As Wales gets set to go to the polls next month, parties from across the political spectrum have launched their campaigns and outlined promises to secure your vote.

With election day drawing nearer and candidates beginning to hit the campaign trail, the Cambrian News brings you the pledges and promises outlined in their manifestos by parties standing in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Powys and Gwynedd.

Plaid Cymru – on track for an historic first place in May according to the latest polling – said this election “will be the most important since the dawn of evolution.”

Plaid’s manifesto pledges “a costed and targeted plan to cut waiting lists, as a first and necessary step to transforming our health and care services” and will create a new Minister for Public Health.

It would also hire up to 100 extra GPs, increase hospital bed numbers and launch a new Cancer Plan for Wales.

The party said it will introduce a universal new childcare offer for children from the age of nine months to four years – all entitled to 20 hours of free childcare every week, for 48 weeks a year.

Plaid also set out plans for a Welsh Child Payment, with a pilot of a £10 weekly payment to up to 15,000 children in low-income households.

The party also outlined plans to reform business rates and work to make council tax “fairer”.

Plaid said that it would make securing the devolution of the Crown Estate a “key priority, opening negotiations with the UK Government from day one”, as well as fighting to devolve policing and justice to Wales.

The party would also set a target of at least 50 per cent of pupils in Welsh-medium education by 2050.

A Plaid Cymru government would “lay the foundations for a future White Paper on Welsh independence”, saying the country is “on a journey to independence.”

The party would “formally request that the right to decide on the timeline, question and process for an independence referendum be devolved.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: “Wales is a nation with enormous, untapped potential.

“What we have lacked is a government with the ambition and the plan to realise it.

“Our manifesto sets out a new direction for Wales – one rooted in fairness but driven by ambition. It is about building a country where public services work, where families are supported, and where everyone has the chance to build a good life.

“We will take action where it is needed most – cutting NHS waiting times, supporting parents with the cost of childcare, raising standards in our schools, and growing a stronger Welsh economy that works for our communities.”

Reform UK – performing strongly in latest polling which suggests the party could be looking at winning around 30 of the 96 available seats – said it “believes Wales needs a new direction”.

Key pledges in the Reform manifesto include cutting 1p off every pound on all bands of Welsh income tax and scrapping Net Zero plans to “end wasteful subsidies.”

It also includes plans to not introduce any new Welsh-controlled tax or levy, and offer a referendum any time a council wants to increase council tax by more than 4.99 per cent.

The party said it would scrap 20mph blanket limits, saying the plan had done “untold damage” to the Welsh economy.

Reform UK pledges to end the ‘Nation of Sanctuary’ policy, stop the use of migrant hotels, scrap international aid, and prioritise Welsh men and women for social housing.

The party’s manifesto promised to build more houses and “launch a modern industrial strategy, creating jobs and unlocking investment.”

The party pledged to will build the M4 relief road, upgrade the A55 North Wales expressway, and fast track A470 upgrades.

Reform also said it will reform the Sustainable Farming Scheme to let farmers farm, protect the rural way of life, and put Welsh farmers and our rural communities at the heart of our decision-making.”

The party said it will keep the NHS free at the point of use “whilst making the changes necessary to fix the current broken system.”

Reform UK Welsh leader Dan Thomas said: “Reform UK believes Wales needs a new direction, rooted in common sense and respect for the people who keep this country running.

“We will raise standards in schools, put patients back at the centre of the NHS, and lower the cost of living by rewarding work and tackling waste.

“And we will use the powers Wales already has, including cutting the Welsh rate of income tax, to put money back into people’s pockets.”

Welsh Labour, which latest polling suggests is likely to relinquish power in Wales for the first time in its history, said its manifesto “sets out a bold and hopeful plan for a new chapter in Wales.”

“After years of challenges—from the pandemic to the cost-of-living crisis—this manifesto focuses on rebuilding trust, supporting families, and delivering real change,” the party said.

The manifesto pledges a new Industrial Strategy for Wales, and the creation of a National Jobs Council.

The party also pledges a £500m investment in the Local Growth Fund to boost productivity and reduce inequality.

Welsh Labour’s manifesto said the party will invest £4 billion to build state-of-the-art new hospitals, alongside a long-term workforce plan to recruit, train and retain NHS staff.

The party pledged to launch a national, targeted lung cancer screening programme in 2027.

The manifesto promises to make dentistry and optometry services free for care leavers up to the age of 25, and expand Baby Bundles to more people, including all families on Universal Credit.

The party promise to extend free school meals in secondary schools at least to all households receiving Universal Credit, and implement new national guidance on pupil behaviour.

The manifesto also pledges to “connect at least 10,000 more households to high-speed broadband, especially in rural Wales” and support the nuclear development at Wylfa, north Wales.

Labour also promise to introduce a £2 cap on adult bus fares and roll out more than 100 new bus routes.

