Welsh election not about independence, Plaid Cymru candidate says
Getty ImagesThe upcoming Senedd election is "not about independence", a Plaid Cymru candidate has said.
Heledd Fychan denied claims by rival parties that Plaid would focus on Wales leaving the United Kingdom if it led the next Welsh government following May's election.
The Welsh Conservatives' Samuel Kurtz claimed Plaid would spend "hard-earned taxpayers' money focusing on independence" within their first 100 days in office, while the Welsh Liberal Democrats said it wouldn't work with any party who spends a penny on working towards a UK exit.
Reform UK said Plaid would make Wales poorer by "tearing us out of the United Kingdom." The Welsh Greens and Welsh Labour have been asked to comment.
Welsh Tory Kurtz told BBC Politics Wales on Sunday that Plaid "would spend hard-earned taxpayers' money focusing on independence" within the first 100 days of a Plaid government, "which would make Wales poorer and the people of Wales poorer".
But Plaid's Fychan denied that her party was putting independence on the table to voters for the 7 May election.
Fychan said: "We've said for over a year that there would not be a referendum during the first term of a Plaid Cymru government. That is completely clear.
"But also our commitment there is about ensuring that... we need to see the devolution of justice and policing, the devolution of the Crown Estate, the devolution of rail infrastructure."
She added: "This isn't an election about independence because referendum on independence will not be in this first term.
"What people want to see is government that uses the powers we have to the most impactful way."
Fychan, Kurtz and Welsh Liberal Democrat's Rodney Berman appeared on Politics Wales on Sunday. Candidates from Welsh Labour, Reform UK, and Wales Green Party will appear on the programme on 19 April.
No party is expected to win a majority of seats in the Senedd after the election, which means there could be negotiations between parties to strike a deal to govern.
The Lib Dems have previously said that when it came to any post-election negotiations on coalitions or co-operation, their red line would be "not a penny spent on independence".
Berman, a Lib Dem candidate, told the programme while his party would like to see some further devolution to Wales, including the devolution of the Crown Estate, it does not want to "spend more money on looking at going towards the independence road".
Responding to Fychan's comments, Berman said: "We will work with other parties where it's sensible what we don't think at this moment is that we should be wasting vital funds when our public services are absolutely starved of cash."
He said: "We do need to concentrate first on getting a fairer settlement for Wales within the UK but we think in the longer term Wales is better off in the UK."
Plaid leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, told BBC Wales after his party's manifesto launch that a national commission which would work on an independence White Paper would cost about £500,000.
A White Paper is an in-depth piece of research or report, sometimes undertaken by governments, into a complex issue.
A Reform spokesperson said Plaid's manifesto showed it wanted to work towards an independence referendum.
"We are clear that the next Welsh government should be focused on delivering better public services, not making the people of Wales poorer by tearing us out of the United Kingdom," they said.
