WELSH Greens said tackling the cost-of-living crisis was a “top priority” at the launch of its Senedd manifesto in Port Talbot today.

Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter said the manifesto contained a raft of measures to help people with the cost of living and bring hope back to the people of Wales.

“The people of Wales have been shafted by a succession of Westminster governments and Labour rule in Wales.

“That’s why we have prioritised actions to help people with the cost-of-living crisis. 

“Our vision is a Wales where everyone can live in dignity, is respected, and has a decent standard of living and wellbeing. 

“It’s a place where people can thrive, supported by a landscape that is not just protected but is being brought back to life.”

Among the measures was a commitment to a rent freeze, followed by rent controls, as well as universal childcare for children aged nine months to four years.

The party also pledged to extend universal free school meals to secondary schools, invest in clean, home-grown energy to keep bills down and protect people from global energy shocks.

The Greens said they would tackle homelessness by banning no-fault evictions, invest in prevention and ensure refuge accommodation for survivors of domestic abuse.

Mr Slaughter said the Welsh Greens would also push for genuine public ownership of Dwr Cymru/Welsh Water to bring down bills, and “make our beaches safe for our children, and bring our rivers back to life.”

Recent opinion polls suggest that Wales Green Party may take 10 seats under a new voting system of proportional representation.

Mr Slaughter said his party would not support Reform UK or the Welsh Conservatives, but would co-operate with Plaid Cymru if it formed the next Welsh government.

Mr Slaughter declined to say which of the party’s policies would be a red line in cooperation talks, but said that housing was a top priority.

GMB Wales said the Welsh Greens’ opposition to all nuclear power undermined their net zero credentials.

“There is no path to net zero without new nuclear,” GMB Wales’s Tom Hoyles said.

In a rebuke to the number of times Green Party leader Zack Polanski has campaigned in Wales, a Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “We are the only party not taking orders from headquarters in England.”

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “The Green Party will spend the next four years feeding Plaid Cymru’s obsession with independence, at the expense of jobs, public services, and the people of Wales.”