Plaid Cymru and SNP form ‘progressive alliance’

Local TV

Leaders from Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party have had face to face talks to discuss helping one another in the future. Both are hoping to form a government after the upcoming devolved elections in May, and are looking to “resist the consuming of our politics by the far-right.”

Transcript

00:00Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and Plaid Cymru leader Sreenap Yorworth have pledged

00:06to strengthen ties between their two parties, describing their cooperation as a progressive

00:10alliance for change.

00:13The leaders met at the First Minister's official residence in Edinburgh, where they agreed

00:16to share strategies ahead of next May's elections in both nations, both the SNP and Plaid Cymru

00:22back independence from the UK, but talks focused on wider goals, from tackling child poverty

00:28to protecting political debate from who they describe as the growing influence of far-right

00:32ideas at Westminster.

00:34John Swinney said the alliance would see the two parties working collaboratively on issues

00:38that matter to people in Scotland and in Wales, while resisting what he called the consuming

00:43effect of far-right politics on Labour and the Conservatives alike.

00:48Plaid Cymru leader Sreenap Yorworth said a Plaid government in Wales and an SNP government

00:52in Scotland would send a powerful message to Westminster, describing it as a wake-up call

00:56for the UK Labour government, and accused Welsh Labour of failing to stand up for Wales,

01:01saying that after more than two decades in power, key responsibilities like policing and

01:05justice still remain under Westminster control.

01:10But opposition parties have criticised the move.

01:12Scottish Conservatives said the First Minister was more interested in plotting the break-up of

01:16the UK than tackling domestic problems, citing NHS pressures and falling education standards.

01:21Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats called for both nations to focus on their shared history

01:26rather than constitutional division.

01:29Despite the criticism both nationalist leaders insist the new partnership reflects a growing

01:34appetite for change, and a belief that Wales and Scotland can chart their own course in an

01:38increasingly divided political landscape.

01:41James P. Watkins, reporting for Local TV.

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