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| Plaid promises free childcare if it wins Senedd election | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Rhun ap Iorwerth made the pledge as he told conference delegates he was ready to lead the country | Rhun ap Iorwerth made the pledge as he told conference delegates he was ready to lead the country |
| Families who have children aged nine months to four years old will get free childcare if Plaid Cymru wins the next Welsh Parliament election, its leader has said. | Families who have children aged nine months to four years old will get free childcare if Plaid Cymru wins the next Welsh Parliament election, its leader has said. |
| Rhun ap Iorwerth made the pledge as he told conference delegates he was ready to lead the country "right now", replacing Labour as the party of government. | Rhun ap Iorwerth made the pledge as he told conference delegates he was ready to lead the country "right now", replacing Labour as the party of government. |
| Labour has led Wales since the start of devolution in 1999, and has dominated Welsh politics for a century. The next Senedd election takes place in May. | Labour has led Wales since the start of devolution in 1999, and has dominated Welsh politics for a century. The next Senedd election takes place in May. |
| He said the "transformative" policy, offering at least 20 hours for 48 weeks a year by 2031, would be a "helping hand with the things that matter the most". | He said the "transformative" policy, offering at least 20 hours for 48 weeks a year by 2031, would be a "helping hand with the things that matter the most". |
| He told the conference that "Labour's time is up" and that Reform wanted to treat the Senedd as a "plaything" to gain an "electoral foothold". | He told the conference that "Labour's time is up" and that Reform wanted to treat the Senedd as a "plaything" to gain an "electoral foothold". |
| Ap Iorwerth called on voters who wanted to stop Reform to back his party, accusing Nigel Farage of spurring a summer of "simmering hatred". | |
| Currently help with childcare costs is only available to families whose parents are in work, education or training, or to very young children who live in a Flying Start area. | Currently help with childcare costs is only available to families whose parents are in work, education or training, or to very young children who live in a Flying Start area. |
| The party says the policy would be worth £32,500 to families for the first four years of their child's life. | The party says the policy would be worth £32,500 to families for the first four years of their child's life. |
| Families whose parents are in work, training or education would still get 30 hours a week for three to four-year-olds. | Families whose parents are in work, training or education would still get 30 hours a week for three to four-year-olds. |
| Plaid's plan would allow ineligible families to claim 20 hours a week for three to four-year-olds for 48 weeks of the year, and all families 20 hours for nine-month-olds to two years. | Plaid's plan would allow ineligible families to claim 20 hours a week for three to four-year-olds for 48 weeks of the year, and all families 20 hours for nine-month-olds to two years. |
| The party say that by the end of the five-year roll out it will spend roughly an extra £500m a year on childcare - bringing the total cost to £800m. | The party say that by the end of the five-year roll out it will spend roughly an extra £500m a year on childcare - bringing the total cost to £800m. |
| It says it can find the cash from the Welsh government's budget, with about £400m thought to be available in the next budget if other services increase by inflation. | It says it can find the cash from the Welsh government's budget, with about £400m thought to be available in the next budget if other services increase by inflation. |
| Rhun ap Iorwerth was met with a standing ovation as he closed his speech in Braygwyn Hall | |
| The Welsh government has been under pressure to match the provision in England, where children between nine months and two years receive free child care. | The Welsh government has been under pressure to match the provision in England, where children between nine months and two years receive free child care. |
| The Bevan Foundation said earlier this year that high childcare costs were pushing more families into poverty and out of work. | The Bevan Foundation said earlier this year that high childcare costs were pushing more families into poverty and out of work. |
| Currently parents in Wales can apply for up to 30 hours of combined government funded nursery education and childcare a week - parents need to be in work, on maternity, paternity or other statutory leave, or in education or training. | Currently parents in Wales can apply for up to 30 hours of combined government funded nursery education and childcare a week - parents need to be in work, on maternity, paternity or other statutory leave, or in education or training. |
| That is only available to three and four-year-olds, and only if parents receive less than £100,000 a year combined. | That is only available to three and four-year-olds, and only if parents receive less than £100,000 a year combined. |
