SNP and Plaid Cymru seek to give voters a ‘positive alternative’ to Westminster

Scotland’s First Minister has vowed to work with Welsh nationalists to show their respective countries there is a “positive alternative to Westminster’s despair and decline”.

John Swinney will hold talks with Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth in Edinburgh on Thursday, with both men keen to work together to develop a “progressive alliance” between their two nations.

The Plaid Cymru leader – whose party scored a dramatic win in last week’s Senedd by-election in Caerphilly – meanwhile said they had a “genuine opportunity to show the power of progressive politics”.

The meeting will also focus on efforts to tackle child poverty, with Plaid Cymru having already pledged it will pilot a version of the Scottish Child Payment if it forms the government in Wales after elections there next year.

Speaking before Thursday’s meeting, SNP leader Mr Swinney made clear his view that the “Westminster status quo is not working”.

The Scottish First Minister said: “Bills are going up, people are struggling and the UK Labour Government’s answer is racing further and further to the right to keep up with Nigel Farage.”He insisted: “That is not a status quo I am willing to accept – and I will be delighted to work with my friends in Plaid Cymru to show the people of Scotland and Wales that there is a positive alternative to Westminster’s despair and decline.”

Mr Swinney said both the SNP and Welsh nationalists in Plaid Cymru shared a vision of “a society in which we support people with the cost of living rather than leaving them to languish while the rich get richer”.

With the two parties working together he said: “We can make clear that a better future is possible – and that comes with the fresh start of independence.”

Meanwhile, the Plaid Cymru leader said he was looking forward to meeting Mr Swinney to “discuss our shared vision for the future of our nations”.

He added: “A Plaid Cymru government would be eager to adopt best practice from around the world when it comes to adopting policies to improve people’s day-to-day lives and where better to start than with one of our closest allies in Scotland.

“The Scottish Child Payment is a radical and exciting policy which we are committed to introducing as a Welsh pilot should Plaid Cymru form the next government in May.

“Thanks to measures like this, Scotland is the only part of the UK where child poverty rates are set to drop in the coming years. I want that to be the case in Wales too.”

He continued: “We have a genuine opportunity to show the power of progressive politics through close and continued co-operation between Scotland and Wales.

“With an SNP Government in Scotland and a Plaid Cymru Government in Wales next May, our nations will have the strongest voices possible that Westminster can simply no longer ignore.”