Welsh Liberal Democrats will let frustrated Welsh voters do the talking when Euro polls open. (Kirsty Williams AM )

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Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

Welsh Liberal Democrats will let frustrated Welsh voters do the talking when Euro polls open.

June 3, 2009 12:00 AM

The Welsh Liberal Democrats move into the final full day of campaigning for the European elections, confident they have built up a groundswell of support that will translate to Thursday's European vote and into future Assembly and General elections.

Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said:

"The fresh energy and belief that exists within the Welsh Liberal Democrats has translated into an unprecedented European campaign. The expenses scandals have clearly made life difficult on the doorstep for Labour, Plaid and the Conservatives. We've got out and listened to Welsh voters and many are understandably angry and appalled: voters are telling me they want to see real value for their vote. As a result people have responded positively to our highly professional candidate, our track record on reform and our positive but pragmatic vision of a Wales that is stronger working together with Europe and poorer apart. We're unique in being able to offer Welsh voters real clout in Brussels and Strasbourg, as we're part of a strong Europe-wide Liberal group. We believe we have every chance of representing Wales in Europe - but I'll let Welsh voters do the talking and hope Wales seizes the moment on Thursday, and takes back power from the tired old politics our rivals serve up."

Lead candidate, Alan Butt Philip, campaigning in Swansea today, said that voters could see that Labour and Plaid had failed to make the most of Wales' role in Europe.

"Labour and Plaid have squandered years of significant European funding, all too often siphoning off European funding into domestic pet projects, instead of investing in transport and IT infrastructure, research and innovation. As the recession hits, we're seeing the short-termism of this approach: Public transport in Wales is shamefully under developed, many communities can still not access any, let alone high-speed broadband and world renowned firms such as Bangor's DeepStream have gone bust because they're not being offered any of the £150 million investment fund Rhodri Morgan is presumably saving for a monsoon. We've seen Labour and Plaid sending £77 million back to Brussels because they couldn't work out how to spend it, while Germany ploughs investment into green energy that is already powering more homes than we have in Wales. The Welsh Liberal Democrats know that to tackle recession, climate change and crime we must work together with Europe. The vast majority of people I speak to understand this and desperately want to see MEPs who make Europe work better for Wales."