Plaid could do deal with Tories

Plaid Cymru is willing to talk to the Tories in a hung parliament, Welsh nationalist MP Adam Price said.

Despite its coalition with Labour in the Welsh assembly, there was "no veto" on Plaid negotiating with the Conservatives after the next general election.

Price, one of Plaid's three MPs and its elections director, said his party would talk to all sides "on an equal basis".

The Carmarthen East and Dinefwr MP took a leading role in last summer's assembly coalition talks and in brokering the One Wales deal with Labour.

At one stage in the aftermath of last May's devolved elections, Plaid was poised to oust Labour in an alliance with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Price told the GMTV Sunday Programme: "Clearly it'll be easier for us to talk to other parties of the centre-left in British politics, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, but there's no veto.

"There's no veto as far as talking to the Conservatives, as we did in the assembly.

"We have to put the interests of the people of Wales first and whichever political party can come up with the best programme for Wales, across the whole range of government policies, then that's the basis that we will be approaching any post-election discussions.

"And the clear message for the people of Wales and Scotland actually is that we need the strongest possible representation ever in their history for Wales and Scotland."

He added: "We will talk to all parties on an equal basis."

On a campaign visit in south Wales, Tory leader David Cameron said: "We believe that we can win the next election outright and that's what we will try and do.

"But I think politicians of all parties now recognise that the Conservative Party is now a mainstream party in the centre ground, standing up for people and I think that's a very important change that has taken place."