Not that long ago, if there was a budget leak then there might have been resignations, now in the run up to the budget lots of kites (ideas) are flown and various ideas appear from the ether to be be tested - before budget day - so very New Labour.
The recent debacle over income tax increases is a case in point.
A Budget that’s been rewritten in panic will not deliver for Wales. With the Chancellor removing a major proposals barely two weeks before Budget Day – something which triggered a run on UK government bonds – if nothing else this suggests that there is something seriously wrong at the heart of this Labour in Westminster Government.
Our nation needs financial and political stability and needs the ability to plan ahead. A continually reshaped Budget - changed to stop or contain Labour infighting, will not meet the needs of Welsh communities.
This is no way to run an economy, especially when devolved public services rely on predictable funding. Particularly when the uncertainty in pushes up borrowing costs, it’s our communities that pay the price.
Plaid Cymru has reiterated its call for a new fiscal settlement for Wales, including:
- Devolving the Crown Estate, allowing Wales to retain revenue from its natural resources,
- Fair funding for Wales, including the long-denied HS2 consequential payments,
- A tax system that treats income from wealth fairly, rather than placing the burden on workers through threshold freezes and stealth rises
A budget that has been drafted in panic will always fail to deliver for Wales. Our nation needs a stable, ambitious plan shaped by Welsh priorities, not last-minute U-turns in London.
Only Plaid Cymru will fight for fairness for Wales from this Budget: fair funding, including the long-denied HS2 consequentials; a tax system that treats income from wealth fairly rather than stealth tax rises; and control over the Crown Estate so that profits generated from our natural wealth stay in Wales.
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