Levelling Up Agenda for Wales – More Promises that Won’t be Kept

Responding to Michael Gove’s levelling up speech, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated it is hard to trust the Conservatives given a long record of failure to deliver investment in Wales.

Party Leader and Senedd Member Jane Dodds said:

“The evidence we have from the Conservatives so far on ‘levelling up’ is that for them, it is just an empty slogan. Throughout the years various infrastructure projects promised to Wales by the Conservatives have dragged on for years only to then be cancelled, not least the electrification of the South Wales rail lines and the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

“It also concerns me that any projects taken forward by the Conservatives will not be delivered on time or on budget. This week we have heard that the Conservatives wrote off £4.3 billion of fraudulent COVID-19 loans, that is enough to reopen the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen railway five times over. They have also wrote off £8.7 billion on unused PPE, to put this in perspective the annual budget of the Welsh NHS is £8.3 billion. This does not inspire confidence that the Conservatives know how to handle taxpayers money

Comments

Significant Gaps Remain in Welsh Government Building Safety Announcement

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed progress announced today in the Welsh Government’s building safety announcement but have warned significant gaps remain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Cardiff Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rhys Taylor addressing building saftey campaigners. The announcement given by Environment Minister Julie James MS confirmed that 9 property developers have now signed up to the Welsh Government’s “Developers Pact” agreeing in theory their responsibility to remediate buildings they constructed with safety defects. The announcement follows a lengthy campaign by leaseholders in the five years since the Grenfell Tower Disaster. However, three major developers are still yet to reply. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that due to the Welsh Government’s failure to work with the UK Government on the Building Safety Act, they are left with little to no options to deal with the property de...

UK Government must grant refugee status to all Uyghur asylum seekers

We are calling on the government to offer the Uyghur population asylum in the UK, so that they can flee t he unthinkable horrors of the situation in Xinjiang and find safety here. n just the last few months, drone footage believed to be from Xinjiang in China, showed Uyghurs kneeling and blindfolded, waiting to be led onto trains. At the same time, the Chinese Government is also accused of undertaking a programme of forced sterilisation against Uyghur women. The situation is abhorrent. Over the course of the last three years, Liberal Democrats have urged the UK government to do more to stop this gross violation of human rights. We have led cross-party letters, parliamentary debates, and parliamentary motions. We remain clear that the UK has a duty to act. That is why we have led on a cross-party letter this week to Priti Patel urging her to do the right thing and automatically give refugee status to the Uyghur people. ...

Mid Wales Growth Deal funding insulting

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and MP for Brecon and Radnorshire Jane Dodds has called the UK Government’s £55m funding for the Mid Wales Growth Deal insulting.Mid Wales Growth Deal funding insulting Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns used his speech to Conservative Party Conference in Manchester to announce £55m of funding for the Mid Wales Growth Deal over 15 years. The UK Government are contributing £500m to the Cardiff Capital Region City Deal and £241m to the Swansea Bay City Deal. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MP commented: Alun Cairns’ announcement shows that, under this Conservative Government, Mid-Wales will never get the funding we truly need. The £55m promised is frankly insulting. Not only is it nowhere near enough, it is a fraction of the funding being provided for the Cardiff and Swansea City Deals. Our rural communities have been let down and forgotten about for far too long. What’s more, they will be some of the harde...

Welsh Liberal blogs

Search This Blog