The choice about the kind of future we want to see is ours to make

“The choice about the kind of future we want to see is ours to make: an Alun Cairns, Tory-inspired Western England or an independent country where wealth, power and development is shared equitably across the whole of Wales.”

Plaid Cymru proposes an alternative vision to the Welsh Government’s National Development Framework

The Welsh Government’s National Development Framework will ‘split Wales’, Plaid Cymru have said.

Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Minister on the Environment, Llyr Gruffydd MS has responded to the NDF put forward by the Welsh Government.

Mr Gruffydd noted that the regional map in the NDF “drives a wedge” into Wales, and ignores the pressing issue of lack of north-south connectivity, whilst neglecting some of those parts of Wales needing regeneration and development.

Mr Gruffydd suggested that the Welsh Government replace the four-region model with a different approach focused on distributing wealth, power and investment equitably across the whole of Wales by targeting intervention and growth to the areas in most need.

The matter is being debated in the Senedd on Wednesday, 25 November.

Plaid Cymru Shadow Minister for the Environment, Llyr Gruffydd MS said,

“The title of the NDF – Future Wales 2040 – is apt. Wales is at a crossroads and we have a stark choice about the kind of future we want to see. Labour’s proposal is sadly a carbon copy of the Tory-inspired model of entrenched economic dependency. Even its four-region approach is modelled on the UK Government’s Growth Deal areas. Future Wales is more about the future of the Northern Powerhouse, the Bristol Western Gateway and the Midlands Engine. It offers an economic plan based on securing crumbs from somebody else’s table, rather than building up Wales’ economy in its own right.

“Rather than offering a vision that brings Wales together, Labour is carving Wales up to serve Boris Johnson’s agenda. It pushes the north and the south of our country even further apart and neglect’s the pressing need for improved north-south connectivity. Most importantly, it also neglects some of those parts of Wales most in need of regeneration and development, namely the western seaboard and the valleys of the south. This approach will not change the UK and Welsh Governments failure to distribute wealth and growth equally across Wales.

“The Welsh Government must change tact and replace the four-region model proposed in Future Wales 2040 with an alternative approach focused on making Wales a connected, sustainable, prosperous and self-sufficient nation in every sense.”