Plaid Cymru Government Will “Put Children First”

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Speaking at Plaid Cymru’s Spring Conference in Newport last weekend, Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru’s lead candidate for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, said a Plaid Cymru government would place the eradication of child poverty “at the heart” of its policies. 

Williams argued that Wales faces a stark choice in this May’s Senedd Elections: More “short-lived pilot schemes instead of transformation” from Labour. “More division and scapegoating” from Reform. “Or bold, courageous action” from Plaid Cymru.

She made clear that a Plaid Cymru government would make the eradication of child poverty a guiding principle because “there is no greater test of a government than how it treats its children.”

“Poverty in Wales is not an accident of fate. It is the result of political choices — and of an inequitable union that constrains our potential and harms our future. And if poverty is created by political choices, it can be ended by political courage.”

Putting Children First

Williams highlighted that one in three children in Wales are growing up in poverty, describing the situation as “not inevitable — but intolerable.”

She pointed to Plaid Cymru’s record in securing universal free school meals for primary school pupils and pledged to go further by:

• Extending free school meals to every secondary school pupil whose household receives Universal Credit
• Delivering a universal childcare offer of 20 hours a week, 48 weeks a year, for all children aged 9 months to 4 years

The childcare offer, she said, would be worth more than £30,000 over the first four years of a child’s life, making it the most generous government-funded childcare programme anywhere in the UK.

“This is not an easy or cheap promise to make. But when we invest in childcare, household incomes rise, the economy grows stronger, and women are less likely to suffer economic inequality. Crucially, our children are given the early support they need to narrow the attainment and wellbeing gaps that go hand in hand with poverty.”

She also said Plaid Cymru would pilot a new “Cynnal” payment — targeted direct payments aimed at lifting children most in need above the poverty line — describing it as “not just radical politics, but rational politics.”

A Clear Choice for Wales

Williams drew sharp contrasts with Labour and Reform, criticising Labour’s “strategies without teeth” and Reform’s “politics of scapegoating and division.”

“You cannot tackle poverty by punching down. While Reform offers anger, we offer action.”

Closing her speech, Williams called on Wales to choose courage over managed decline.

“This May, the choice is clear. More excuses. More division. Or courage. Courage to confront poverty. Courage to invest in women and families. Courage to put children first.