There will be a sizeable Plaid Cymru presence in Gwent later this month when our Spring Conference comes to the ICC in Newport. Taking place on February 27th and 28th, it will present an opportunity for party members to come together, renew acquaintances, discuss policy and forge a plan for the last couple of months of campaigning ahead of the Senedd elections.

You can also expect to see a number of Plaid Cymru’s Senedd policies unveiled at conference ahead of the official manifesto launch. I have had sight of a draft copy of the manifesto and I am confident that, if we are given the chance to implement it in government, it will be transformative for communities all over Wales.

Speaking to people on the door, it does feel like people are ready for change in Wales and that is reflected in poll after poll that shows Labour will be nowhere near to winning for the first time in the history of devolution. Everyone in Plaid Cymru will be working flat out between now and the Senedd elections to ensure that the change that is predicted by all will be a positive one and not one marked by division and hate.

Some of our political opponents have accused Plaid Cymru of being too close to Labour. Plaid Cymru Leader’s Rhun ap Iorwerth made it abundantly clear at our last conference that is not the case when he said: “We are not here to repair Labour. We are here to replace them.” The same political opponents accuse us of bailing out Labour when we agreed not to vote against the recent Welsh Government budget in return for significant concessions for the NHS and Local Government. Our motivations in striking a deal with the budget were solely concerned with protecting our communities and the people that live in them. Thanks to Plaid Cymru’s intervention, councils across Wales are now receiving a 4.5 per cent average uplift, with no authority getting less than 4.1 per cent. That has provided stability, protected services and taken 10%+ council tax rises off the table.

Had we not won those concessions in our negotiations, then it would have been extremely bleak for local government. Councils would have been left teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, with no choice but to implement mass job losses and/or impose double-digit council tax rises.

When faced with such a scenario, Plaid Cymru could not just sit back and watch that happen.