WELSH CONSERVATIVES DEBATE: LONG TERM ECONOMIC PLAN

WELSH CONSERVATIVES DEBATE: LONG TERM ECONOMIC PLAN

Janet Finch-Saunders
Tomorrow the people of our country—or those who are minded to have a say in the future—will go to the polling stations and cast their vote. Over the past 12 months, it is fair to say that, here in Wales, the health service has dominated the political agenda. The responsibility for its failings has, time and time again, been laid at the door of the UK Government, blaming it for the lack of funding. No mention of the £15 billion that comes from the UK Government—oh, we AMs know better. It’s the same Welsh Labour Government of the same Labour Party that bankrupted the UK, leaving our economy with the biggest deficit of all time. Now, we know.
You simply cannot have a strong NHS without a strong economy. Looking back to 2010, as a nation, we had become over-reliant on welfare with mass worklessness accepted as a mere fact of life, with 133,000 unemployed, lacking the security and sense of pride that comes with a regular wage. Five years on, and as a result of the Conservative Party’s long-term economic plan, 52,000 people more are in work here in Wales. We’ve seen unemployment fall by 8,000 in the last year alone, and we’ve taken 144,000 out of income tax. Wales has benefited from 70,000 more private sector jobs, to include small-business entrepreneurs who have chosen to take that risk, feeling more supported than ever by a Government that really values their worth.
The UK Conservative-led Government has worked hard to earn the trust of businesses here, in Wales, and across the globe, with 44 per cent of Welsh business-owners pledging their support for a Conservative Government. I can tell you that recent campaigning proves the confidence that is now felt for continued growth in our economy.
But our work is not done. We want to do more to reward hard work and business growth, putting in place the conditions for further economic growth and full employment for Wales. With David Cameron as our Prime Minister and the Conservatives, nobody working 30 hours on minimum wage will ever pay income tax, and the tax-free personal allowance will rise to £12,500 by 2020. The 40p tax threshold will increase to £50,000 and will always rise at least in line with inflation.
The Conservatives will continue to back small businesses, keeping job taxes low and the cutting of red tape, unnecessary regulation and bureaucracy that is so burdensome to our microbusinesses in particular. And we will continue to invest in infrastructure to attract new businesses.
We will also do more to tackle long-term youth unemployment by delivering 3 million more apprenticeships, and we will abolish access to jobseeker’s allowance for 18 to 21-year-olds and replace it with a youth allowance, thereby giving young people a full six months to find employment before being required to take an apprenticeship or carry out daily community work in order to obtain their benefits.
Now, it is a combination of these factors that will continue to provide security for the people of Wales and the UK, safe in the knowledge that if you work hard and save what you can you will be rewarded. We believe that one such reward should be for everyone to have the chance to own their own home. We will help to keep mortgage rates low, build more homes, including 200,000 new starter homes for first-time buyers, extending the Help to Buy loan schemes to 2020, enhancing the right to buy and cutting stamp duty for 98 per cent of those who pay it. Not only will these policies give more people a home of their own, but they will stimulate the Welsh construction industry—a sector often ignored by the Welsh Labour Government—leading to more jobs for Welsh people. The alternative, under a Labour Government: more borrowing, more taxation, and higher interest rates. The same party that allowed housing benefit to spiral out of control to 104,000 a year.
The continued success of the Welsh economy depends on a Conservative Government being formed at the polls tomorrow. In the words of our own Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb, only the Welsh Conservatives can secure Wales’s long-term future, by taking responsible decisions, getting our nation back living within its means and laying strong foundations for growth.