Welsh Labour Manifesto Election 2017


Welsh Labour Manifesto

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... APPLAUSE.

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Thank you everybody for coming today and thanks For hosting us here. You

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have been generous with your facilities. Working with Welsh

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Government and local employers, schools and universities, our

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colleges are giving young people a head start in life. We know that FE

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is under massive, sustained pressure in England. It's a Cinderella

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sector, they're devoid of the support that it deserves. Different

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priorities, different choices, different outcomes. In the UK

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manifesto launches in recent days, we saw that contrast so sharply

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didn't we from Labour policies that resonated, that showed that we still

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believe in society and that no-one should be left behind. From the

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Tories, we had something different. I'm not sure what the official title

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of the document was, but it should probably be called "cruel

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intentions", the nasty party is back and how. A dementia tax, an end to

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the triple lock and yet another social care contrick. It was all

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made clear this morning apparently for those that watched it. They were

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none the wiser as to what is going to happen in England. Their

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manifesto says one thing to older people in this country, and it's

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this message - the Tories are taking you for granted. They think you're

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in the bag. They've moved on. They think this is over. How does that

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make you feel? And what did they say about Wales in their manifesto?

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Barely a mention comment for a series of thinly vealed threats

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about withdrawing funding and decision-making from our

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communities. We have heard Rhodri Mentioned this morning. He said we

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don't trust them and they don't understand us.

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APPLAUSE. On so many things, Rhodri's words

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remain prescient. How proud he was of what we've helped to build

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together as Welsh Labour, he was indisputably the person more than

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any other who made those words Welsh Labour move from an idea, a title,

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to a real campaigning fire breathing entity. We all owe Rhodri a debt of

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gratitude, none more than me. I know that everyone of us in this room

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could share a memory, a story or a favourite saying about Rhodri, he

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truly was one of a kind. It is difficult for us to think about life

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without him, not least because he was still giving so much to our

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party and our country. No easy retirement for Rhodri. A bit more

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time in the garden and with his grandchildren, but he was still on

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the doorsteps fighting for votes, fighting for Labour. And I know our

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thoughts are with Julie and the family at this difficult time.

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He'll be our inspiration in the days and weeks ahead. Much was made of

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Rhodri's affable nature but by God he was a determined man and he knew

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the value of winning. He wouldn't accept defeat. When he got knocked

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back he came back twice as strong. That's the bit of Rhodri we are

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going to take into the campaign over the next few days. Rest in peace

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Rhodri, we'll do our best to make you proud.

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APPLAUSE. Despite the many advantage we made

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as a party in Wales over the years some people have still questioned

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why we need a separate Welsh Labour manifesto but it's simple, the same

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reasons we produced our Welsh Labour manifesto in every general election,

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we have always understood political parties don't choose what elections

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are about, not even the media does that to their eternal frustration,

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voters decide what the issues are that matter to them. That's why we

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feel it's important for us in one document to detail what Welsh Labour

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wants to do on all the things that matter to people and communities. So

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alongside the commitments we have for the NHS in Wales there are

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ambitious pledges about defence, tax and Brexit. We have seen already in

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the manifesto launched last week by Jeremy what a difference it makes

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having a stronger Welsh Labour presence in that process. A

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commitment to make right the mess of the Tory Wales act and adopting our

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approach which will bring clarity for devolution. As I discussed the

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manifesto with colleagues across the party it made me proud we were

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debating how to make this country a favour and better place to live.

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Today we build on that work. Our Welsh manifesto is an ambitious,

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comprehensive plan of what Welsh Labour can do together, working in

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the assembly and Westminster. Unlike the Tories we stand ready to deliver

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on big projects that will get our economy moving. Support for tidal

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lagoons starting with the Swansea project, support also for rail

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electrification. The Metro project and the new development bank for

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Wales. The Tories have done nothing to advance Welsh infrastructure in

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the last seven years and they will do nothing for the next five if they

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are given the chance. We need a strong team of Welsh Labour MPs

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working with us in the assembly, we have done so much but we need to do

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more to put these issues high up the agenda. To do that we need two

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Labour governments working together to make our economy work for

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everyone, not just a few people at the top. Working in partnership. I

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can tell you, Welsh Labour will commit to protecting the funding

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that would have come to Wales through the EU, the Tories want a

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promise that, our communities will lose out but we promise to protect

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that money. APPLAUSE That money will be spent in Wales on

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Welsh priorities, not stashed away in Whitehall is as the Tories are

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threatening. We will fulfil the promises that Tories and Ukip say

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they will break because we believe in fairness and delivering on what

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people have a right to expect. After years of Tory cuts an estimated ?1.5

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billion extra will come to Wales every year through a UK Labour

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spending plan. And on the election of a Labour government in

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Westminster we are committed to an immediate, brands of spending review

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in Wales. We will allocate any new resources to priority areas, job

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creation, the NHS and education. Remember that each cut made to the

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Welsh Labour budget made our work more difficult. It denied our

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classrooms the investment we would want to put in. It cut the numbers

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of doctors and nurses we could employ. It closed much loved

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libraries and community leisure centres because of the cuts Tories

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imposed. And for what? Have they balanced the books? They have not.

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Debt has doubled under the Tories. They have doubled debt and slashed

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public services to add insult to injury. Look at the Tory vision now

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for public services just 12 miles over the border. The trumpet

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policies like grammar schools, nobody says bring back the secondary

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modern is, they say bring back grammar schools. They promote

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selection, they have given up on the idea of good public services for

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everyone. A great education for all will be off the table and other

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Tories in England. Even David Cameron's government did not go that

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far. They are going to focus on the interests of the few and not the

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many. That's not something we are doing in Wales, from education to

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skills to the economy we are building a future, a decent home, a

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good job and a great school for everyone, a fairer deal for us all.

