Labour faced stinging claims yesterday that shadow chancellor Ed Balls’s commitment to cuts makes the Conservatives the party’s most natural coalition partner.
Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards accused Labour of planning to spend less than Thatcher in government, leaving Britain’s biggest parties hard to tell apart.
But Labour insisted voting for smaller parties like Plaid at May’s general election would make five more years of Tory rule more likely.
Wales reporter DAVID NICHOLSON looks at the political scene as budget rows take centre-stage and Welsh Labour gains a new leader
LUKE FLETCHER outlines Plaid Cymru bold plans for wide-ranging policy consultations with trade unions in Wales
In the first of a series of interviews with leaders of progressive parties in Wales ahead of the May 7 Senedd election DAVID NICHOLSON talks to Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth



