Leanne: ‘I will not contest the Rhondda seat’
PLAID Cymru leader Leanne Wood has decided not to stand for her home seat of Rhondda in the General Election after all.
Last week she said she would seriously consider doing so, but after discussing the idea with colleagues and constituents over the weekend came down against the idea.
She tweeted: “After much consideration, I’m not standing as MP for the Rhondda. Confident that Plaid Cymru will have very strong candidate.”
Last year Ms Wood had a shock win in the constituency when she won the Assembly seat from Labour’s Public Service Minister Leighton Andrews. It was the only first-past-the-post seat to change hands. If she had beaten Labour MP Chris Bryant in the general election, she would have been disqualified from being an AM and under Plaid Cymru rules would have had to stand down as leader.
Meanwhile Plaid will demand a formal role for all four UK nations in the Brexit negotiations, the party’s External Affairs spokesman Steffan Lewis confirmed.
The proposed “four nations approach” would give the Welsh Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament a right to negotiate on behalf of each of the respective countries, with the UK Government negotiating on behalf of England.
Plaid Cymru’s plan would also require each of the respective Parliaments to endorse the final deal.
Mr Lewis said this would ensure the interests of all nations are protected as the British State leaves the EU, not just England’s.
A report by leading cross-party think tank Demos concluded recently that Wales is most at risk from the Conservatives’ plan for a hard Brexit due to its economy being driven by exports to the EU and its relatively heavy reliance on EU nationals to offset the country’s low working-age population.
Mr Lewis said: “Wales faces an immediate threat as the Tories continue to push our economy towards the edge of a cliff. Our economic links with Europe are critical to preserving our strong export performance and the 200,000 jobs across Wales that are sustained by that trade. Other UK countries are less focused on the EU and the risk is that without a strong, united and determined voice in Westminster putting these issues on the agenda, Wales will be left to rot on the sidelines.
“Plaid Cymru MPs will work in Westminster to make sure the UK Government takes a four nations approach to its Brexit negotiations, taking pressure off the ill-equipped and under-prepared trade department and give the nations of the UK a formal role in representing their respective countries’ interests in the negotiations.”
He said that with an unchecked Tory government in Westminster being given free rein to do as they please by a “weak and divided” Labour opposition, Wales will simply be ignored and our economy will soon turn to decline, with serious implications for people’s jobs, wages and mortgages.
“Only Plaid Cymru MPs will stand up for Wales in Westminster and it is crucial that Wales sends our strongest advocates to fight for us in the House of Commons,” said Mr Lewis.