Welsh Lib Dems unveil 2021 Manifesto pledging to “Put Recovery First”

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds will today (Fri 16th) launch what she is describing as an ambitious yet fully deliverable vision for a post pandemic Wales which will have recovery at its heart. 

Jane Dodds will pledge that every single policy announced by the Welsh Liberal Democrats will put recovery first and to do anything else would be “foolish.”

At the launch she is expected to say:

“Wales needs a recovery – an economic recovery, an environmental recovery and a caring recovery.

“Wales is at a turning point and now is the time to decide how we move on from Covid and how we want Wales to look in five years’ time. That’s why we want to put recovery first. To prioritise anything else would be foolish. We will:

• Secure our economic recovery;
• Prioritise our environmental recovery; and
• Deliver a caring recovery.

“The next Welsh Government will face a huge challenge in the problems that already existed in our country and which have been made worse as a result of Covid.

“With ambitious yet fully achievable policies including building 30,000 new homes, investing in our high streets, and investing in our mental health provision, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are presenting radical yet realistic options for Wales’ future.

“Wales cannot afford for any party or any government to put anything other than our recovery first. That is precisely what a vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats will be.”

The top three policy headlines are:

A Recovery for our Economy 

In the face of both Coronavirus and Brexit the Welsh Lib Dems will support jobs, businesses, town centres and high streets so local people and our businesses can thrive.

We’ll do this by creating a new Welsh Towns Fund, committing £500m over the next five years to invest in the future of our town centres and high streets, and freezing business rates before scrapping them and replacing them with a fairer system of taxation.

A Recovery for our Planet 

The Coronavirus has been difficult on us all and it feels like all other big issues have been stopped in motion- but the clock is ticking on the future of our planet. We’ll do everything in our power to protect our planet for future generations.

We’ll do this by investing £1bn per year to face up to the climate emergency, the boldest plan of any political party on climate change. This investment will help us make homes warmer and more energy-efficient, cut household energy bills and tackle fuel poverty, invest in cleaner, greener transport, take action against biodiversity loss and flooding. 

A Caring Recovery

Our Coronavirus response asked us all to make sacrifices and for many of us our mental health and wellbeing suffered. We’ll create a more caring Wales by standing up for our carers and invest in keeping people well. We will build a caring society and improve the lives of millions.

We’ll do this by taking a cross-government approach to mental health and wellbeing from schools to community services and increase spending on mental health services.

Other policy highlights include:

• 30,000 new build social homes for rent
• Investment to retrofit existing homes to make them more energy efficient
• Free public transport for the under 25s
• An investment in mental health increasing year on year until it reaches 13% of all NHS spend by 2028
• Investing in Personal Learning Accounts to allow people to up-skill and re-skill
• A Clean Air Act, along with a commitment to spend 10% of the transport budget on active travel
• Ensure that in the next five years at least 90% of homes and businesses in Wales have access to full fibre broadband
• Commit to ending homelessness, by adopting a wide range of policies including increasing the Housing Support Grant
• Pass a Welsh Language Education for All Act, normalising the Welsh language in education
• Ensure any future funding scheme for farming provides not a penny less for farming and agriculture.