Tag: Welsh Conservatives

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 23 November 2022.

This afternoon, Shadow Education Minister, Laura Anne Jones MS questioned Labour’s Jeremy Miles about his ‘Unions and the World of Work’ pilot. This pilot will involve 35 secondary schools with a view to expanding it Wales wide, inviting trade union representatives into schools as ‘guest speakers’.

Commenting on the exchange, Laura Anne Jones MS said:

“The Welsh Conservatives have no issue with children being taught about the workplace and in fact, would actively encourage careers and work-related experience.

“However, it doesn’t seem fair, or proper, that politicised Trade Unions – that donate large sums of money to the Labour party are allowed into our schools, where they have the ability to influence. Political impartiality ultimately helps schools command the confidence of our whole diverse and multi-opinion society.

“Unite, one of the unions taking part in this pilot, have donated millions of pounds to the UK Labour party. They have donated £33,000 to the Welsh Labour party directly since 2020. The Education Minister himself is a member of that union and received nearly £2,000 from them to help cover his election expenses last year.

“The Education Minister clearly does not see a conflict of interest here, or perhaps he just doesn’t care.”

One of the unions to be invited into schools as part of this pilot is the Labour affiliated Unite union. An organisation that has donated £33,000 to Labour in Wales since 2020 and many millions to Labour over the years at UK level.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 23 November 2022.

The Welsh Conservatives challenged the Labour Government in Cardiff Bay over its plans to impose a default 20mph speed limit in Wales and expand the number of 50mph zones.

Shadow Transport Minister Natasha Asghar MS took Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, to task following an interview he did on ITV’s Sharp End last week, when he criticised the “remarkably narrow sighted view” of Cardiff Bus after they expressed concerns over the effects of the 20mph limit on the viability of the business, which is a Council asset.

Commenting afterwards, Ms Asghar said:

“The Labour Government’s plans for Welsh roads is nothing less than a war on motorists that show ministers to be anti-worker, anti-business, and anti-growth.

“Despite the misery plaguing drivers due to poor infrastructure planning from Labour-run city councils and Welsh Government – including their roadbuilding ban – ministers are intent on pursuing a policy they know is economically damaging.

“Ultimately, Labour ministers, instead of nudging behavioural change with incentives are bashing motorists to fulfil an agenda that was cobbled together with little recognition of why people want to own and use their own cars.

“It’s time to get Wales moving again by dropping these plans, ending the roadbuilding ban, and investing in improved infrastructure for both public and private transport rather than generate a war between those who drive and those who don’t.”

According to the Labour Government’s own figures, the plans to make 20mph the default speed limits for Welsh roads will cost £32.5m to implement and draining the economy by £4.5bn, despite little public support and removing the choice from local decisionmakers.

New research has also revealed that cutting speed limits on urban roads to 20mph does not significantly improve safety. A report, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, analysed data from before and after the limit was introduced on 76 roads in Belfast in 2016.

Comparisons with streets in the surrounding area and elsewhere in Northern Ireland that retained their 30mph or 40mph limit showed there were “no statistically significant differences” in terms of the number of crashes, casualty rates or average traffic speed.

Asghar, who is a Member of the Senedd for South Wales East, also highlighted the ineffective 50mph in Newport that have failed to meaningfully reduce congestion on the M4 in the vicinity. Despite this,  Waters said it would still pursue an expansion of their use beyond the existing five sites.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 23 November 2022.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 22 November 2022.

The Welsh Conservatives have questioned the Labour Government’s commitment to tackling bovine TB, as no plans are in place for the annual TB eradication programme update.

The issue was raised by Shadow Rural Affairs Minister Samuel Kurtz MS in the Senedd today:

“Bovine TB has been a continuous negative thread throughout Welsh agriculture over the last decade or so causing immense pain and heartache to the farmers of Wales.

“With the Royal Welsh Winter Fair next week, today would have been a good opportunity to bring this annual statement to the floor of this chamber so we as members and the wider farming community can scrutinise you and your government’s record on TB eradication.”

Following the Minister’s response, Mr Kurtz said outside the chamber:

“I have concerns that the Welsh Government are content with their current TB eradication strategy, offering Welsh farmers no hope in Wales becoming officially TB free.