| Some eligible two-year-olds qualify for 12.5 hours of care a week under Flying Start, but it is not available nationally. | Some eligible two-year-olds qualify for 12.5 hours of care a week under Flying Start, but it is not available nationally. |
| Plaid's plan would be in three stages. It is proposing to keep the existing 30 hour offer for three to four-year-olds, while extending the roll out of 12.5 hours a week for two-year-olds. | Plaid's plan would be in three stages. It is proposing to keep the existing 30 hour offer for three to four-year-olds, while extending the roll out of 12.5 hours a week for two-year-olds. |
| The next step would be to give 20 hours to parents who are not currently eligible - such as those not in work or training, or those earning more than £100,000 a year. | The next step would be to give 20 hours to parents who are not currently eligible - such as those not in work or training, or those earning more than £100,000 a year. |
| The party would then seek to increase the number of hours offered to children under the age of two year-on-year. | The party would then seek to increase the number of hours offered to children under the age of two year-on-year. |
| It would be rolled out over the life of the next Welsh Parliament, with the policy fully implemented in the 2030/31 financial year, under the plans. | It would be rolled out over the life of the next Welsh Parliament, with the policy fully implemented in the 2030/31 financial year, under the plans. |
| Plaid Cymru says the policy would be worth £32,500 to families for the first four years of their child's life | |
| Party sources, asked why parents whose incomes are above £100,000 should get free childcare, said services that are delivered universally are better, and that households across demographics are struggling. | Party sources, asked why parents whose incomes are above £100,000 should get free childcare, said services that are delivered universally are better, and that households across demographics are struggling. |
| Plaid says it would be the most generous childcare care offer in the UK. | Plaid says it would be the most generous childcare care offer in the UK. |
| Ap Iorwerth told BBC Wales: "This can make a huge difference. It's a very, very important step in terms of helping families with the cost of living. | |
| "This is universal, which marks it out from the system in England." | "This is universal, which marks it out from the system in England." |
| Ap Iorwerth said it was "money that we know we can afford". | Ap Iorwerth said it was "money that we know we can afford". |
| 'Plaything' | 'Plaything' |
| Plaid Cymru has played a key role during the life of devolution, being an occasional supporter of Labour governments since 1999. | Plaid Cymru has played a key role during the life of devolution, being an occasional supporter of Labour governments since 1999. |
| It has been unable to beat Labour in an election - but recent opinion polling has suggested Plaid is vying with the party to win, as is Reform. | It has been unable to beat Labour in an election - but recent opinion polling has suggested Plaid is vying with the party to win, as is Reform. |
| Ap Iorwerth is now trying to position his party as a government-in-waiting. | |
| Even if Plaid came first it is possible they would have to work with Labour or other parties in some form, with no party having ever won a majority in the Senedd. | Even if Plaid came first it is possible they would have to work with Labour or other parties in some form, with no party having ever won a majority in the Senedd. |
| Ap Iorwerth said Labour had "forgot where it came from who it was there to serve". | |
| He called on his party to seize the "historic opportunity ahead of us" and turn it into "reality". | He called on his party to seize the "historic opportunity ahead of us" and turn it into "reality". |
| He said the UK had faced a summer of "simmering hatred", spurred on, he said, by Nigel Farage. | He said the UK had faced a summer of "simmering hatred", spurred on, he said, by Nigel Farage. |
| "Farage and his followers drive the deliberate fragmentation of society, giving life to the bogeyman without whom they are nothing." | "Farage and his followers drive the deliberate fragmentation of society, giving life to the bogeyman without whom they are nothing." |
| He said Reform UK wanted to treat the Senedd as a "plaything" to gain "an electoral foothold". | He said Reform UK wanted to treat the Senedd as a "plaything" to gain "an electoral foothold". |
| 'New leadership' | |
| Ap Iorwerth said Plaid was ready to govern "right now", promising to "usher in an age of new leadership that will set Wales on a different path." | |
| "We are not here as Labour's conscious, we are not here to repair Labour, we are here to replace them," he said. | |
| He promised an "immediate cash injection" into the NHS to prioritise the longest waits. | |
| The party leader, a former BBC Wales journalist and the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ynys Mon, said Reform threatened the health service with "US-style bills", and vowed to keep the NHS free at point of need. |