

:09:18. > :09:20.

:09:20. > :09:25.country of Wales. The fact that the Dafydds, as I say,

:09:25. > :09:28.are fighting our corn in the Lord's, is that we have a double lock on

:09:28. > :09:32.holding the UK Government to account on every stage of the bills

:09:32. > :09:36.that affect Wales. The past year has been no less dramatic in

:09:36. > :09:42.Westminster but we have secured some successes. The economy, of

:09:42. > :09:45.course, remains the main game in town. With Jonathan Edwards leading

:09:45. > :09:49.Plaid's criticism of the UK's policies and its shocking diregard

:09:49. > :09:54.of the people of Wales. Our charge has always been that in the light

:09:54. > :09:59.of the unbalanced way of which the UK economy functions. Wales would

:09:59. > :10:03.be better served by having more economic levers at its disposal,

:10:03. > :10:08.but we have been offered peanuts. 12 months of negotiating between

:10:08. > :10:13.the UK and Welsh governments resulted in only a token transfer

:10:13. > :10:19.of taxation powers from Westminster to Cardiff Bay. To happen at some

:10:19. > :10:23.non-specific time in the future. We, however, used the Autumn

:10:23. > :10:28.Statement as a platform for promoting real growth and to call

:10:28. > :10:31.for job-creating levers to boost the Welsh economy as well as

:10:31. > :10:34.increased investment in the infrastructure. Jonathan Edwards

:10:34. > :10:38.challenged the Government's transport policies to get Wales

:10:38. > :10:43.better connected with the UK and the European mainland, pushing for

:10:43. > :10:50.money to Wales as part of HS2 and calling for the rail industry to be

:10:50. > :10:57.taken back to public hoip where it belongs. Both heened -- he and

:10:57. > :11:01.Hywel Williams called for the reelectrification are the railways.

:11:01. > :11:05.Hywel Williams, championed the rights of people in receipts of

:11:05. > :11:09.housing benefits, winter fuel allowance and disability allowance,

:11:09. > :11:15.as well as Remploy factory workers and those set to lose out as a

:11:15. > :11:21.result of the Government's ill- thought through changes to

:11:21. > :11:25.Government past pensions. They will have a devastating impact on

:11:25. > :11:31.thousands of individuals. This week we led an opposition day debate

:11:31. > :11:38.with our friends from Scotland and the Green Party on the Bedroom Tax.

:11:38. > :11:48.We secured a vote of 224, which is not bad for a group of three.

:11:48. > :11:53.

:11:53. > :11:56.He had spoke on bills spanning the economy, constitutional changes,

:11:56. > :12:01.legal issues, welfare reform and many other vital issues. He has

:12:01. > :12:04.continuesed to champion the cause of vulnerable in society, including

:12:04. > :12:09.those who face losing legal representation unjustly and

:12:09. > :12:14.families of workers who have suffered from industrial diseases

:12:14. > :12:18.following contamination at work. For my part, I I continue to sit on

:12:18. > :12:24.the Justice Committee and have spoken against plan to widen the

:12:24. > :12:28.use of secret courts, supported the welfare of children in court cases

:12:29. > :12:33.and rejected the Home Office decision to short list North Wales

:12:33. > :12:37.as a possible site for a superprison. Plaid Cymru has called

:12:37. > :12:43.for a local prison to strengthen links between inmates and their

:12:44. > :12:50.communities on leaving prison and to facilitate relatives' visiting

:12:50. > :12:56.times. A 2,000-plus superprison is not what north Wales need and the

:12:56. > :13:02.America experience has shown it does not work. The new stalking law

:13:02. > :13:06.came spwoo force in November. Hence fort stalking is a named offence

:13:06. > :13:16.and protection for victims will be central to the treatment they

:13:16. > :13:18.

:13:18. > :13:24.receive from the justice system. The fact that Plaid played such a

:13:24. > :13:28.central part in this rink I goes to show on a UK platform our group can

:13:28. > :13:35.punch above its weight in Westminster. This is to a great

:13:35. > :13:43.externt due to the dedication of our team, and our wonder of staff

:13:43. > :13:49.at Westminster. And our researcher who joined the team, our press

:13:49. > :13:55.officer and last, but not least our hard-work office manager who keeps

:13:55. > :14:01.us all on track. Now, of course, is far from the first time that our

:14:01. > :14:06.group has punched above its weight. This week marked ten years since

:14:06. > :14:11.the illegal invasion of Iraq by UK forces. You will remember the Plaid

:14:11. > :14:16.group was opposed to the incursion and along with our colleagues Adam

:14:16. > :14:22.Pryce and Simon Thomas called for the impeachment of Tony Blair over

:14:22. > :14:27.the so - called dodgy dossier. Ten years, 178 UK deaths, several

:14:27. > :14:30.hundred thousand Iraqi deaths late eshes Tony Blair still refuses to

:14:30. > :14:35.accept responsibility for those deaths, or to recognise that the

:14:35. > :14:45.war was a failure. On this issue at least it gives me no pleasure at

:14:45. > :14:45.

:14:45. > :14:50.all to have been proven right at the beginning. Closer to home the

:14:50. > :14:54.silk inquiry will provide an opportunity to promote Welsh

:14:54. > :14:59.interests, an opportunity which we must all utilise to the full extent.

:14:59. > :15:05.Indeed, the difference between Plaid and the other parties came

:15:05. > :15:09.out starkly in their contributions to the inquiry. For here again we

:15:09. > :15:14.saw Plaid on the front foot and unionists behind. We should send

:15:14. > :15:23.our submission to the Labour HQ, so they can announce it as their party

:15:23. > :15:27.policy ten years later. The Silk Commission has published its first

:15:27. > :15:30.report recommending the Welsh Assembly should be given borrowing

:15:30. > :15:35.powers and greater control over taxation. We have been calling for

:15:35. > :15:39.this for many years. And within a year the commission will publish

:15:39. > :15:44.its second report and here too Plaid Cymru can lay claim to having

:15:44. > :15:47.set the stage for where progress yir Welsh politic should be heading.

