MUCH of the argument around the General Election seems to be boiling down to whether you want to continue with austerity or not. Austerity over the last few years has had serious impact on health, jobs and education. Yet this is only the start.

Both the two old parties have pledged to slash a further £30 billion from budgets. Wales will face a billion pound reduction in allocations to the Welsh Assembly.

Yet only last week Mr Cameron and Mr Milliband were saying all is alright and they will look after us.

However, as was clearly shown during the TV debates, there are realistic alternatives to the failed policy of slashing public spending on vital services. Leanne Wood committed Plaid to end all Conservative cuts and urged Labour to do the same. How can Milliband condemn Cameron if he’s planning to do the same? It’s not honest.

We know that Plaid Cymru MPs would not support a minority Labour government which at its heart represents the worst excesses of austerity. If there is no overall winner on May 7 to obtain the support of Plaid then Labour must ditch their commitment to Tory cuts. They should work with progressive parties to end Tory rule.

There should be an end to austerity and instead balance the books through job creation and infrastructure investment. If the economy grows that means more people paying tax. Wales should have parity with Scotland on funding, which would amount to an extra £1.2bn a year to the Welsh budget.

The Party of Wales has said that this would be necessary in order to secure the support of progressive parties and deliver the best possible deal for Wales and the rest of the UK.

N Hodges

Barry