“While the annual statement may just be a brief overview of the past 12 months by the Government, if gives us Senedd Members and the farming community an opportunity to scrutinise the policy and try to offer solutions to help our farming community.

“Whilst I understand that some officials will have been busy with the avian flu outbreak, this should not mean that bovine TB takes a back seat, Welsh agriculture would never stand for that.

“I think everyone concerned will be disappointed not to get that statement by Christmas, given 2023 will see significant changes to Welsh agriculture with the passage of the Agriculture Bill and implementation of damaging NVZ regulations.”

Minister Lesley Griffiths last delivered a statement on the Bovine TB eradication strategy in November last year. No annual statement was made in 2020. Before then it was April 2019 and October 2017 before that.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 22 November 2022.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 22 November 2022.

The Union flag is not being flown outside Carmarthenshire Council. It was raised following the death of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on the 8th of September, alongside the Welsh, Carmarthenshire and Ukrainian flags. The Union flag has since been taken down again and one of their four flagpoles remain bare.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative Shadow Local Government Minister, Sam Rowlands MS said:

“We should be striving for actions and symbols that unite us, not divide us. Yet this decision is the petty nationalism that divides us.

“Given the fact that there is a bare flagpole in prime position in the town, the councillors of Carmarthen should fly the Union flag with pride and celebrate our partnership of nations.

“It is ironic that they won’t fly the Union flag, but will fly the Ukrainian flag, a nation that we are rightly standing shoulder to shoulder with and delivering record support to as one United Kingdom.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

The Welsh people’s priorities have been abandoned in favour of vanity projects and inaction, say the Welsh Conservatives, a year on from the Labour Government’s Cooperation Deal with Plaid Cymru.

 

Last year, Adam Price abdicated his party’s role as a genuine opposition to sign an agreement with Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford, while enjoying privileges given to parties both in and out of government.

However, it’s clear that over the last year the public services Welsh people care about most have been ignored, while the deal has focussed on issues that matter more to the Cardiff Bay bubble, Labour and Plaid.

Commenting, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies MS said:

“One year on since the Cooperation Agreement, Labour and Plaid have brought in one disastrous proposal after another, from default 20mph speed limits to tourism taxes to creating more politicians in Cardiff Bay , that are not only far removed from the wishes of the Welsh people, but their needs too.

“The priorities of voters have been completely ignored, with NHS waiting lists sky-rocketing beyond anything seen elsewhere in Britain, the blocking of a Wales-specific Covid inquiry, and school standards, public transport services, and pay packets all diminishing.

“Only the Welsh Conservatives would do what the Welsh people want and need: Bin this plan for more politicians and instead focusing on growing wages, tackling waiting lists and building the roads we need so we can get Wales moving again.”

Areas of the agreement under particular criticism include:

• Making 20mph the default for Welsh roads: Roads across Wales will become 20mph, costing £32.5m to implement and draining the economy by 4.5bn, despite little public support and removing the choice from local decisionmakers.
• Tourism Tax: Putting 1-in-7 jobs at risk, this charge on overnight stays in Wales, universally condemned by the tourism industry, has been found by the Labour Government’s own analysis to lead to less money being spent in areas that implement it.
• Water Regulations: Plaid betrayed rural voters by u-turning on their opposition to NVZs, which will see onerous and costly new rules imposed on farmers across Wales to tackle isolated and localised pollution.
• Universal Free School Meals: Under plans to expand free school meals to all primary school pupils, taxpayer money will be used to feed the children of millionaires instead of being used to support those on the lowest incomes.
• Rent Controls: Despite overwhelming evidence abroad and in Scotland that rent controls reduce supply, create a black market, reduce housing quality and, even, increase rent for new entrants, the deal includes a White Paper to introduce them.

