RHETORIC IS LEVELLING UP, REALITY IS CUTTING DOWN

Plaid Cymru hits back at Westminster’s failure to fund Wales adequately during “perfect storm” of Covid and austerity

Responding to the draft budget 2021 to 2022, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, Plaid Cymru Finance spokesperson said:

“This is a wholly inadequate financial settlement for Wales from the UK Government that in no way reflects the challenge of rebuilding the entire fabric of daily life in the Covid era.

“Wales is being hit hardest by a perfect storm of Covid and austerity, and our ability to invest in growing our economy is being hampered by Westminster’s failure to fund Wales adequately and its punitive borrowing cap.

“The Tory rhetoric of levelling up is betrayed by the reality that they’re cutting the Welsh Government’s capital budget at a time of economic crisis.

“Nothing that we heard from the Labour leader in his speech on devolution today suggests that the Welsh economy would fare better even with a change in government in Westminster.

“Whilst we welcome Welsh Ministers’ small step towards finally addressing the growing problem of second homes, a Plaid Cymru government would go much further and would build ten thousand new social homes every year to address the underlying causes of the housing crisis.

“Building resilience in our economy means spending smarter. A Plaid government’s focus on investing in infrastructure to create high-skilled, well-paid jobs and regionally rebalancing the economy would do just that.”