Plaid Cymru will tomorrow unveil its pledges for rural Wales as
part of its general election campaign, vowing to be the voice of
rural Wales in Westminster.
Rural communities face distinct challenges associated with
distance from key services, limited job opportunities and low
incomes, a rural premium, lack of public transport
infrastructure, and social isolation.
As part of their pledges, Plaid Cymru will:
- increase GPs to help rural
communities access the healthcare they need
- invest in local high streets to
keep shops, pubs and community centres open which are under
threat due to rising costs
- A Welsh Broadband Infrastructure
Company to improve rural digital connectivity
- a specialist all-Wales rural crime
team, building upon the work already done by Police and Crime
Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys
- reconfiguration of the Rural Fuel
Duty Relief Scheme to tackle high fuel costs in the absence of
public transport links
Plaid Cymru candidate for Caerfyrddin, said:
“Make no mistake, neither the Tories nor Labour are on the side
of rural Wales. Fourteen years of Tory rule has seen our public
services cut to the bone and thousands of households in Wales
pushed into poverty, yet Labour aren't offering any alternative
vision either. People across Caerfyrddin are paying more for less
services as a result.
“I am proud of my record for delivering for rural communities
across Carmarthenshire, with responsibility over Plaid Cymru-led
Carmarthenshire Council's Ten Towns initiative to support the
economic recovery and growth of rural towns, and in standing up
to big companies that wish to use our resources and countryside
for their own profit gains.
“This general election, Plaid Cymru is promising to be the voice
of rural Wales in Westminster. From offering alternative methods
to the destruction of our beautiful countryside – from large
industrial scale solar farms to pylons; demanding fair funding
for Wales to secure greater investment in local high streets and
money to improve access to NHS services in rural communities; and
plans to safeguard banking services in towns across rural Wales
by demanding the necessary powers to Wales to develop a community
bank. I will fight for Caerfyrddin in Westminster and demand
fairness for rural Wales.”