:15:47. > :15:51.In our submission we have called for the devolution of justice

:15:52. > :15:55.powers to Wales, setting up a justice system, including powers

:15:55. > :16:01.over police, probation, youth justice and prisons. We have called

:16:01. > :16:07.for the devolution of powers governing natural resources, water,

:16:07. > :16:11.energy the crown estate, jop job centre plus, broadcasting and other

:16:11. > :16:17.matters. We view the commission as an opportunity for Wales to be more

:16:17. > :16:24.democratically accountable and in the drieg seat of its own destiny

:16:24. > :16:30.and we believe the road that leads from Silk, yes, the Silk Road, will

:16:30. > :16:35.propel us to the next stage. But Silk has tide Labour in knots. But

:16:35. > :16:38.that is not hard. The Welsh Government has announced it

:16:38. > :16:44.recognises the expediency of devolving justice powers to Wales.

:16:44. > :16:52.As soon as Carwyn Jones announced this, he set obstacles, like a

:16:52. > :16:57.closing time drunk, eesm time Labour takes a step fear ward, they

:16:57. > :17:03.lunch back. They claim it would be impossible to afford devolving the

:17:03. > :17:06.system, but where senior judges say differencely, Labour spots

:17:06. > :17:12.impediments. But Plaid Cymru say sees potential. We have ambition

:17:12. > :17:16.for Wales, they do not.Ing of, further devolution will be

:17:16. > :17:21.accompanied with sufficient funding for the powers. That igs obvious.

:17:21. > :17:25.But, the justice system in Scotland costs less per head than either

:17:25. > :17:32.Wales or England. Devolution should not have to equate to an increase

:17:32. > :17:36.in cost. Undoubtedly we are aware of the short comings in the

:17:36. > :17:41.constitutional arrangements. Even after the 2011 referendum the

:17:41. > :17:46.agreement is complicated. Establishing who is responsibility

:17:46. > :17:51.is whose is nearly always an excruciateing process. Were we to

:17:51. > :17:55.adopt the reserve powers model, which areas renon-responsibility of

:17:55. > :17:58.Westminster could be set out and all of the powers allocated to the

:17:58. > :18:04.National Assembly. That is why we will be pushing for a new

:18:04. > :18:07.government of Wales Act to be published soon after 2014. By which

:18:07. > :18:12.time the results of Scottish referendum will be known and what a

:18:12. > :18:17.game changer that is likely to be. Our Scottish cousin have secured a

:18:17. > :18:24.critical referendum which will have a profound impact on these island

:18:24. > :18:30.islands. Make no mistake the tech tock yin -- tectonic plates are

:18:30. > :18:33.shifting. We must be ready to adopt -- adapt to circumstances as they

:18:33. > :18:38.present and strive for parity with our Celtic neighbours to ensure

:18:38. > :18:44.that ours is a partnership of equals in this changing union. We

:18:44. > :18:49.are already part of the way through the way to deliver change and

:18:49. > :18:53.playing catch up with our policies is not good enough for Labour to be

:18:53. > :18:57.doing. We know Plaid Cymru is the only party that can offer real

:18:57. > :19:02.leadership for Wales to combat the indecision and the internal

:19:02. > :19:08.divisions which have characterised Labour's recent time in office. In

:19:08. > :19:15.the coming months and years u we must communicate that leadership to

:19:15. > :19:20.the vetters. Here on the shores of Ynis Mon, we anticipate moment us

:19:20. > :19:24.to changes and we can sense a surging tide. The political

:19:24. > :19:29.landscape of the UK is changing and it is vital that Wales keeps pace

:19:29. > :19:39.with that change. There is a well known Welsh saying that derive from

:19:39. > :19:41.

:19:41. > :19:44.the fourth branch of this. In other words, he who is the head, must be

:19:44. > :19:49.a bridge. We too must take on the role of leadership in Wales and

:19:49. > :19:54.must forge the links and the alliances necessary to ensure our

:19:54. > :19:59.great nation's success and aim to be the party of Government in 2016.

:19:59. > :20:06.Let us face these elections with our heads held high, ready to

:20:06. > :20:10.surmount any hurdles which may lie in our path. We often here of the

:20:10. > :20:16.loss of the triple-A by George Osborne's bungling. But in Wales,

:20:16. > :20:22.we have our own triple-A. We must turn our ambition, our aspirations

:20:22. > :20:24.into achievements. Think of it, we have word class singers, actors,

:20:24. > :20:34.fast developing Welsh democrat circumstances natural resours

:20:34. > :20:34.

:20:34. > :20:44.second to none, human resources, by the way well done to those who won

:20:44. > :20:49.last night. We have the largest youth festival in Europe. And

:20:49. > :20:54.speaking of achievements, well done to Swansea on their fantastic

:20:54. > :20:59.result last weekend. I would like to wish Cardiff City well in Nair

:21:00. > :21:07.journey to the Premiership and my hope club Wrexham in a few week

:21:07. > :21:12.time. -- in their journey. You noi, our rugby players are coming good

:21:12. > :21:22.as usual. Showing sometimes that it is brawn as well as brains that you

:21:22. > :21:23.

:21:23. > :21:28.want. But as you know, spirits here are high. Spirits across Wales are

:21:28. > :21:33.high. We must capitalise on this confidence and we must ride the

:21:33. > :21:43.tide in order to secure success for our children and the generations to

:21:43. > :21:51.

