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Year 2005 No. 57, April 27, 2005 ARCHIVE HOME JBBOOKS SUBSCRIBE

Scottish and Welsh Parties' Manifestos

Workers' Daily Internet Edition: Article Index :

Plaid Cymru Unveils its 2005 General Election Manifesto

SNP Publishes Manifesto

Scottish Socialist Party Contests General Election

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Plaid Cymru Unveils its 2005 General Election Manifesto

Plaid, The Party of Wales, on Monday, April 18, unveiled its manifesto with the title “A Stronger Economy – A Fairer Society”

            In a press release, Plaid Cymru lists the manifesto’s policies as including:

Cut waiting lists and waiting times by implementing a 12 Point Action Plan for health. The plan includes the establishment of new NHS Walk-in Centres and Diagnostic Treatment Centres to take pressure off hospital Accident and Emergency units.

            Provide a citizens' pension for all people of retirement age. Plaid Cymru's citizens' pension means a single pensioner would receive £106 per week and a pensioner couple would receive £161. We will link the annual increase in state retirement pension with the average rise in incomes. We will scrap the wasteful pensioner credit element which around a third of Welsh pensioners in Wales do not claim.

            Establish a real Parliament for Wales. We will introduce legislation to create a proper Parliament as recommended by the Richard Commission. We will seek an immediate and substantial increase in the representation of Wales within the European Union structures.

            Build safer communities in Wales by devolving the criminal justice service and police to the National Assembly for Wales, provide more drug rehabilitation places and programmes, provide better amenities for young people in their communities and provide greater support for victims and witnesses.

            Tackle climate change by encouraging the development of renewable energy sources including energy from the sun, tides, wind, water, and energy crops. This should include converting existing subsidies to more easily accessible support for the public to use renewables in their own homes, for example by installing mini roof wind turbines or solar panels. The National Assembly for Wales must have full responsibility for energy policy.

            Speaking ahead of the manifesto launch at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales, Plaid Cymru Policy Director, Simon Thomas said: "Plaid Cymru The Party of Wales has a vision for a better Wales. This manifesto is a programme which has at its core the need to support and strengthen public services, and to remove injustice and inequality so evident in our society.

            "Plaid Cymru believes a better Wales means shorter NHS waiting lists and waiting times, it means providing a decent standard of living for everybody, it means ensuring people feel safe in their communities, and it means tackling the growing threat of climate change to ensure the generations to come have a clean and sustainable planet to live in.

            "A strong Parliament for Wales, as recommended by the Richard Commission will lead to a better Wales for everybody. We ask the people of Wales to have faith in a party which has a vision for Wales, a vision for a fair society, a sustainable environment, a strong economy and a world of peaceful co-existence."

            To download a copy of the Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales manifesto, click on the link below:

ManifestoPlaidCymru2005

Article Index



SNP Publishes Manifesto

The Scottish National Party has published a “people's manifesto to Make Scotland Matter”. The SNP reporting on the manifesto say that its policy focuses on measures to improve the lives of people in Scotland as well as campaigning priorities for the next Parliament.

            It says that the SNP will be delivering for the people of Scotland, with measures to:

 

create new opportunities for young Scots

 

provide more support for young families

 

boost incomes for pensioners

 

generate higher wealth with a focus on economic growth

 

            The SNP will also commit to a nuclear free future for Scotland and to save the Scottish regiments. Speaking in advance of the launch, SNP Leader Alex Salmond said:

            "This is a People's manifesto for a free Scotland. It is made in Scotland for Scotland.

            "It is a manifesto to make Scotland matter in this election, a manifesto focused on a better future for the people of Scotland.

            "We want to boost Scotland's national wealth, so we can invest in more opportunities for young Scots, deliver more help for Scottish families and boost the incomes of our pensioners.

            "Scotland doesn't want a forced choice between Michael Howard, a Tory who introduced the poll tax, or Tony Blair, a Tory who took us into an illegal war. People want a Scottish option - a party that will make Scotland matter in May, a party with the vision to create a new Scotland.

            Speaking in Edinburgh, SNP Depute Leader, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, said:

            "This election is about more than the no choice option of Michael Howard or Tony Blair – it is about the real choice for Scotland, getting our nation back on track, putting Scotland in control.

            "We have a vision for a health service that remains local and treats people more quickly and effectively. We want the best start for children in Scotland with more free nursery education and smaller class sizes for P1 to P3.

            "Together with Scotland, at this election, we can win a better deal for our pensioners, and secure Scottish control over Scotland's oil so we can invest a share of our vast natural wealth in a fund for future generations. At this election, SNP success can save our regiments and stop Scotland from becoming the world's nuclear dustbin.

            "This election matters for Scotland, and the SNP is committed to make Scotland matter in May. SNP MPs are the hardest working at Westminster, taking every opportunity to stand up for their constituents and for Scotland. It is no wonder the SNP is the most trusted political party and Alex Salmond the most trusted political leader.

            "When the SNP wins London listens. This manifesto is a platform for future Scottish success."

 

To find out more, download the document(s) below:

            2005 Manifesto Magazine (PDF Document, 1.39 Mb)

            2005 Manifesto Core (PDF Document, 175.28 Kb)

 

Article Index



Scottish Socialist Party Contests General Election

The SSP is contesting 58 out of 59 seats in Scotland with a detailed, radical, 20,000 word manifesto that includes calls for an independent Scottish republic, re-nationalisation of the rail industry and an £8 an hour minimum wage.

            The Scottish Socialist Party has agreed not to contest the East Kilbride constituency in the Westminster election. Instead the SSP will be backing anti-war campaigner, Rose Gentle, in the seat of Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram. Rose is the mother of Gordon Gentle, the soldier from Pollok, Glasgow, who was killed in Iraq.

East Kilbride will be the only constituency in Scotland that the SSP will not contest. In line with the party constitution, party members at branch, regional and Executive Committee levels all agreed that the party should stand down.

            Cathy Pederson, who had been selected as the SSP candidate in East Kilbride said: “The party locally and nationally has tremendous admiration for the principles and courage of Rose Gentle in her campaign to bring the troops home from Iraq. We will be enthusiastically campaigning to hold Adam Ingram to account for the lies, death and destruction resulting from the Iraq war.”

            Carolyn Leckie MSP, member of the local East Kilbride SSP branch said: "I would normally be against the party standing down for independent candidates. Cathy Pederson would have been a great candidate and I'm sorry she's no longer standing. Rose Gentle lost her son in the carnage in Iraq and she is standing on an anti war, troops out platform. Rose Gentle not only deserves the support of the SSP but of all parties that claim to be anti-war. The Greens, Lib-Dems and the SNP should also stand down their candidates. This is a tremendous opportunity to strike a blow at the heart of Tony Blair’s war cabinet."

            Colin Fox, SSP convener said: "We are proud to back Rose Gentle in East Kilbride. Nor will we let Labour run a ‘Basil Fawlty’ campaign in the other Scottish seats. Every time they try not to mention the war, we will shout out, ‘You lied to get us in to this illegal, unjust war’ and we will demand ‘Bring the troops home!’.

             “While not expecting to win a Westminster seat, the SSP will be appealing to the same radical voters who delivered 6 SSP representatives to the Scottish Parliament in 2003 to keep up the pressure on the mainstream political parties who are moving rapidly rightwards.”

SSP Election Manifesto

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