WELSH nationalist leader Rhun ap Iorwerth set out his vision today for an independent Wales that is healthier, greener and more prosperous.

The Plaid Cymru leader was speaking at the party conference in Aberystwyth and said: “We are all writing the story of Wales.”

He hit out at the years of “Welsh Labour managerialism, of self-imposed limits on what Wales can be and of Labour as a party still too wedded to Westminster, even in the dark days of this Conservative government’s cronyism and cruelty.”

He told his party that devolution was the right vessel for change in Wales and said it was part of the journey towards independence. 

Mr ap Iorwerth said: “It is not enough to criticise — to just dissect a record. There is no hope without a vision. So I want to set out mine.”

The Plaid leader tried to answer the charge levelled against his party that it is only for Welsh speakers. 

He said: “I want to make it as clear as I can. We are for everyone equally.

“Plaid Cymru speaks your language whatever that language is.”

Mr ap Iorwerth said he wanted children to have the basic human right of equal opportunity and pledged to eradicate child poverty and made it a central goal.

“I want us to innovate as a green nation and create thousands of jobs in the process,” he said.

Mr ap Iorwerth criticised Welsh Labour’s record on health and pledged to make Wales a healthier nation.

He said: “Bevan’s dream is floundering on Labour’s watch, but I can announce that we are commissioning an expert policy development programme to examine the delivery of healthcare in Wales.”

Mr ap Iorwerth also spoke about deindustrialisation leaving Wales with low wages and a shortage of high-skilled, well-paid jobs. 

He also mocked First Minister Mark Drakeford’s well-known slogan of “clear red water,” saying Wales needed “clear green water.

“When people ask us why we believe in independence, it’s because we know we can do better than this.

“By reforming the structures and systems that sustain us, that educate our children, and care for our parents, we can begin building the strongest foundations possible for an independent Wales.”