Reform challenges other parties to cost their policies in heated Welsh election debate
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Mark Palmer
,
Assistant editor, Wales politics
and
Adrian Browne
,
Wales political reporter
BBC
The ninety minute debate involved the leaders of the six largest parties
Reform has challenged all the main parties to publish the full costs of their promises to voters ahead of next week's Senedd election.
None of the six larger parties have released full details, with independent analysts criticising the lack of transparency on how manifesto pledges would be funded.
On
BBC Wales' Your Voice Live: The Leaders' Debate
Reform's Dan Thomas said he would publish his party's plans if the others followed suit.
Labour's Eluned Morgan and Darren Millar said they were prepared to, while Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth said his party had published "many of the costings".
Green Anthony Slaughter said his party had revealed some costings while Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds said she would not as her plans were about "ambition".
Voters in Wales go to the polls on Thursday 7 May to elect 96 Senedd members from 16 constituencies.
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the in-coming Welsh government will face a severe financial squeeze, with day-to-day funding and investment growth slowing significantly.
The experts warn that many of the manifesto pledges by the parties will be likely to require tax rises or cuts to public services.
In the sometimes bad tempered live BBC1 TV debate, the calls for the leaders to fully publish their spending plans were greeted with a round of applause by the studio audience.
The leader of Reform UK in Wales, Dan Thomas, said he would publish his plans if the others would follow suit: "I challenge every leader on this panel to publish your costings.
"Ours are ready to go so we can have a full transparent election."
Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar said he was "quite happy" to answer questions on costings.
"And I'll tell you what, if everybody else publishes theirs I'll be very happy to publish ours."
The Welsh Labour leader and first minister said: "You know, I think it's all very transparent [Labour's pledges]. I'm happy to show you what we've got and listen to what we've go."
Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said: "We have published many of the costings, because it's really important that people can see how we put together a programme for government."
Wales Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter said some of his plans had been costed.
"So that's things like a rent freeze leading to rent controls," he said. "That's things like free bus travels for under 22s, £1 for everyone else."
Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds said she would not publish her spending plans.
"I am being as honest as I can and it's a no, because our manifesto is about ambition and aspiration," she said.
"We want to influence government, I'm not going to be first minister on the eighth of May."
'Wales is crying out for change'
In his closing statement in the programme, Ap Iorwerth said that Wales "can't risk handing power to Nigel Farage.
"One party must be larger than Reform - that can only be Plaid Cymru."
Millar said "Plaid does not represent change" after keeping "Labour in power for decades".
The Welsh Conservatives offered "real change" and "positive change", he argued.
Dodds said she believed Wales is "better than the nasty politics that Reform UK want to import from Donald Trump's America".
"There are places up and down Wales where the Liberal Democrats are best place to stop at reform UK," she added.
Slaughter said "Wales is crying out for change" and that under the new voting system voting Green will get Greens.
"And every one of them will need one less Reform member, with their hatred and division," he said.
Thomas promised Reform would "unite Wales around our common sense policies and the principle of putting you, the people at home, first".
"Plaid Cymru will divide Cymru by pushing for independence, and we all know they will do a back room deal with Labour," he warned.
Morgan said "other parties want you to take a risk" but "Welsh Labour have a credible plan".
"Ask yourself, do Plaid Cymru's policies add up, is the NHS safe in reforms hands?"
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