:21:51. > :21:54.come in a fair and a prosperous Wales. APPLAUSE. Before head off to

:21:54. > :22:00.James Williams at the conference, that wasn't the first time you have

:22:00. > :22:09.heard that quote in a political context? No we always like to have

:22:09. > :22:14.a bit of trifr ya. -- trivya. He who leads must be a bridge was

:22:14. > :22:22.quoted by James Callaghan when he became First Minister. It was like

:22:22. > :22:28.his verse of Margaret Thatcher's quoting St Francis. That is the

:22:28. > :22:34.year I was born. Now off to someone born a few later, James Williams is

:22:34. > :22:41.over in Beaumaris. What is your favourite quote from that book?

:22:41. > :22:49.There is too many to pick. But thank you nor asking that. I will

:22:49. > :22:54.pass to our guest. The speech was calling for parity with Scotland

:22:54. > :22:57.after the referendum. I I suem it is something you agree with. Yes if

:22:57. > :23:01.you look at the different devolution agreements we have,

:23:01. > :23:05.there are simple questions to be asked about what powers are

:23:05. > :23:10.reserved. And we have seen the UK and the Welsh Government

:23:10. > :23:13.disagreeing on whether this or that has been devolved and whether they

:23:13. > :23:19.have competence or we have competence and in its simplest form

:23:19. > :23:23.there is a tidying up exercise to be done and adopting a reserve

:23:23. > :23:29.powers model similar to Scotland, whereas everything is deed except

:23:29. > :23:35.for certain areas. At the moment, certain areas are devolved and seem

:23:35. > :23:40.are not. He called it a game- changer. And he said Wales needs to

:23:40. > :23:44.get on the front foot and lead the debate. Yes. I'm not convinced

:23:44. > :23:50.people have registered The impact of the referendum in Scotland.

:23:50. > :23:55.Which ever way the result goes. If there is a yes vote for

:23:55. > :23:59.independence, people will see a changed United Kingdom. If it is a

:23:59. > :24:03.no vote, that progression will continue in Scotland and it will

:24:03. > :24:07.have a real impact and we need to be ready and start that debate so

:24:07. > :24:15.people know what the Plymouth kaigss will be and what the

:24:15. > :24:19.potential -- what the implications will be. Leanne Wood talked about

:24:19. > :24:24.saying look, if Scotland goes yes, it is only a matter of time before

:24:24. > :24:29.Wales does? Yes, it is not just Scotland. Other nations are having

:24:29. > :24:33.referendum on becoming independent or not. We are seeing transitional

:24:33. > :24:37.period for European politics, which being a keen European and Wales is

:24:37. > :24:42.part of Europe, we need to be part of that as well. But it is I think

:24:42. > :24:45.a matter of time. If Scotland moves to yes, the vastly changed nature

:24:45. > :24:49.of the United Kingdom means there will have to be a vastly changed

:24:49. > :24:59.settlement between Wales and the rest of the UK. We have been joined

:24:59. > :25:03.by two other guests. Jonathan Edwards, we heard we need parity

:25:03. > :25:09.the Scotland and it is something the party would be keen to see. It

:25:09. > :25:14.is something you agree with? that is the most powerful message

:25:14. > :25:19.in Welsh politics, parity with Scotland. That is what carried the

:25:19. > :25:22.yes campaign. We live in interest bg times. There are developments,

:25:22. > :25:27.regardless of the result in the referendum. The fact that there is

:25:27. > :25:31.a referendum happening changes the whole game. The focus moves from

:25:31. > :25:36.the nationalist parties and justifies why we want a future

:25:36. > :25:41.outside Britain, it focuses on the unionist party to justify high the

:25:41. > :25:45.union should remain and it changes the hole debate. Does it sound

:25:45. > :25:49.negative, parity with Scotland, you have to be more ambitious. Well

:25:49. > :25:54.Scotland have more powers than Wales and that was enshriened in

:25:54. > :26:01.the first referendum deal and where Scotland was ten gleers ago, we

:26:01. > :26:05.tend to be -- year ago, we tend cob coming behind them. But we are a

:26:05. > :26:09.nation of the same stature as Scotland. We think we should have

:26:09. > :26:14.parity. The position of the unionist parties is that Wales is a

:26:14. > :26:24.second class nation and Scotland is more of a nation than Wales. That

:26:24. > :26:30.

:26:30. > :26:36.The Labour Party have stepped on your toes a bit and gone further

:26:36. > :26:41.than you expect? We always welcome converts but once the submission

:26:41. > :26:45.was in, we saw Labour MPs attacking the submission. It shows the rouge

:26:45. > :26:51.rifts and divisions within the parties. There is no question. It

:26:51. > :26:56.is a clear indication to Wales, that they want more powers devolved

:26:56. > :27:00.to the Welsh Government. So that we can assume our own affairs. The

:27:00. > :27:05.only party to drive that will be the Plaid Cymru.

:27:05. > :27:10.And you are willing to, you are open to discussions on the issue of

:27:10. > :27:14.devolution, even talking about boundary changes and possibly

:27:14. > :27:20.passing that to the UK Government? Well I think that we are certainly

:27:20. > :27:26.looking at a hung Parliament come the next general election. We have

:27:26. > :27:31.outline lined there will be not a deal to keep a Tory government in

:27:31. > :27:35.power, and as the Labour Party, unless they embrace a radical

:27:35. > :27:38.agenda, we will not offer them support if they are in a position

:27:38. > :27:46.to deal with the Liberal Democrats. Thank you very much.

:27:46. > :27:51.Now we talk to Gill Evans. Europe being a hot topic.

:27:51. > :27:55.UKIP have done well recently it seems on exercising the

:27:56. > :28:00.Conservative Party, especially, where does Plaid stand in it? How

:28:00. > :28:03.relevant are they in this debate? We have never been against a

:28:03. > :28:07.referendum on Europe. We have never really had a debate about Wales in

:28:07. > :28:16.Europe. We have supported that in the past. We feel that there is

:28:16. > :28:20.nothing to fear from EU membership. In fact, tro the contrary. Welsh --

:28:20. > :28:24.Wales benefits tremendously from the EU in terms of trade, with the

:28:24. > :28:28.funding in terms of agriculture, with the jobs within our

:28:28. > :28:33.communities. So we see our future clearly in Europe but Europe has to

:28:33. > :28:37.be reformed. To be more democratic, more accountable. So we wanted to

:28:37. > :28:43.campaign for more change but really we have to look at the Welsh

:28:43. > :28:47.National interest. The fear is that is going to be lost in the whole UK

:28:47. > :28:52.debate, whether the UK is in or out of Europe it is a different debate

:28:52. > :28:59.in Wales. That is what we need to be putting across. Has it been

:28:59. > :29:03.difficult to get Wales' voice heard in the debates? No, actually, it's

:29:03. > :29:08.been a challenge but it's been possible to do that because of

:29:08. > :29:13.course in terms of other countries and the other countries view Wales,

:29:13. > :29:17.they see the problems that we have, what benefits we have from Europe,

:29:17. > :29:20.what we can contribute to Europe. So I think that there is an

:29:20. > :29:24.understanding of the important role of smaller countries. We don't get

:29:24. > :29:30.that so much within the UK but certainly in a European context

:29:30. > :29:33.Wales is a normal European nation. What we want is equality with the

:29:34. > :29:39.other nations, of course, and the ability for Wales to be voting at

:29:39. > :29:43.the table in Europe, rather than David Cameron for us.

:29:43. > :29:49.Carwyn Jones, the Welsh First Minister said that the cuts to the

:29:49. > :29:55.EU budgets in the next round is devastating for us, I assume that

:29:55. > :30:00.you agree with it? How bad could it be? We have seen cuts coming to

:30:00. > :30:04.Wales for years, how bad could it potentially be? Absolutely. I

:30:04. > :30:07.oppose any cuts in the E ument budget. We get that money because

:30:07. > :30:13.of levels of poverty in Wales. Because of the deprivation. That

:30:13. > :30:18.will is caused, of course by years of UK mismanagement of our economy.

:30:18. > :30:23.But we need the money to build our economy. Any cuts to that budget,

:30:23. > :30:29.that money coming to Wales is devastating. 80% of our farmers

:30:29. > :30:33.depend on the payments from Europe to keep their businesses going.

:30:33. > :30:37.Any cuts will be bad news for the Welsh economy. That why in

:30:37. > :30:42.Parliament, when we are voting in Parliament. Parliament must approve

:30:42. > :30:46.the budget, then I'll be voting against that. I cannot vote for

:30:46. > :30:50.cuts in money coming to Wales. You say that Wales benefits in

:30:50. > :30:54.money from the European Union, and yet the St David's Day poll shows

:30:54. > :30:59.that Welsh people are torn on whether they want to be a part of

:30:59. > :31:03.the European Union, did it surprise you? No. A lot of the coverage we

:31:03. > :31:08.get, the information that we get about Europe comes from the UK

:31:08. > :31:12.level it is very negative. We have seen all of the attention giving to

:31:12. > :31:19.UKIP, all of the scaremongering we have heard about Europe. What we

:31:19. > :31:25.have to do is look at the real picture, the real facts in term ofs

:31:25. > :31:31.-- in terms of Wales. I think that when people are gived a balanced

:31:31. > :31:35.picture, what we benefit within Europe and what would happen

:31:35. > :31:40.outside of Europe, I am confident that the vast majority of people

:31:40. > :31:47.would see our future with Europe. Thank you very much.

:31:47. > :31:53.Big topics being discussed here. Now back to you in the studio, carl.

:31:53. > :31:58.-- Carl. Now, let's focus on what Elfyn Llwyd had to say.

:31:58. > :32:02.We hear members of Plaid Cymru talking often, that they want what

:32:02. > :32:05.Scotland has got. We want parity with Scotland,

:32:05. > :32:11.whatever the result come the devolution referendum next year. If

:32:11. > :32:16.that result is a "no" it damages Plaid Cymru, I suppose, as much as

:32:16. > :32:24.it damages the SNP? Doesn't it? know that if it is a "no" there

:32:24. > :32:29.will be a tranche of extra devolution to Scotland. The part of

:32:29. > :32:33.the reason debt, that they will hand over powers, they are right,

:32:33. > :32:36.that message of parity with Scotland plays well with the Welsh

:32:36. > :32:43.voters. So it is a logical path for Plaid

:32:43. > :32:47.to follow. Now, if there was a "yes" vote, the indications that is

:32:47. > :32:52.the less likely option of the two, then, of course everything would be

:32:52. > :32:56.up in the air in terms of the future relationship between England,

:32:56. > :33:00.Wales and Northern Ireland. There would have to be serious head-

:33:00. > :33:06.scratch being how that relationship would work. You know, parity for

:33:06. > :33:09.Scotland then would be slightly out of the window. I don't think that

:33:09. > :33:16.Plaid would be calling for immediate independence.

:33:16. > :33:20.This idea of keeping up with the Mc Jones es, the Silk Commission, to

:33:20. > :33:27.look at the powers that the Assembly should get, the deadline

:33:27. > :33:32.for that passed yesterday. We had an outline of what Plaid Cymru were

:33:32. > :33:36.calling for. No great surprises. We heard what Carwyn Jones wants for

:33:37. > :33:41.the Welsh Government, nothing from Labour but we have from the other

:33:41. > :33:44.two parties? What car wince Jones wail say is that the Welsh

:33:44. > :33:49.Government's subsmigs a submission for the Labour Party.