The Welsh Conservatives argue that the Agreement wilfully ignored the most significant issues facing Wales:

• NHS waiting times: These have continued to grow, meaning Wales has three-quarters of a million people on a treatment waiting list (1-in-4 for over a year, and 60,000 for over two), the worst A&E waits in Britain, and its slowest ambulance response times on record.
• Covid-19 Inquiry: Mark Drakeford, unlike Nicola Sturgeon, chose not to commission an inquiry to look at how their government handled Covid, deciding to obscure his own shortcomings in a UK-wide investigation.
• Schools: The deal makes no mention of lifting Wales from the bottom of UK PISA rankings.
• Pay: The agreement does not address Wales having the lightest pay packets in Britain.
• Transport: The pact did not end the roadbuilding freeze or improve rail capacity in Wales.

While ignoring these issues, the two governing parties are intent on pursuing creating 36 more Senedd members, a broadcasting authority, and a Constitutional Commission. Both broadcasting and the constitution are reserved to Westminster.

The parties are also behind on making progress on the headline policies in the agreement:

• Building safety: A second phase of the Welsh Building Safety Fund to help those living in properties with cladding has still not started.
• Flood Review: This is yet to report on flooding in winter 2020/21 preventing any action on recommendations and delivering on flood capital investment and resilience.
• Net Zero: The commitment to commission independent advice to examine potential pathways to net zero by 2035 has not yet begun. It only appointed a Chair in August.

Welsh Conservative analysis from this year found that between September 2021 and June 2022 found that the Plaid leader has used fewer than half of FMQ sessions to exclusively question Mark Drakeford on his responsibilities.

In the before the 2021 Senedd election, Adam Price said he “wouldn’t support a Labour government under any circumstances – a Labour-led government under any circumstances.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

Wales, England and other European nations will not wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar because of the threat of players being booked.

The Welsh captain, Gareth Bale, had planned to wear the armband during matches to promote diversity and inclusion.

Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Sport, Tom Giffard MS said:

“The Welsh Football Association, among others, wrote to FIFA in September alerting them to the decision of players to wear the OneLove armband, to no response.

“The sudden change in decision here is clearly a sign of direct interference from FIFA as a result of reservations by the Qatari authorities.

“We back the Welsh FA’s decision to not instruct Gareth Bale to wear the armband, as subjecting him to a booking would be unfair to the team and to him. This difficult decision has in fact highlighted the issue, bringing it to the forefront of World Cup coverage, perhaps even more than simply wearing the armband could have.”

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 21 November 2022.

Figures uncovered by the Welsh Conservatives have revealed that, of the 184 sewage pipes operated by Welsh Water without permits in Welsh riverways, only 1 application has currently been submitted to Natural Resources Wales.

Commenting on the news, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Janet Finch-Saunders MS said:

“While the UK Conservative Government has been leading the way in dealing with water pollution legislation, Labour ministers are, once again, falling far behind.

“For years, Labour ministers have failed to deal with the issue of pollution in Welsh rivers and now we find out that only one application has been submitted for a permit.

“It is clear that NRW is not fit for purpose under Labour’s watch. Understaffed and underfunded, this organisation clearly does not have the power required to protect Welsh waterways.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that raw sewage has been dumped into Welsh waterways more than 100,000 times in just 12 months.

The press release issued by the Welsh Conservatives on 17 November 2022.

Commenting on today’s budget, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Finance, Peter Fox MS said:

“The measures announced today will instil stability in the UK economy in the face of rising global pressures as verified by the OBR. As a result of Putin’s deplorable war in Ukraine, rising inflation is sadly taking its toll on our public services.

“I am proud of the support that this compassionate UK Conservative Government is guaranteeing support to the most vulnerable in society across Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom – ensuring that benefits and pensions rise in line with inflation as called for by the Welsh Conservatives. This, along with the historic support for energy costs, will continue to ensure people in Wales are protected from the worst of the global economic climate.

“The Chancellor has been honest with the British people, laying out his plans for a path to growth, increasing the NHS budget and supporting schools in England. As a result of this decisive action, the Labour Government in Wales will benefit from an additional £1.2 billion.

“While the NHS budget and other public services in England are being protected, Labour in Wales remain the only government in Great Britain to have ever cut an NHS budget by an astonishing £800 million.

“It is clear that Labour must use this additional funding to support our NHS and boost our education system rather than continue to run our services into the ground.”