Welsh Lib Dems vow to block independence after Senedd election
The Liberal Democrats have promised to stop a future Welsh government from spending money on building the case for independence.
The party's manifesto for the Senedd election said taxpayer money should be focused on delivering for Wales, not on pursuing separation from the UK.
The Lib Dems said they would consider raising income tax to pay for social care, promised 30 hours free childcare from nine months to four years old, and to ban the dumping of raw sewage.
Any party wishing to form the next government is likely to need support from others, with polls suggesting Plaid Cymru - who have promised a commission looking into independence - and Reform UK are currently vying for first place.
On Tuesday Dodds told the manifesto launch in Cardiff: "We're very, very clear that we wouldn't support any government that spends money on independence."
Both Plaid and the Greens support Welsh independence, although both have ruled out trying to hold a referendum in the next term of the Senedd, which ends in 2030.
Plaid has said it would hold a national commission, costing around £500,000, which would begin to lay the ground work for independence plans, although it is not expected they would be published before the term is finished.
A BBC/Savanta poll from 29 January to 6 February suggested that 32% of Welsh people would vote yes in an independence referendum, versus 52% against. A total of 16% were undecided in the survey of 2,086 people.
"Stop independence" is one of the Lib Dems' top five priorities in the party's manifesto.
Its pledges include devolving more powers to Wales, upgrading and replacing hospitals, banning water companies from dumping raw sewage, and free childcare from nine months to four years old for 30 hours a week, 48 weeks a year.
Dodds' party thinks it can win as many as five seats - having won just a single seat in 2021's election when Dodds was the only Lib Dem elected.
She has made a pitch for unionist voters who are disillusioned with the Labour party and do not want to support a pro-independence party.
Appearing to criticise both Plaid Cymru and Reform, Dodds said: "Nationalism thrives in the absence of hope. It feeds on frustration, it grows where people feel ignored."
She added that nationalism "does not clear a waiting list, it does not train a nurse".
"The real dividing line in this election is not left against right. It is between those who are serious about rebuilding hope and those who are content to profit on the frustration and anxieties of the people they seek to serve," she said.
With her party previously saying it wouldn't work with any other that spends a penny on working towards a UK exit, Dodds noted that the independence commission floated by Plaid would cost "more than a penny".
She added: "We're very clear we wouldn't support any government that spends money on independence."
Dodds did not directly answer BBC Wales' question on whether her independence stance meant she would allow Reform's Dan Thomas to become first minister, saying: "We are making it really clear right now not just to the political parties but with the Welsh public as well what our red lines are."
Later, in an interview, she said she would not change the red line on independence if it was to stop Reform - the party has ruled out working with Reform in the past.
Dodds said independence was not the only red line the party had - she told the BBC there were five, including more money on social care, more money for child care, more cash for businesses and cleaning up rivers.
The party promises to expand free child care to children aged nine months to four years old, with 30 hours a week for 48 weeks a year.
Dodds wants at least £300m extra spent on social care - and the party has proposed possibly raising income tax to raise the extra money "for an emergency period".
The manifesto suggests that would be conditional on Westminster failing to "reform Wales's funding formula" and failing to tax banks and large social media companies.
The party has proposed adding 1p in the pound to the tax. If it was added to all bands it would raise £338m in 2027/28.
Other policies include:
- Devolving more powers to Wales, including rail, prisons and the police
- Repairing, replacing and upgrading Wales' hospitals
- Extending business rate relief for retail, leisure, pubs and restaurants permanently
- Banning raw sewage dumping in the waterways
- Making homes warmer and cheaper to heat with a ten-year emergency upgrade programme
- Building 30,000 social homes
- Free childcare from nine months to four years old for 30 hours a week, 48 weeks a year
Currently up to 30 hours of childcare are offered a week for children aged three and four, and 12.5 hours is available to two year olds in eligible areas.
In an interview with BBC Wales, Dodds did not give exact costs for a several of her policies, including extending business rate relief, upgrading homes and childcare.
For her childcare policy, she said it was "going to have to be more" than the £400m Plaid says its plans for at least 20 hours of childcare for 48 weeks of the year would cost.
"It's going to be expensive, but the delivery means we're going to reduce child poverty," she said.
Asked what she would cut to afford her spending pledges, Dodds said: "We don't foresee cutting anything."
Financial experts have warned that the future Welsh government budget situation is tight and that future spending commitments may require tax rises or cuts.
