Welsh Lib Dems vow to block independence after Senedd election. 18 hours ago. David DeansWales political reporter. The Liberal Democrats have promised to stop a future Welsh government from spending money on building the case for independence.. The party’s manifesto for the Senedd election said taxpayer money should be focused on delivering for Wales, not on pursuing separation from the UK.. The Lib Dems said they would consider raising income tax to pay for social care, promised 30 hours free childcare from nine months to four years old, and to ban the dumping of raw sewage.. Any party wishing to form the next government is likely to need support from others, with polls suggesting Plaid Cymru – who have promised a commission looking into independence – and Reform UK are currently vying for first place.. A closer look at the Welsh Liberal Democrat manifesto. Welsh Lib Dem leader apologises for missing crucial vote as she defends Senedd attendance record. Vote for Lib Dems a ‘bolt against division’, says leader Jane Dodds. On Tuesday Dodds told the manifesto launch in Cardiff: “We’re very, very clear that we wouldn’t support any government that spends money on independence.”. Both Plaid and the Greens support Welsh independence, although both have ruled out trying to hold a referendum in the next term of the Senedd, which ends in 2030.. Plaid has said it would hold a national commission, costing around £500,000, which would begin to lay the ground work for independence plans, although it is not expected they would be published before the term is finished.. A BBC/Savanta poll from 29 January to 6 February suggested that 32% of Welsh people would vote yes in an independence referendum, versus 52% against. A total of 16% were undecided in the survey of 2,086 people.. “Stop independence” is one of the Lib Dems’ top five priorities in the party’s manifesto.. Its pledges include devolving more powers to Wales, upgrading and replacing hospitals, banning water companies from dumping raw sewage, and free childcare from nine months to four years old for 30 hours a week, 48 weeks a year.. Dodds’ party thinks it can win as many as five seats – having won just a single seat in 2021’s election when Dodds was the only Lib Dem elected.. She has made a pitch for unionist voters who are disillusioned with the Labour party and do not want to support a pro-independence party.. Appearing to criticise both Plaid Cymru and Reform, Dodds said: “Nationalism thrives in the absence of hope. It feeds on frustration, it grows where people feel ignored.”. She added that nationalism “does not clear a waiting list, it does not train a nurse”.. “The real dividing line in this election is not left against right. It is between those who are serious about rebuilding hope and those who are content to profit on the frustration and anxieties of the people they seek to serve,” she said.. With her party previously saying it wouldn’t work with any other that spends a penny on working tow