:33:49. > :33:53.There are some who would disagree with that? But they will say this

:33:53. > :33:59.is a Labour government, that this is their submission. The really

:33:59. > :34:03.important one we have not seen yet is the UK Government's submission.

:34:03. > :34:06.Really what is going on in the Silk Commission is a balancing up of

:34:06. > :34:11.what the UK Government is prepared to offer and what the Welsh

:34:11. > :34:14.Government is prepared to ask for. It may be that the UK Government on

:34:14. > :34:19.taxation in particular is going to offer more than the Welsh

:34:19. > :34:24.Government has asked for it will be interesting to see then how the six

:34:24. > :34:28.commission squares that circle. was interesting in the week we were

:34:28. > :34:32.hearing about the Plaid's submission to the next phase of

:34:32. > :34:41.Silk, the Conservatives laying out their reaction to the first party

:34:41. > :34:49.in terms of taxation, so they are still to find out what Plaid are

:34:49. > :34:53.going to do and what Labour are to do as well? Well, you heard a sort

:34:53. > :34:58.of indicative policy in principle. That if the Assembly had powers to

:34:58. > :35:02.vary the income tax, this is what they would do. In the

:35:02. > :35:05.Conservative's case it was to cut the top rate in tax in Wales. If

:35:05. > :35:10.the powers do come it is a long way away. What they are trying to say

:35:10. > :35:13.is that this is the sort of thing that we would do, rather than make

:35:13. > :35:16.a policy commitment. You could not make that policy commitment this

:35:16. > :35:20.far out. I don't think that Plaid will make particular commitments

:35:20. > :35:24.about that. They will say let's have commitments about things that

:35:24. > :35:31.we already control, like the commercial business rates. We can

:35:31. > :35:40.put that to the test now. We heard from her earlier nonthe speech

:35:40. > :35:43.today, I'm lighted -- -- delighted to talk with the leader of Plaid

:35:43. > :35:48.Cymru, Leanne Wood. Good afternoon. We were talking about what your

:35:48. > :35:52.party would do in view of any taxation powers which were devolved

:35:52. > :35:57.to the Assembly. We heard what the Conservatives were doing this week.

:35:57. > :36:02.You alluded it to it in your speech. Can you give an idea, what you may

:36:02. > :36:08.like to do, should the powers be desolved? I will not give a --

:36:08. > :36:12.devolved? I will not give a commitment to do with tax rate in

:36:12. > :36:16.power. We are far too far away from the situation it looks like it

:36:16. > :36:20.could be another seven years before we have tax-raising powers. We have

:36:21. > :36:25.no idea what the economy will look like at that point.

:36:25. > :36:31.You are a left of centre politicians it may suggest that you

:36:31. > :36:35.may favour tax cuts. Have you anything thank that you may have

:36:35. > :36:39.been thinking about? You must have been chat being this over cups of

:36:39. > :36:43.tea or pints at the conference conference? People have different

:36:43. > :36:48.views. What is yours? We are not in a position when we are so far away

:36:48. > :36:52.from the reality of having tax- raising powers to put figures on

:36:52. > :36:57.this now. It, there is lots of work that we

:36:57. > :37:02.can do for the economy now, here, today. Certainly that is what I

:37:02. > :37:06.want Plaid Cymru to be focusing on. You said yesterday, it sent shivers

:37:06. > :37:10.down our spine as political journalists that your campaign for

:37:10. > :37:15.the 2016 elections starts now. That is a heck of a long campaign. Does

:37:15. > :37:21.it mean you are ignoring the 2015 general election campaign? You will

:37:21. > :37:26.not be taking an interest in that, then, will you? No. The 2016

:37:26. > :37:32.campaign is our priority. The 2015 and the 2014 European elections are

:37:32. > :37:37.steps on the way to that. We are going to be producing our

:37:37. > :37:44.manifestos to are -- for both elections in due course and the

:37:44. > :37:51.work we are understaking within the party will help towards those

:37:51. > :37:56.election too. We see 2014 and 2015 as rungs on the ladder, if you like,

:37:56. > :38:00.to 2016. You have made it clear in all three peaches you have give no-

:38:00. > :38:03.one party leader that is three in a year. A few to write, that the

:38:03. > :38:07.economy has been the priority for you. You have told us the

:38:07. > :38:12.aspirations, more jobs, helping businesses to grow. When do we get

:38:12. > :38:18.the meat on the bone? How do you propose to be able to do that?

:38:18. > :38:24.we do have a long time yet before the 2016 elections. Does that mean

:38:24. > :38:28.you don't know? I have Adam Price and others working on the Economy

:38:28. > :38:32.Commission. They are producing papers. There is a paper due

:38:32. > :38:38.shortly from them. There will be other contributions

:38:38. > :38:43.through things like our Wickie manifesto. So a process to go

:38:43. > :38:47.through before we put through the programme of government for 2016

:38:47. > :38:55.but two-and-a-half years to put that through before the election. I

:38:55. > :38:59.am not a -- going to rush. We have put things out on our policies on

:38:59. > :39:02.public procurement. We can create lots of jobs by just getting that

:39:02. > :39:07.right. So we will be continuing to put policies out there throughout

:39:07. > :39:11.the course of the run-up to the next three elections but as I say,

:39:11. > :39:16.we are not in any rush as 2016 is two-and-a-half years away.

