Plaid AM calls for 1p income tax rise for education

Income tax in Wales could be raised by 1p to increase education spending, Plaid Cymru leadership contender Adam Price has said.

Mr Price said he wanted £1bn in extra income to go on education over the next five-year Assembly term.

The Welsh Government has the power to change income tax from April 2019.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Mr Price said that the investment could make Wales' education system "as modern as anyone's in the world".

"We could create innovation campuses throughout Wales... and new specialist universities and colleges in areas of unmet skill needs, like Newport's nascent Software University - and build 21st Century schools for everyone, not just for the lucky few," he said.

He said Wales was "a country crying out for new ideas".

The Carmarthen East and Dinefwr AM is challenging Plaid leader Leanne Wood for leadership of the party, with Ynys Mon AM Rhun ap Iorwerth also in the race.

The result of the Plaid leadership challenge will be announced in September 2018.

Earlier this year a report from experts at Cardiff University suggested a 1p rise in income tax could bring in about £184m a year to the Welsh Government, or about £1bn over five years.

The current Labour-led Welsh Government has ruled out income tax changes before the next Assembly election in 2021.