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Because fairness is at the heart of our approach. So today we set out

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how we will get our economy growing again through serious infrastructure

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investment in Wales. Through our new approach to developing skills and

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supporting businesses to grow. And it's not just about more work, it's

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about better work and today Welsh Labour also sets out our different

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approach to fear work. Working through a genuine social partnership

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with public service employers, businesses and trade unions we are

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committed to tackling the issues. So we will establish a fear work

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commission, building on what we have achieved with the workforce

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partnership Council. One thing I can promise you is we will continue with

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our work to repeal the UK trade union act for devolved public

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services. APPLAUSE We will end the practice of

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blacklisting. We will enforce ethical procurement practices and we

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will end the use of exploitative zero-hour contracts. That's

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something we are doing now. And that's the difference we can make

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together, we need to remind people in every constituency that really

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it's only a vote for Welsh Labour that can make that difference. A

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vote for a Plaid Cymru in this election will help the Conservatives

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build a bigger majority. It's that simple. But more than that it's time

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to remind voters that time and time again Plaid Cymru do not make the

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choices Wales need. Voting with the Tories and Ukip to deny the NHS more

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money. Voting with the Tories and Ukip to try to form an unholy

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coalition to run the Welsh government. What job would be a

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Hamilton have got in that administration I wonder? It's the

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different vision for Wales you want, that is what most people are saying

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to me. But to get that people have to vote for it and that means voting

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Welsh Labour. Nowhere is the different vision for the next five

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years more stark can hear in the north of Wales, a place which is a

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mystery Theresa May, should not know she this morning. Work is underway

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across the Welsh Labour government to help successfully deliver the 14

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billion project and ensure it brings good quality jobs, infrastructure

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and housing to the entire region. No mention of that in the Plaid Cymru

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manifesto and I wonder why? We announced a ?20 million fund to

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establish an advanced research as to Jude which will support key

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employers in the region and help develop game changing new

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technologies in areas such as aerospace, nuclear and automotive.

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In March we announced plans to invest more than ?200 million in the

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EA 55 corridor to ensure the region has been modern strategic road

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network it needs to support the growing economy. We are leading the

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way in developing a North Wales growth deal which will see the North

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Wales mainline electrified and new links developed with the Northern

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powerhouse in England and the Midlands engine. The Tories have

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gone quiet about this, just as they have fallen silent on any new

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investment year in the north of Wales. We have committed ?50 million

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to taking forward the first phase of the North East Wales Metro, to

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develop an integrated transport system. It is a Labour who will

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ensure ages two has regular and accessible links to the north of

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Wales to support the economy. We are backing a third crossing to support

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the economy of the north-west of Wales. ?1 million of funding to

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develop a new business hub in Wrexham. And we have announced the

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development bank for Wales will be located here in the north. Our

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commitment to the steel industry helped save jobs all across Wales

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including of course in Shotton. We are making available ?60 million for

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all sites in all those sites to be developed, I can tell you that since

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summer of last year the Tories have shown no interest at all in our

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steel industry. We have worked with Tata Steel, we met them in Mumbai

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and London and Cardiff, I visited every one of their sites in Wales

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because of the sheer hard work of a Welsh Labour government we have

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those steel jobs in Wales and don't ever let the Tories tell you

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anything different. APPLAUSE People are right to say North Wales

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is a battle ground just as it was in the assembly election, do you

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remember when the Tories said they would make a clean sweep? I appeared

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at the ITV studios to be told the Tories were talking up victory,

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telling people they would win all their target seat in Wales and they

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didn't. It was their arrogance which was there an doing and we are seeing

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signs of that again, taking people for granted and thinking they have a

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God-given right to rule. The people of Wales no different. They said

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last year they had won Wrexham, a done deal they said, but the people

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of the north of Wales show them there was no done deal, now being

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taken for granted, no Tory walkover and it's what Wales needs again to

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make sure we have as many Welsh Labour MPs as possible from the

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north and across Wales to ensure the Welsh voice is strong in

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Westminster. The strong message people can give is that only Welsh

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Labour MPs will fight for jobs, only Welsh Labour MPs will fly the flag

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for the North. We do not need more Tory MPs from Wales who will make up

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a parliament of sheep blue rosettes. What we need our Welsh Labour MPs

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fighting for their constituents and the people of Wales. This is a

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manifesto for the north and the whole of Wales. I don't know how

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many of you saw the TV debate on ITV last week, the Tory leader openly

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mocked for repeating the Tory campaign strapline of strong and

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stable, the irony this morning! The people in that crowd were right to

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do so because people in Wales deserve better than slogans repeated

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over and over and over again. They need policies. The Tories think they

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can sneak their way through the a couple of sound bites, no new

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policies and hiding their candidates. And they're Prime

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Minister, away from public attention. It's an embarrassing

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campaign and it's because of this simple truth. They have worked out

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that the more people see of them the less they like them. The more they

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are reminded of what happened the last time the Tories trampled all

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over Wales, the more they are reminded of the fact that the nasty

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party never went anywhere. They just got a bit better at hiding their

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intentions. Well, we cannot give them a free pass, we cannot let them

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hide away. Welsh Labour is here to call them out and this is what our

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manifesto does today, a comprehensive vision for the future

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of our country, a vision full of hope based on fairness and

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prosperity for all. Because friends, this is Welsh Labour, standing up

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for Wales. APPLAUSE

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