PLAID Cymru has ended an agreement to back Labour signed after last year’s Assembly Election.

The two parties came to the agreement, through which Plaid agreed to support Labour in return for incorporating some of its priorities into the government’s legislative programme, following last year’s election, which saw Labour fall two seats short of a majority with 29 AMs.

But today party leader Leanne Wood has written to Plaid AMs announcing the party's Assembly group had scrapped the agreement, saying they could not support a Labour government which refused not to increase tuition fees, scrap the planned M4 black route or abolish the public sector pay cap.

In the letter she said: “The compact enabled us to have influence without losing the right to vote against the government at any point, which we did on issues including consent for the Wales Act and the triggering of Article 50.

“It has not stopped us closely scrutinising Labour’s poor handling of the NHS, the Welsh economy, Brexit preparations and more.

“We entered into the compact with the Welsh Government when the government had no majority and were unable to elect a first minister.

“The arrangement has secured funding towards Plaid Cymru's priorities totalling half a billion pounds, enabling us to implement around 50 per cent of our 2016 nation-building manifesto.

“We have used our influence to ensure projects go ahead on an all-Wales basis.

“The compact also enabled us to shift Labour's position on key Brexit questions like the single market and free movement.”

But she added it was “disappointing” that Labour refused to back other Plaid priorities.

“Plaid Cymru wants to stop the increase in tuition fees and stop the loss of so many of our graduates,” she said.

“We want Wales to follow Scotland's lead and scrap the public sector pay cap in the NHS.

“We are intent on stopping the M4 black route, to make sure that infrastructure spending is more equally allocated throughout our country.

“Labour's managerialism and centralist thinking are crippling the Welsh economy and leaving our public services languishing at the bottom of almost every league table.

“They are failing to deal with the various crises in health, education, homelessness, the decline in Welsh speaker numbers with sufficient urgency, and our involvement in the compact cannot impact on any of this.

“The only way to change this situation is if there is a change of government.”

She added the party’s commitment to support Labour’s budget for the next two years “represents a natural conclusion to the compact”.

“The two-year deal takes us to a position where we can produce a clear alternative in advance of the next Assembly elections,” she said.

“The commitments we have secured represent the green shoots of our programme for government.

“We must all work towards the goal of government if we are to see these foundations built upon.”

First minister Carwyn Jones said: "This is a decision taken by Plaid Cymru and was communicated to me in a call from Leanne Wood this morning.

"Our conversation was amicable and we agreed that it was important to keep open lines of communication.

"From our viewpoint we believe the compact gave Wales some welcome stability at a time of great uncertainty caused by ongoing Tory cuts and the Brexit chaos in Westminster.

“As I have said many times, no one party has a monopoly on good ideas and my government has a responsibility to work with others, where we can, for the good of the people of Wales.

"We will continue to work in that way, open to ideas, and open to co-operation, as we focus on delivering for our communities.”