WELSH nationalists welcomed party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth’s conference speech today, but trade unions gave it a more lukewarm welcome.

Plaid Cymru’s leader made several policy pledges and promised to work with business to rebuild Wales, but pointedly failed to mention trade unions as partners, despite more than 31 per cent of the Welsh workforce being unionised.

One leading union official said: “There was much to recommend in Rhun’s speech, but if Plaid wish to change Wales for the better they will need to accept trade unions as committed social partners.”

Mr ap Iorwerth’s policy pledges included the creation of 10 surgical hubs – dedicated centres for operations dealing with some of the longest waiting lists.

“We’ll shift the focus from merely treating illness to tackling its root causes,” he said and promised to appoint a minister in government with direct responsibility to oversee the shift to “leading on the preventative agenda, not just within health and care policy but right across government. From housing to education, culture, anti-poverty measures across the board.”

Plaid’s leader also said his government would introduce a new offer on childcare, building to 20 hours for every child from the age of nine months to four years, with 30 hours for children aged three and four where their parents are in work, education or training.

Mr ap Iorwerth nodded towards the radical 1940s when he said a Plaid government would make an offer to the Welsh people that would cover them from the cradle to the grave.

The nationalist leader told his party that the greatest challenge to a Plaid government would come from Reform UK.

In the best joke of his speech, he asked: “What of Farage’s man in Wales? An ex-Tory leader of a London council.

“When we asked for a Barnet consequential, this really isn’t what we had in mind.”

He spoke of the dangers of Reform and hard-right politicians’ access to funding from Elon Musk and others.

“They have deep pockets to spread propaganda and evangelise the deep fakes of Musk’s putrid platforms and they have the right-wing media in the palm of their hands.

“We offer hope – hope that can overcome people’s fears of other political forces leading Wales down a dark path.”