:39:16. > :39:22.I don't know if you are in a rush to choose which seat you may like

:39:22. > :39:26.to contest in the 2016 election. You have said you will contest the

:39:26. > :39:32.constituency seat. I know that perhaps members in the party are

:39:32. > :39:40.considering their options. I'm sure you will not tell us which seat it

:39:40. > :39:44.is but do you have which seat -- a seat in mind? Do you know which one

:39:44. > :39:49.you want? I have a couple of options. There is more coming your

:39:49. > :39:52.way on that. I am discussing things with party members and researching

:39:52. > :39:59.pieces, so on, but I'm not in a position to make an announcement

:39:59. > :40:05.yet. When I am, I am sure you will be the first to know, or one of the

:40:05. > :40:11.first to know, Carl. That is good news. I will hold you to that. Are

:40:11. > :40:17.you looking to win? We are looking at all aspects of the different

:40:17. > :40:22.constituencies. There is a number of factors to weigh up. I am

:40:22. > :40:25.weighing up all of those factors. The party has been re-jiing the way

:40:25. > :40:30.it runs itself. Certainly you have created a leadership team, which

:40:30. > :40:34.has brought in a number of people. They say, to help advise you. Are

:40:34. > :40:39.they helping you to lead the party? Do you feel that your role as the

:40:39. > :40:43.leader has been diluted as you have brought these people around you?

:40:43. > :40:49.I don't feel that my role as a leader has been diluted at all N

:40:49. > :40:53.fact it was pointed out to me after our recent Conference which changed

:40:53. > :40:58.the constitution that I am now Plaid Cymru's most powerful leader

:40:58. > :41:01.in the history of the party, apparently. No. I have a group of

:41:01. > :41:05.people working with me on the leader's team. We work well

:41:05. > :41:11.together. We work together, but there is no doubt who the leader is.

:41:11. > :41:17.You have people around you within that leadership team. You alluded

:41:17. > :41:21.to Adam Price eler. Is Adam Price someone who you would like to have

:41:21. > :41:26.as part of the government if you are elected in First Minister.

:41:26. > :41:30.Would you like him to be a minister in your Cabinet? Adam is a talented

:41:30. > :41:36.politician. We are working together now on putting together a programme

:41:36. > :41:46.of government. If he is an Assembly member after 2016, I'm fairly

:41:46. > :41:47.

:41:47. > :41:51.confident that he will be in it, How confident are you that you will

:41:51. > :41:55.standing for a seat in the first place? Can you ask me that again.

:41:55. > :42:01.How confident are you that Adam Pryce will be contesting a seat to

:42:01. > :42:05.get the Khaned -- guaranteed cabinet seat you have offered him.

:42:05. > :42:15.That is a question you will need to put to Adam Pryce. Thank you for

:42:15. > :42:16.

:42:16. > :42:21.joining us. That was Leanne Wood. Let's see what Vaughan made. I

:42:21. > :42:25.thought you were going to chip in and ask some questions. Hadid you

:42:25. > :42:29.make of the answers? -- What did you make of the answers. It was

:42:29. > :42:33.interesting that she presents that team as being a strength. To an

:42:34. > :42:37.extent that is true. The Plaid Cymru constitution was created in a

:42:37. > :42:42.prev devolution age and it had a structure that was in some ways

:42:42. > :42:49.more in common with with the charity or you know a federation of

:42:49. > :42:54.male voice choirs, you had a president and a chairman and a

:42:54. > :43:00.committee, the leadership team does politicise the constitution of

:43:00. > :43:05.Plaid Cymru. In term of what seat she will stand in, we could play

:43:05. > :43:09.guessing games. Well let's do that. I guess it has to be a southern

:43:09. > :43:16.seat. Because if you're in the North Wales region, there is an

:43:16. > :43:21.element of if you win a constituency seat you lose a list

:43:21. > :43:29.seat. My instinct would be that they are probably looking at

:43:29. > :43:35.Caerphilly, possibly a seat that Plaid Cymru has come close to

:43:35. > :43:40.winning in the past. But the problem with those seats is they're

:43:40. > :43:46.seats where Labour is on 50% plus. There is not any other votes to

:43:46. > :43:52.squeeze. You have to convert people from Labour to Plaid. They may look

:43:52. > :44:01.at somewhere where there are other parties' votes to squeeze, maybe

:44:01. > :44:06.Cardiff West. I mean Cardiff West in ass my terms, not in Westminster

:44:06. > :44:10.terms, in Assembly terms, Plaid do well there. Until the last local

:44:10. > :44:13.elections they had the largest number of councillors and they

:44:14. > :44:18.could put a tactical squeeze on the Liberal Democrat and Tory vote. How

:44:18. > :44:22.Leanne Wood ho, presents herself as being to left of Labour, puts the

:44:22. > :44:28.squeeze on the Conservative vote sh I'm not sure. She has promised us

:44:28. > :44:32.an answer soon. The health service has been a key topic at the

:44:32. > :44:36.conference and the party spokeswoman is Elin Jones and she

:44:36. > :44:42.addressed the conference yesterday, talking about health reorganisation

:44:42. > :44:50.in North Wales and ambulance waiting times across Wales.

:44:50. > :44:54.decision by the health board to relocate neo-natal to Arrow Park on

:44:54. > :44:58.the Wirral is extraordinary. For a Welsh Government to allow that

:44:58. > :45:08.happen without calling in the decision would be an act of gross

:45:08. > :45:15.

:45:15. > :45:19.negligence. How many times has Carwyn Jones criticised the changes

:45:20. > :45:23.to the so-called NHS in England and they're now allowing one of their

:45:23. > :45:28.health boards to decommission a service in Wales and to buy that

:45:28. > :45:32.service from a foundation hospital in the English system. It is the

:45:32. > :45:37.Welsh minister that gave the green light for these kinds of decisions

:45:38. > :45:44.to be made by her health boards 18 months ago. The Welsh Government

:45:44. > :45:48.has to call in the decision by Betsi Cadwaladr health board to

:45:48. > :45:53.relocate the service to the Wirral. Otherwise they will have failed to

:45:53. > :45:57.stand up for Wales and allowed them to be rolled ore and tickled by a

:45:57. > :46:03.Tory health minister that. Would be Jeremy Hunt by the way and there is

:46:03. > :46:08.no greater punishment on anyone than to be tickled by Jeremy Hunt.

