SAYING NO TO THE WESTERN GATEWAY

It never quite goes away, at a recent Westminster event, the Western Gateway popped up again to be endorsed by Labour in Wales local representatives. Back in November 2020, the Labour in Wales Welsh Government’s revealed the top down plan to develop Wales’ economy pretty much effectively aims to turn our country into ‘Western England’.  

Plaid Cymru warned that the National Development Framework will ‘split Wales’ and is simply about ‘securing crumbs from the UK Government’s table’. The regional development plan which was put forward by the Welsh Government, covered the next 20 years or so, and sought to identify where nationally significant developments should take place, national and regional growth areas, what infrastructure and services are needed and how Wales can contribute to the fight against climate change.

In Wales, until we really run our own affairs, we face some interesting if somewhat stark choices, we can choose the then Alun Cairns model of Tory-inspired Western England or the Labour in Wales’s deeply flawed vision of our future. Labour in Wales’s regional map would “drives a wedge” into Wales, and ignore the “pressing” issue of lack of north-south connectivity, and neglects some of those parts of Wales needing regeneration and development.

The Welsh Government simply replaced the four-region model with a different approach focused on distributing wealth, power and investment equitably across the whole of Wales by targeting intervention and growth to the areas in most need.

What’s was particularly depressing was that Labour’s proposal might as well have been a carbon copy of the then Tory-inspired model of entrenched economic dependency. The four-region approach was modelled on the UK Westminster Government’s Growth Deal areas. Future Wales was more about the future of the Northern Powerhouse, the Bristol Western Gateway and the Midlands Engine than it was the future of Wales.

The plan simply offered an economic plan that was largely based upon securing crumbs from somebody else’s table, rather than building up Wales’ economy in its own right. Instead of offering a vision that brings Wales together, Labour in Wales basically agreed to serve Boris Johnson’s agenda (and Wales) on a plate without even the asking. 

The new / old lack of vision pushed the north and the south of our country even further apart and neglected the real and pressing need for improved north-south connectivity. As if that wasn’t enough it also neglected some of those parts of Wales that were (and are) most in need of regeneration and development, namely the western seaboard and the valleys of the south. 

This flawed approach would not change the UK and Welsh Governments failure to distribute wealth and growth equally across Wales. That said even now it is still not too late for a  Labour-in-Wales Welsh Government to replace the four-region model that was proposed in Future Wales 2040 with amore rational approach that actually focuses on making Wales a connected, sustainable, prosperous and self-sufficient nation in every sense. We can all live in hope…

Now sadly, none of this is new - the other unionist / centralist party in Cymru / Wales, the Conservatives in Cymru / Wales, with a few honourable exceptions have never been happy with the simple idea of devolution actually delivering anything beyond simple inadequate administration, deep down they would probably like to get rid of it (along with the very idea of Wales). 

Here in Wales we have all seen and experienced over the years what can perhaps be best described as the Westminster wobble (by Red, Blue /Orange and Blue governments) in relation to the commitment to complete the electrification of the Great Western line to Swansea, the failure to develop the Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, and the threat to cancel promised public borrowing powers after the proposed M4 Relief road was dropped.

Boris’s (the then PM) mutterings about intervening to overrule the Labour in Wales Government's decision not to build the M4 relief road, or the lead Financial Times article (Monday 13.07.2020) about Westminster’s plans to retain control of state aid at the expense of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, were simply attempts to gain short term electoral advantage. 

Despite their electoral success in December 2019,  Boris and his ilk, were part of what was probably the most narrow elitist English of Westminster governments anytime since the 1700’s, the then Westminster Conservative had a serious barely concealed disdain for the concept of devolution and barely concealed contempt for Wales itself, and that’s was before you got onto their hostility towards Scotland and their complete ignorance about Ireland 

Labour in Wales’s lack of vision in relation to economic development in Wales firmly routed in a belief in the union combined with a famous and and mistaken hope that the Labour cavalry in Westminster will eventually come riding to the rescue. 

we all know that they didn’t do much between 1997 and 2010, and with Labour in Westminster representative (in Wales) consistently voting against or abstaining on the transfer or strengthening of devolved powers to Wales - which certainly suggests that nothing much is going to change in the future after Labour in Westminster's electoral success in July 2024. 

