Plaid Cymru's Elfyn Llwyd argues that a vote for his party is a vote to make Welsh needs political priorities.

For prospective parliamentary candidates in Wales, there are three different campaigns to fight - the English campaign, which the London-based media focus on, the campaign in Wales, and the campaign at constituency and local level.

New Labour has been in government for eight years - there is a lot of impatience and a strong desire for something better, which inevitably benefits Plaid Cymru.

It is not, however, possible to win seats simply on the basis of dissatisfaction with one’s opponents. There has to also be a positive message, and we have a set of policies which are straightforward and easy to present.

On foreign policy, we are opposed to the alliance between Tony Blair and the US Republican Party. We particularly reject the US stance on the Middle East and on climate change, and their refusal to enter into serious negotiations to create a more just system for international trade.

On economic policy, we see a UK economy booming in many respects, but large parts of Britain, including most of Wales, left behind because of lack of government action to counteract the pressures of market forces.

We are particularly worried by Labour’s preparations to scrap Objective One status, guaranteeing European regional aid money, for West Wales and the Valleys. We are committed to maintaining the benefits Objective One brings.

The health service in Wales is a disgrace. We want to see a fairer funding formula based on need. There is no doubt that if that happened, the health needs of people in Wales would be reflected in much greater funding than is made available at present.

House prices in many parts of Wales have been rising fast, often making houses unobtainable for local people. We place the emphasis on affordable housing, and want to see local councils use their planning powers to increase its availability.

Council house sales should be suspended in areas of shortage of affordable housing. Currently the National Assembly for Wales lacks the power to enable local authorities to do that - an urgent example of the need to press ahead with a much faster process of devolution.

This article first appeared in The House Magazine.