Plaid Cymru: With MPs Like These – Who Needs Enemies?

Last Updated on Tuesday, 27 April 2010 23:11 Tuesday, 27 April 2010 23:11

Plaid Cymru has today (Tuesday) launched a scathing attack on the hypocrisy of several Welsh MPs track-records in parliament.

Plaid Cymru has discovered that many Welsh Labour MPs have misled their constituents over important local issues, from post office closures to bingo taxation, by saying one thing to their constituents and voting the opposite way in Westminster.

Today, Plaid’s Myfanwy Davies visited the site of a post office in Swiss Valley which was closed by the UK government despite widespread opposition locally and warnings from Plaid over the importance of maintaining local Post Offices to communities. Several Welsh Labour MPs voted to close post offices across Wales often despite pledging to the reverse.

Plaid’s Elfyn Llwyd said:

“Now more than ever is Wales crying out for more local champions, for more independently minded MPs. What we have here is a shocking two faced attitude where an elected representative has been promising one thing to the electorate then doing quite another in Westminster.

“MPs are elected to listen to their constituents and represent their needs in Westminster. How then is it acceptable for the last MPs for Llanelli and Ynys Mon, Labour’s Nia Griffiths and Albert Owen for example, to claim to oppose the closure of post offices, yet their voting records prove otherwise?

“These voting records are clear proof that they are misleading the public.

“And it doesn’t end there either. Even where there were some Labour rebels, these two kept toeing the whips line - voting against the amendment to the 10p tax band which called for the poorest in society to be compensated before the introduction of the tax that would have hit them especially hard, voting against holding an open and independent Iraq Inquiry and against the rights of Gurkhas to settle in the UK.

“Neither Mr Owen nor Ms Griffiths were numbered with the rebels either over the desperately unfair bingo tax vote in last summer’s Finance Bill. Ms Griffiths even had the audacity to write a letter to the local bingo communities promising that she would “do everything I can to oppose this” too.”

Plaid’s Elfyn Llwyd added:

“Welsh Labour MPs are among some of the most loyal to the party whips and all to the detriment of the communities they represent. With MPs like these – who needs enemies?

“With the reality of a hung parliament looming, this election has now become centred on one key question: who will you really trust?”