:46:08. > :46:13.I wouldn't wish that even on Carwyn Jones. There is no doubt there is a

:46:13. > :46:19.real crisis within the NHS. There is most definitely a lamb lack of

:46:19. > :46:23.political leadership and direction. When you couple this with the lack

:46:23. > :46:29.of resources and you can almost see the fear in the managers' eyes.

:46:29. > :46:36.Early in her term of office, I put it to Lesley Griffiths that she

:46:36. > :46:40.could become an Ed wee sna Hart command and control time of

:46:40. > :46:47.minister or a Brian gibbons, leave it to them Soo see what kind of

:46:47. > :46:50.mess we get into mfrplt she is most definitely of the Brian Gibbons

:46:50. > :46:55.school. Her response to the ambulance funning crisis in the

:46:55. > :46:59.autumn of last year was to set up a revie. That is the eighth review

:46:59. > :47:05.into the ambulance service in about the same number of years. And the

:47:05. > :47:09.ambulance service is stretched from day-to-day. We had the ambulance

:47:09. > :47:15.response statistics this week. The response times in one area are

:47:15. > :47:22.worse than any other part of Wales. Only 47.2% of ambulances were at

:47:22. > :47:28.the scene of an emergency call within eight minutes. Fewer than

:47:28. > :47:37.one in two of the ambulances within the target time. In the Betsi

:47:37. > :47:40.Cadwaladr area as a hole the figure was 64%. People in the area are

:47:40. > :47:46.badly served and if greater centralisation occurs, then

:47:46. > :47:50.ambulance response times can only get worse. By the way, the

:47:50. > :47:55.ambulance times in enies Monday are worse than the rest of Wales and

:47:55. > :48:00.the times for the whole of Wales are worse than come par tifr times

:48:00. > :48:04.in England and Scotland. Yet Lesley Griffivities is prepared to pay a

:48:04. > :48:09.higher salary to the ambulance trust chair here in Wales than is

:48:10. > :48:13.paid to chairs in England or in Scotland. The people of Wales

:48:13. > :48:19.deserve better from a Welsh Labour government. It is time we had a

:48:19. > :48:24.government working for if every part of Wales. Where there will be

:48:24. > :48:28.little time difference in waiting for an ambulance in different areas

:48:28. > :48:33.and where v Iry part of Wales is important and public services are

:48:33. > :48:38.accessible to everyone in Wales. If you ask me, it is time we once

:48:38. > :48:48.again had a government for the whole of Wales. It is time we had a

:48:48. > :48:48.

:48:48. > :48:52.one Wales government and this time led by a Plaid Cymru First Minister.

:48:52. > :48:58.That was Elin Jones speaking yesterday I think. But we will go

:48:58. > :49:08.back live to the conference and James has the Plaid Parliamentary

:49:08. > :49:10.

:49:10. > :49:14.leader keeping him company. Thank you. My final guest is the

:49:14. > :49:19.Parliamentary leader. Your message parity with Scotland? Yes, it is

:49:19. > :49:23.important that we are ready for changes that are going to happen in

:49:23. > :49:28.the coming 20 months. Because which ever way the Scottish referendum

:49:28. > :49:34.goes, it is going to be a major game-changer. We have to be

:49:34. > :49:38.thinking of the new model in term of parity for all of the countries

:49:38. > :49:44.within the United Kingdom. I think it is common-sense, but we can't

:49:44. > :49:49.leave it until after the results of the referendum and we need to think

:49:49. > :49:53.carefully and think forward. And what is wrong with having parity?

:49:53. > :49:58.Parity with our friends in England and Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

:49:58. > :50:03.Why not? You're a small team of MPs in Westminster, three of you, how

:50:03. > :50:08.much of a challenge is it going to be to get your voice heard and get

:50:08. > :50:14.the arguments across? We have never been greater than four. When I

:50:14. > :50:19.started first in 1992, devolution was a minority game. No one was

:50:19. > :50:26.interested. Alex Salmond and one or two others were making the case,

:50:26. > :50:31.but nobody else. Now, it is central to everything we do. Every bill

:50:31. > :50:36.that comes before the House of Commons has to state whether it is

:50:36. > :50:40.an England bill, an England only bill or England and Wales. So it is

:50:40. > :50:45.central to everything that we do. I hope that we have played our parts

:50:45. > :50:51.in getting to this particular point now. How are you going to get

:50:51. > :50:55.support on this issue. Jonathan Edwards, your fellow MP, said they

:50:55. > :50:59.may be able to strike a deal on boundary changes with the

:50:59. > :51:05.Conservative half of the Government. Is that something you could

:51:05. > :51:08.countenance. It is not something I am considering. What will you

:51:08. > :51:14.offer? I am not sure whether you will need anything. What you need

:51:14. > :51:19.to do first is see what Silk come up and when we have the reports, we

:51:19. > :51:25.will consider that vairfully and move forward from there. What I do

:51:25. > :51:28.know is we shall be pressing for a new government of Wales bill in

:51:29. > :51:33.2014. I think it is going to come. What I don't want is for that to be

:51:33. > :51:37.kicked into the long grass. Having gone through the costly albeit

:51:37. > :51:47.welcome and professional way in which the commission have dealt

:51:47. > :51:48.

