Plaid health row: Deputy Leader's dig at Elis-Thomas as she urges Health Minister to 'shoulder responsibility'

Plaid Cymru's deputy leader, Elin Jones, who's her party's spokesperson on health, has posted a lengthy justification of Plaid's position and tactics in the row over a vote of no confidence in the Health Minister. It followed the release under the Freedom of Information Act of emails between government officials and the author of a report on the future of the Welsh NHS. Elin Jones includes one quick dig at Dafydd Elis-Thomas, who briefly faced disciplinary action for publicly criticising the vote and refusing to support it.

The main thrust of Elin Jones' contribution to Plaid Cymru's blog website 'The Slate' is that the Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths, could have saved herself from facing a no confidence vote if her performance when she appeared before the Assembly's health committee had not been 'wholly unsatisfactory'.

Elin Jones is clear that she places the blame on the minister and on the officials and local health boards (LHBs) that answer to Lesley Griffiths, rather than on Professor Marcus Longley.

Elin Jones also tells an anecdote about what happened when Lesley Griffiths chose not to leave the committee room for refreshments during an interruption to proceedings. It serves as a reminder that the two women were once colleagues in coalition government and also includes a dig at another senior Plaid Cymru figure.

An offer of tea but no sympathy was never likely to get relations between Plaid Cymru and Labour onto the more constructive basis that Cynog Dafis and Dafydd Elis-Thomas are hoping to see in future. Elin Jones' blog post drew a swift and forceful response from a source close to the minister.