Panel clashes over Labour's Wales record and Plaid's independence focus

An audience member set the terms of a televised political debate by claiming that Labour had failed Wales and that Plaid Cymru was already distracted by its quest for nationalism. The question asked how any party could be trusted to deliver a better future. The panel did not agree on the answer.

For Plaid Cymru, the party's recent election win in Wales was described as seismic and a victory 100 years in the making. The representative said it was the first time in Wales's devolution history that there had been a government whose first and only priority was the people of Wales. She pointed to concrete steps: work towards a national care service, a 30% cut in business rates extended to the end of the next financial year, and an expansion of childcare. By the end of the financial year, all local authorities in Wales were on course to provide 12.5 hours a week for all two-year-olds, which she called the most generous childcare offer across the UK.

The Plaid representative also argued that Wales needs more powers. She said the current settlement acts like a straitjacket because what Wales can spend is determined by spending on certain policies in England. She said that is not a good way to make policy. On independence, she said the question would be for the people of Wales and that she did not want Wales's future decided elsewhere.

The Reform UK panelist rejected the Plaid pitch. He said Labour had failed Wales for 27 years and that Plaid, now leading the way, was not doing anything in the Senedd. He said all he had heard from Plaid was plans and action plans. He argued that Wales was leading the league tables in the wrong things, with the longest waiting lists across the United Kingdom, the worst PISA scores in education, and the worst economic performance. He also said Plaid was focused on standing on a platform with the SNP and Sinn Féin to call for an independent nation. Reform's alternative, he said, included a focus on core subjects such as English, maths and science, greater accountability in the health service, and a proper economic strategy.

The debate later moved to Reform UK itself after a television investigation. The programme reported that elected councillors had made racist and misogynistic comments and that there appeared to be failures in vetting. Nigel Farage had said Reform had the best vetting process of any political party. The Reform panelist condemned the comments and said the party did not want people with extreme views. He said people would be suspended and investigated, but argued that parties cannot vet someone's personal views or what they might say in the future. He also said other parties had problems, citing the Conservatives, Plaid Cymru and Labour.

A Labour panelist challenged that response. He said Farage had promised to get rotten apples out of the barrel, but pointed to comments from figures at the top of the party. He mentioned a claim that David Lammy should go back to the Caribbean, Zia Yusuf calling a former defence secretary and veteran a traitor, and Robert Jenrick saying Royal Marines should be able to use lethal force on migrants in the Channel. The exchange was cut short, but it showed the debate moving from Welsh government records to party standards.