The party also pledges to end homeless by 2034, and deliver 100,000 new homes within the next 10 years.

Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan said: “This manifesto sets out a serious plan.

“It builds on everything Wales has achieved through devolution and looks ahead to the next chapter.”

Latest polling has the Green Party surging in Wales, almost level with Labour, with the party on course to gain multiple seats in the Senedd for the first time.

Its manifesto pledges to scrap council tax, calling it “unfair and one of the biggest bills for most households.”

The party would replace it with a land value tax.

The Green manifesto also pledges to freeze rents, build 60,000 social homes, and end no-fault evictions.

The party said it will “put an immediate end to corridor care by declaring any incidents of this as an emergency, which should never happen.”

It also pledged to “immediately address the mental health pandemic in Wales” and “make bold, long-term reforms” of the NHS in Wales.

The manifesto promises to bring in £1 bus fares and free travel for under-22s, and backed universal childcare from nine months old.

The Greens have also pledged support for the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth railway.

Anthony Slaughter, Leader of Wales Green Party, said: “Electing Greens to the Senedd is the first step to making hope normal again.

“Lowering bills, protecting the NHS, making housing affordable and always defending human rights, at home and abroad.

“One thing is clear: we’ll be getting a new government on 8 May.

“Greens in the Senedd will make sure that new government doesn’t backslide on cutting your bills, fixing the housing crisis, and taking our responsibility to the climate seriously.”

The Welsh Conservatives – which latest polling suggests could be reduced to just one seat across Wales - have pledged to reverse the expansion the Senedd, and have said the party will put a cap on council tax increases.

Manifesto pledges also include a 1p cut in the basic rate of income tax to save the average working family £450 per year as well as scrapping Welsh Stamp Duty on main homes and restoring the Right to Buy to boost home ownership.

The party said it would re-establish a Welsh Development Agency, back nuclear power to support UK energy security, and implement a moratorium on large scale wind and solar farms

The manifesto also pledges to piloting an effective five per cent rate of VAT on tourism accommodation businesses.

The Welsh Conservatives would introduce a £1,000 tuition fee discount for students studying STEM subjects, and would refund university tuition fees for nursing, medicine, teaching and dentistry students who study in Wales and go on to work for at least five years in the Welsh NHS or Welsh schools

The manifesto also outlines an ambitious target to deliver 125,000 apprenticeships over the next Senedd term, and would boost the farming budget by £100m.

The party said it would pledge no more powers for the Senedd, and no more spending on non-devolved matters, while reversing the increase in the number of Members of the Senedd.

Welsh Conservative Leader Darren Millar MS said: “It's a positive plan to unleash economic growth, create jobs, promote home ownership, cut taxes and waste, put more money into the pockets of hardworking people across the country, and fix our public services.

"People in Wales are crying out for positive change, this is our credible and costed plan to deliver just that.

"Our message to the people of Wales is this: no matter where you live, or what your circumstances are, you'll be better off under a Welsh Conservative Government."

The Welsh Liberal Democrats - who could struggle to secure a seat in the new-look Senedd under latest polling numbers - has pledged to “not spend a single penny of Welsh Government money on the independence agenda” but that Wales should get a “much fairer deal and stronger voice for Wales within the UK.”

The party’s manifesto wants to give the power to the Senedd to make St David’s Day a Bank Holiday and supports the devolution of the Crown Estate and policing.

The Lib Dems have pledged to end corridor care by investing in up to 5,000 new or refurbished nursing-care placements and train more GPs and Allied Health Professionals in Wales to end shortages.

They also promise a new cancer plan, and guarantee access to an NHS dentist.

The party would also create a £400m town centres fund, and permanently extend business rate relief on the retail and hospitality sectors.

The party’s manifesto also promises to “guarantee free, high-quality childcare for every child from nine months to four years old” and increase school and college funding per pupil above inflation every year.

The Lib Dems would also invest £50m a year to support farming in Wales, extend the existing £1 bus fare scheme, and introduce hourly train timetables on the Cambrian Line.

Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Jane Dodds said: “The stakes could not be higher for Wales.

“After decades of failure from both Labour and the Conservative Party, people are clearly ready for change.

“Every vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats in May’s Senedd elections is a vote to protect our NHS, stop independence and help Wales thrive.”

Smaller parties have also announced they will be standing in the Ceredigion Penfro or Gwynedd Maldwyn seats and have also released manifestos ahead of the Senedd Election.

Gwlad, a Wales independence party, has said that the Welsh economy is its “priority” in order to achieve independence, and sets out its plans to “start rebuilding the Welsh economy while safeguarding our integrity as a nation.”

The Heritage Party has pledged to “return the principles of social conservatism and to reverse the cultural destruction wreaked by politically correct ideologies.”

The election will be held on 7 May, and the Cambrian News will keep you up to date on the campaign trail, through polling day and vote counts as the new-look Senedd is elected.