Neurosurgery debate- will this define the election in South West Wales?

It was inspiring for Plaid in South Wales West to read the letter below in the Evening Post yesterday. Dr Dai Lloyd AM and Darren Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru's group at Swansea Council have been campaigning hard for what seems like months on end to retain the Neurosurgery Unit at Swansea. We organised a protest outside the Assembly alongside the Evening Post, and have been active in the campaign to encourage people to sign the petition to keep Neurosurgery at Swansea.

We were the only Party to vote outright against the move to Cardiff- all the other Parties showed clear signs of split loyalties. They all ultimately elected to favour their own individual priorities to that of promoting a coherent party policy on this most important issue.

Nevertheless, Brian Gibbons, the Labour Health Minister seems intent on delaying the issue until after the Assembly election; another ploy to deceive voters. I am sure that this will be a defining election issue, but Plaid will continue to campaign to keep Neurosurgery at Swansea- election or no election.

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In recent letters on the proposed neurosurgery centralisation in Cardiff there seems a sense of resignation that, regardless of when the decision is taken and what that decision is, the Assembly elections are a foregone conclusion and the existing Labour AMs will be re-elected.In a General Election, where individual majorities can be as high as 20,000, this may be the case, but the situation regarding Assembly elections is very different.

The Post petition against the proposal produced 105,000 signatures. As far as I am aware, the vast majority of the Post's sales are in nine constituencies from Aberavon in the east (Brian Gibbons's seat) to Preseli/Pembrokeshire in the west. A Labour AM was elected to eight of those seats. The combined majority of those AMs is just 26,125. Plaid Cymru was second in six of the eight seats, and not far off second in the other two. Plaid AM Dai Lloyd was quoted (Post, January 6) as saying "a Plaid health minister would want neurosurgery to stay in Swansea".

Anyone reading this letter can see from these figures their vote is crucial. I already know which way I'll be voting this year.

John Young

Llys Sant Teilo

Llangyfelach, Swansea