Labour promises same-day mental health services if it wins Senedd election

Labour says it will roll out "easy-to-access" mental health services across Wales should it win the next Senedd election.

First Minister Eluned Morgan will launch her party's election campaign in Newport on Monday, promising to "focus on the things that make the biggest difference to daily life".

Labour said it would "transform" mental health care with same-day services, with tests taking place in all of the country's seven health boards.

Morgan's party has been in charge in Wales since the Senedd's predecessor, the National Assembly for Wales, opened 27 years ago - opinion polls suggest it could come third behind Plaid Cymru and Reform.

Plans for same-day mental health support have been worked on within Welsh government for some time, building on the Wales-wide 111 "press two" mental health urgent support line.

Morgan will also promise to improve access to hospital transport, to crack down on fly-tippers by increasing fines, and a "lifelong retraining guarantee" so workers can get access to help to stay in or return to employment.

Labour has already announced a £2 bus fare cap, and year-round pay for all school support staff.

In a speech the Welsh Labour leader will say: "Fairness today cannot mean permanent patience. It cannot mean 'bear with us'.

"Fairness today must mean progress you can see, progress you can measure, progress you can feel."

"We will focus on the things that make the biggest difference to daily life, and we will deliver them with the seriousness that government demands."

In a "message" to rivals Morgan will suggest that policy problems cannot be solved through social media.

She will say: "You cannot fix waiting times with a hashtag. You cannot grow wages on TikTok. You cannot build a hospital with a committee. You need a plan."

Labour's event follows party conferences held by the Welsh Conservatives in Llandudno, Conwy, and Plaid Cymru in Newport in February.

Welsh Labour has chosen not to hold a conference ahead of the Senedd election this year. BBC Wales was told it would hold it later in the year instead.

It had held conferences before the 2016 and 2021 Senedd elections, however party sources have said Labour never had one in its diary for this spring.

Another said: "If you're Labour right now you want all your activists out on the doors at every weekend.

"There is a cost/risk opportunity taking all your activists for a weekend in Llandudno."