:51:48. > :51:52.with everything, we need to act now. Part of the discussions with right

:51:52. > :51:55.thinking people across the spectrum and it is not just ours who are

:51:55. > :52:00.keen on going further down the devolution road. There are others

:52:00. > :52:08.in all the major parties, even in Westminster who consider that to be

:52:08. > :52:11.appropriate. Thank you. The store stalls are pack up and it is the

:52:12. > :52:16.end of Plaid Cymru's spring conference. Wack to 06789 Sorry for

:52:16. > :52:21.the interference -- back to you. Sorry for the interference. The

:52:21. > :52:26.signal is clear in the office. Vaughan James paints a picture of

:52:26. > :52:31.the conference pack up. How do we assess it? Two days where not so

:52:31. > :52:36.much of a stall for the party to set out. Just a keep them ticking

:52:36. > :52:40.along with a nod to the election on Anglesey? Yes, I think this was a

:52:40. > :52:44.conference that was all about consolidating around the message

:52:44. > :52:49.they have been pushing. Plaid Cymru's autumn conference is the

:52:49. > :52:54.more important of the two. This spring one is in some ways a rally

:52:54. > :52:58.for the troops. It has gone reasonably well. Leanne Wood f you

:52:58. > :53:02.looked back at her leadership, you would probably say the people who

:53:02. > :53:08.were worry and were concerned about her leadership, probably their

:53:08. > :53:13.concerns haven't been realised, but she hasn't either achieved perhaps

:53:13. > :53:16.what her most ardent supporters hoped for and hasn't yet been a

:53:16. > :53:20.transformational leader. But she does seem to be in the saddle and

:53:20. > :53:27.maybe we would have to look on it as being, this conference, as bag

:53:27. > :53:31.work in progress. Rather than a fin ird product. -- being a work in

:53:31. > :53:38.progress. Plaid Cymru took strength from the poll last week which

:53:38. > :53:46.assessed how popular the leaders were, and her approval rating was

:53:46. > :53:51.plus 146789 only Carwyn Jones was hire. -- plus 14. Whether that was

:53:51. > :53:55.justified, that delight, if you look at the polling work on Plaid

:53:55. > :53:59.Cymru, people generally, voters, even people who don't vote for them,

:53:59. > :54:04.quite like Plaid Cymru. And that would be reflected in that poll

:54:04. > :54:09.rating. Whereas we know that the two rt parties in the Westminster

:54:09. > :54:14.coalition are very unpopular at the moment. In other polling. That is

:54:14. > :54:22.reflected in the popularity of the Welsh leaders. What was interesting,

:54:22. > :54:27.if you looked at Kirsty Williams was more popular than Nick Clegg.

:54:27. > :54:29.So you could argue that that difference is about the basic

:54:29. > :54:37.popularity of the parties, rather than anything the leader is

:54:37. > :54:43.bringing to the table. Thank you. Let's head back over Beaumaris and

:54:43. > :54:50.our political editor Braying the cold for us there. Hi Betsan.

:54:50. > :54:55.Nice to see you have a scarf and are keeping warm. We spoke to

:54:55. > :55:00.Leanne Wood some quarter of an hour ago and asked her what seat she

:55:00. > :55:05.would stand in. She said she will make her decision in the next

:55:05. > :55:10.couple of weeks, what is the talk there, have you been picking up any

:55:10. > :55:15.intelligence on where that seat would be? She didn't tell us.

:55:15. > :55:20.spoke to her as well and said in the end, look you're not going tell

:55:20. > :55:25.me where it, I I know. We are hearing thinks about Cardiff West

:55:25. > :55:29.being likely. She said, well no, I'm not going to tell you, you will

:55:29. > :55:34.know soon. I said will you tell me whether you have decided. She said

:55:34. > :55:38.No how many seats are still in the running, says I? She said, we are

:55:38. > :55:42.down to under five. That is a clever answer, because it could be

:55:42. > :55:48.four, or it could be one and they could well know where they want her

:55:49. > :55:53.to stand. What is happening is they doing some work in what must be the

:55:53. > :55:56.faifrtd - o' favoured seat to work on the ground. Not just about

:55:56. > :56:00.whether she can win, but where would harm her least if she didn't.

:56:00. > :56:06.They have clearly to think in those terms. When she made her

:56:06. > :56:12.announcements it liked like constituencies in the east. The

:56:12. > :56:16.signs are that she couldn't also stand on the list and that could

:56:16. > :56:20.save her skin. But you would have a party leader who would have stood

:56:20. > :56:24.somewhere and not have won. That is harmful. They are still thinking,

:56:24. > :56:30.but I suspect they know where and now are preparing the ground there.

:56:31. > :56:35.Now, reporters, we are keen the get policy ideas from Plaid Cymru. What

:56:35. > :56:39.are they going to do to get themselves elected? People are less

:56:39. > :56:44.bothered about that up there. Vaughan suggested this conference

:56:44. > :56:50.for Plaid Cymru is a rally for the troops. Is that the sense you have

:56:50. > :56:54.for this? Yes absolutely. That is what it is. People were told before

:56:54. > :57:00.there wouldn't be any big policy ideas now. I heard Leanne Wood

:57:00. > :57:05.saying to you the election is the one we are concentrating on is 2016,

:57:05. > :57:10.but they have teams working on various areas and they will drip

:57:10. > :57:14.out F you want to convince people you're credible in an area like

:57:15. > :57:19.sorting out the economy, you can so long point to what everyonele is

:57:19. > :57:22.doing wrong and then you need to come up with some big ideas as to

:57:22. > :57:27.what you would do to put it right. We know the commission is working

:57:27. > :57:34.on that, those ideas will be key for Leanne Wood and for Plaid Cymru.

:57:34. > :57:37.Thank you. Safe journey wack. -- back. That is all we have time for

:57:37. > :57:43.you. BBC Wales will be covering the other three main conferences later

:57:43. > :57:48.in the spring. If you need more politics, I'm back tomorrow with