Dr Hade Turkmen, acting head of Oxfam Cymru, looks at what the Welsh Government should prioritise following their 100 Days Plan.
Plaid Cymru’s First 100 Days Plan was more than an election pledge. As the first Plaid-led Welsh Government, its opening months were always likely to focus on establishing priorities, relationships and delivery mechanisms, rather than headline announcements.
Critics have described this as a ‘plan to make a plan’. Yet the real measure of success is not how many strategies are launched, but whether they lead to meaningful improvements in people’s lives.
For communities facing poverty, rising living costs and stretched public services, the next phase must be about delivery. The crucial question for both Government and Senedd is simple: are decisions helping to reduce poverty and inequality, protect people and planet, and build a fairer, greener and more caring Cymru?
Syniadau uchelgeisiol, awdurdodol a mentrus.
Ymunwch â ni i gyfrannu at wneud Cymru gwell.
Child poverty and childcare: the first real test
Child poverty and childcare were central to Plaid Cymru’s election campaign and should now become defining tests of its government.
There have been welcome early steps. Additional funding has been allocated to expand childcare provision, expert groups have been established to shape the future childcare offer and the Cynnal Welsh Child Payment pilot, and the Government has committed to a new child poverty strategy with targets, milestones and accountability mechanisms.
The test for the next 100 days is whether families on the lowest incomes see tangible improvements in their daily lives.
These are important foundations. A more universal childcare offer could reduce costs for families, support parents and carers into work, education and training, and help give children the best possible start in life. Cynnal also has the potential to put much-needed financial support directly into the hands of families facing the greatest pressure.
But foundations are not outcomes. The next stage must show how expanded childcare will reach low-income families, unemployed parents and those currently excluded from provision. It must demonstrate how quality will be maintained, how workforce challenges will be addressed, and how providers will be supported to meet growing demand.
The test for the next 100 days is whether families on the lowest incomes see tangible improvements in their daily lives. The Senedd should scrutinise delivery closely while keeping sight of the bigger question: what will it take to reduce child poverty in Cymru?
Climate justice must be a whole-government mission
The Welsh Government has signalled its commitment to climate and nature through plans for a Climate and Nature Plan, investment in biodiversity, and continued support for renewable energy and community ownership.
These are welcome steps, but climate justice cannot sit within a single portfolio. It must shape decisions on housing, transport, farming, skills, economic development and public investment.
Climate action, social justice and international solidarity are not separate agendas – they are part of the same mission.
Cymru faces the dual challenge of tackling climate change while transforming its economy. A just transition means ensuring that communities, farmers and workers are supported through that change, rather than left to bear its costs. The goal should be simple: create new opportunities, good jobs and greater resilience, while ensuring no one is left behind.
Climate justice is both a domestic and global responsibility. Cymru must cut emissions, restore nature and build resilience at home while standing in solidarity with communities around the world who are facing the worst impacts of this crisis they did least to cause. Climate action, social justice and international solidarity are not separate agendas – they are part of the same mission.
The measure of success will be whether climate justice becomes embedded across government, shaping budgets, investment decisions and economic priorities, rather than remaining confined to a single department.
Building a green and caring economy
If the Welsh Government is serious about reducing poverty and inequality, it must be willing to reshape the economy itself.
Economic growth alone will not automatically reduce poverty or inequality. Cymru needs an economy that invests in people, care, communities and environmental sustainability. Early action on health and social care, child poverty, future skills, biodiversity, community energy and a just transition points in that direction.
In a minority Senedd, political parties will need to decide whether these issues are treated as constitutional battlegrounds or matters of shared national interest.
In the eyes of Oxfam Cymru, a green and caring economy should reduce poverty, value paid and unpaid care, restore nature and provide economic security. The challenge now is to show how these ambitions connect through a coherent vision of economic development.
Poverty, care, health, skills, climate and economic development cannot remain separate policy conversations. They are all part of the same question. What kind of economy is Cymru building, who is it designed to serve, and how will its benefits be shared?
The next phase of government should focus not only on individual policies, but on demonstrating how they come together to create a greener, fairer and more caring Cymru.
A fairer Cymru requires fairer funding
Fair funding and fiscal powers are often presented as constitutional questions, but their impact is practical. They determine Cymru’s ability to invest in public services, reduce poverty and support a greener economy.
The Welsh Government has made fair funding and Cymru’s relationship with the UK Government a central part of its early agenda. The first 100 days suggest this could become one of the defining political debates of the Senedd term. In a minority Senedd, political parties will need to decide whether these issues are treated as constitutional battlegrounds or matters of shared national interest. The question is not simply who holds which powers, but whether Cymru has the tools and resources required to tackle poverty, invest in communities and deliver long-term economic transformation.
For Oxfam Cymru, the test is ultimately a practical one. Fairer funding and stronger powers only matter if they help create a Cymru where poverty and inequality are tackled, communities have greater opportunities to thrive, and climate action is central.
Global responsibility and solidarity matters
At a time of fiscal pressure and growing attacks on international cooperation, Cymru’s global role risks being pushed to the margins.
A Cymru that combines social justice at home with international responsibility abroad will be stronger and better equipped to meet global challenges.
Debates about international relations during the Government’s first 100 days have often generated more heat than light, leaving little space for a constructive discussion about what a clear international agenda should look like. As a result, there is still limited clarity about how the new Government intends to strengthen Cymru’s global role in a way that reflects Welsh values of solidarity, justice and responsibility. Yet internationalism remains an important part of Cymru’s identity and its contribution to the world.
Being a globally responsible nation requires more than rhetoric. It means sustaining partnerships such as Wales and Africa, supporting humanitarian responses and speaking clearly on climate justice, human rights, peace and international law.
Domestic action and global solidarity reinforce one another. A Cymru that combines social justice at home with international responsibility abroad will be stronger and better equipped to meet global challenges.
Cymru has a proud tradition of international solidarity, from community links and global partnerships, to peace campaigns and humanitarian commitments. The challenge for the Government now is to show how it will strengthen Cymru’s global role while protecting the funding, partnerships and programmes that make that role meaningful.
Cymru needs serious scrutiny, not division
The seventh Senedd is still finding its rhythm. With many new Members, a larger chamber and a minority Government, effective scrutiny is essential.
Political disagreement is healthy in a democracy, but division for its own sake rarely improves people’s lives.
Strong scrutiny should improve decisions and outcomes rather than generate division. Recent debates on migration, refugees and international relations have shown how quickly politics can become polarised. Language matters because it shapes public trust and whether people feel safe and welcome in their communities.
Opposition parties have a vital role in challenging the Government. Equally, all political actors have a responsibility to consider the wider consequences of the arguments they make and the language they choose. Political disagreement is healthy in a democracy, but division for its own sake rarely improves people’s lives.
At a time of economic pressure, stretched public services, deepening inequalities and growing global instability, Cymru needs scrutiny that is rigorous, evidence-based and focused on solutions. The Senedd should ask difficult questions to the Government, but it should do so with a clear focus on improving outcomes, strengthening democracy and building a fairer future for everyone in Cymru.
The next 100 days must show delivery
The first 100 days established direction. The next phase must be defined by delivery, with clear milestones, accountability and meaningful collaboration.
Progress should be judged by outcomes: whether poverty falls, care is valued, climate action shapes economic decisions and Cymru maintains its commitment to global responsibility.
Plaid Cymru has a mandate to govern. But a fairer Cymru cannot be built by government alone. It will require robust scrutiny, empowered communities and a politics rooted in solidarity rather than division.
Foundations have been laid. Now Cymru needs delivery.
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