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Plaid Cymru claims Wales is crying out for new leadership Plaid Cymru claims voters 'taken for granted' by Labour
(about 2 hours later)
Wales is "crying out for new leadership" after 17 years of Labour rule, Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has said. Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood has urged voters who felt "taken for granted" by Labour to switch to her party at May's assembly election.
She dismissed suggestions the assembly election in May was a two-way contest between Labour and the Tories. She told her party's conference in Llanelli that after 17 years of Labour rule in Wales there was a mentality that "this is as good as it gets".
Speaking before her party's conference in Llanelli, Ms Wood stressed the NHS as a key priority for Plaid Cymru. "Our people have been taken for granted far too long," she said.
She rejected the idea of a coalition with the Tories, but said she was ruling out nothing else. Ms Wood said voters were now asking what they were getting in return for "a lifetime of loyalty to one party".
"Real change does not come about easily and it does not come about often, but Wales is now at a tipping point," she told BBC Wales. "I call on those people who are feeling this way to get behind Plaid Cymru this time," she said.
'Transformative' Plaid Cymru has used the conference to underline a series of campaign promises.
"After 17 years of Labour failure, our nation is crying out for new leadership, new ambition and a new vision - that is what Plaid Cymru will offer in May. They include scrapping care home charges for the elderly, hiring an extra 1,000 extra medical staff, writing off debts for students who work in Wales after graduating, and setting up a new economic development agency.
"I have no doubt that we also have the most exciting, realistic and transformative programme of ideas to build a well Wales, a well-educated Wales and a wealthier Wales." Ms Wood - leading Plaid in an assembly election for the first time - told the BBC she would look at existing Welsh government policies to fund the new spending.
Ms Wood said Plaid would not go into a formal coalition with the Conservatives, but refused to rule out anything else, saying she did not want to limit her options. "There are a number of existing anti-poverty programmes that can be re-rationalised, and re-applied, and we see our education policies as part of the anti-poverty agenda," she told BBC Two's The Daily Politics.
The Plaid leader claimed lessons had been learned from the 2015 general election campaign that talk of coalitions was off-putting for voters. 'Cradle to grave'
Asked whether she felt personally under pressure over disappointing election results, she said: "I am always optimistic - I do not think I could do this job if I wasn't." In a personal passage of her speech, Ms Wood revealed some of the inspiration for the party's education promises lay in her own family's history.
In a separate interview with BBC Two's The Daily Politics, Ms Wood said there would be a "rationalisation of existing programmes" to fund Plaid Cymru's health pledges. "My grandmother never tired of telling me stories as a child about how hard life was for her generation growing up during the 1930s," she said.
She said the plan to recruit 1,000 more medical staff would cost between £65m and £100m, while the scrapping of care home charges would cost £220m over two assembly terms. "She was sent away to work in service in London at the age of 14, so that money could be sent back home.
"That generation endured great hardships and made great sacrifices.
"And, in return, they were promised that they would be cared for, from cradle to grave."
Analysis by Vaughan Roderick, BBC Welsh Affairs editorAnalysis by Vaughan Roderick, BBC Welsh Affairs editor
The years since devolution have been ones of slow but steady decline for Plaid Cymru in terms of their assembly presence and the party's fortunes stand in stark contrast to the success enjoyed by the SNP in Scotland.The years since devolution have been ones of slow but steady decline for Plaid Cymru in terms of their assembly presence and the party's fortunes stand in stark contrast to the success enjoyed by the SNP in Scotland.
In the 2011 election, the party dropped from second to third place in terms of seats and votes won, repeating the experience of many other parties after a period as junior coalition partners.In the 2011 election, the party dropped from second to third place in terms of seats and votes won, repeating the experience of many other parties after a period as junior coalition partners.
With this year's election being held in the shadow of the EU referendum - and with UKIP polling strongly - Plaid Cymru would probably be satisfied with a modest upswing in its fortunes.With this year's election being held in the shadow of the EU referendum - and with UKIP polling strongly - Plaid Cymru would probably be satisfied with a modest upswing in its fortunes.
Claims the party could form a minority government with just 20 AMs are probably best seen as tactical rather than realistic.Claims the party could form a minority government with just 20 AMs are probably best seen as tactical rather than realistic.
The 2016 election though is a highly unpredictable one with a large number of variables.The 2016 election though is a highly unpredictable one with a large number of variables.
Having ruled out a coalition deal with the Conservatives, the party may well find itself in the role of kingmaker after 5 May.Having ruled out a coalition deal with the Conservatives, the party may well find itself in the role of kingmaker after 5 May.