Welsh Labour may lose its stronghold in Wales after delivering a plan composed of “recycled” pledges to compete in June’s general election. The opposition in the Welsh Assembly also criticised the lack of unity within Labour and the absence of a distinct manifesto to confront Tory austerity.
“Three of your major pledges are devolved. They were promises made ahead of last year’s election. A fourth pledge on policing could it been devolved if only liberal MPs haven’t had their way”, said Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru to the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, in a Plenary meeting this week.
She added: “If you lose this election in Wales as many polls are suggesting you might does this mean it will be a verdict on you? Will it be your fault? And if you become the first Labour leader to lose Wales the first time in 100 years, will you be prepared to take responsibility?”
Adam Price, from Plaid Cymru, also questioned Jones for not having ready a plan to protect Wales from future spending cuts if the Conservatives as polls predict, what was perceived as another attack on his credibility to “defend Wales”.
Jones answered that a manifesto will be published in “due time” and that Labour will keep protecting healthcare and social budget, with spending at least 6 percent more compared to England.
Plaid Cymry also questioned the First Minister about his apparent lack of support for his party leader, Jeremy Corbyn since Jones did not mention him when he launched the Welsh campaign this week.
Welsh Labour also distanced itself from the national party’s manifesto leaked this week and kept promising a distinct document before the election, according to the BBC.
Historically, Labour has a strong electoral preference in Wales. However, in the last local election, Labour lost 107 seats. Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru won 33, and the Conservatives increased 80 seats, following the trend in the UK.
Welsh Labour also faced critics on other issues, such as the “broken promise” of delivering Internet broadband access to all residences and businesses in the country by 2015, as stated in their manifesto of 2011.