Honestly it should be enough to make people wonder just exactly who’s interests we are being governed in?  For our SE our future, if left to other people’s choices is as part of the Western Gateway (a revamped version of the old Severnside Agenda, or Greater Bristol by any other name). What we are looking at is not so much a case of for Wales see England, more like for our SE, literally see Western England. It's time to say no to the Western Gateway and time for a change in Wales - roll of 2026. 

LABOUR’S MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Yesterday, the Chancellor missed a real opportunity to chart a bold new path after 14 years of austerity. 

Even though Labour promised two governments working together, it appears the Welsh Government was sidelined yet again by the UK Government, as there is little good news for Wales in the budget.

Despite promising to 'get to grips with HS2', the Chancellor failed to deliver the billions owed to Wales. 

Additionally, by keeping cuts to the welfare budget planned by the Conservatives, failing to help pensioners keep warm this winter or bring an end to the two-child cap, this will still feel like austerity to many.

Wales deserves more than broken promises. 

Help Plaid Cymru to keep the pressure on Keir Starmer's Government to reverse their cut to the winter fuel payment, to protect vulnerable pensioners this winter, by signing the petition.

STEP BACK FROM THE CLIFF EDGE

Labour must bring councils back from “cliff edge” – Plaid Cymru Council Leaders

Plaid Cymru Council leaders have warned that Welsh councils face falling off a cliff edge unless both Labour governments take urgent action to address significant funding pressures.

In a letter to the UK Chancellor and First Minister, the leaders of Carmarthenshire, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Ynys Môn Councils along with the Deputy leader of Neath Port Talbot Council say “it is no exaggeration to say that many councils find themselves on the brink of financial ruin and there is a duty on both Welsh and UK governments to act.”

 

Writing ahead of next week’s UK government budget, Darren Price, Nia Jeffreys, Bryan Davies Gary Pritchard and Alun Llewelyn warn that a failure to act now will mean ”many services that protect the most vulnerable in society disappearing altogether.”

 

Writing to Rachel Reeves and Eluned Morgan ahead of next week’s budget they say:

 

“Whilst appreciating that the challenges you face are significant following 14 years of austerity, it is no exaggeration to say that many councils find themselves on the brink of financial ruin and there is a duty on both Welsh and UK governments to act.

 

The UK Budget presents an opportunity to provide urgent additional funding to Wales for critical Services such as social care, children’s services, schools and highways.

 

Without adequate levels of funding, our schools will continue to lack the resources they need to give pupils the education they deserve. As the National Association of Head Teachers amplified in its report last month, spending per pupil has fallen by around 6% in real terms - an unsustainable situation if we are to truly give learners the best start in life.

 

The Welsh Local Government Association estimates that local authorities in Wales face additional financial pressures of £559m for 2025-26. This would require a spending increase of just over 7% in net revenue.

 

To address a pressure of £559m, without additional funding, will require a mix of council tax increases and further cuts to services and efficiencies. The pressure is equivalent to a 26% increase in council tax, or the loss of just under 14,000 posts.

 

We know that we speak for all Local Authority leaders in Wales when we say that the weight of responsibility when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities is felt more acutely than ever.

 

We trust that your respective governments will work together as you have repeatedly pledged to do to ensure that Wales receives a fair deal from the UK Budget and that our councils get the urgent financial support they so desperately need.

 

Failure to do this will see many councils falling off the cliff edge with many services that protect the most vulnerable in society disappearing altogether and leaving a lasting legacy of inequality and deprivation.”

 

- ENDS- 

 

A RAILWAY STATION FOR CAERLEON

I like many people in Newport, welcomed the commitment, a few years ago now, to build new railway stations at Tredegar Park, Somerton, Llanwern, and Magor as part of the South Wales Metro. We needed ground broken sooner rather than later to bring the new railway stations into being, to provide alternative means of getting around our city and elsewhere. 

The new stations were and are an absolute necessity, but I have serious concerns that no railway station to serve Caerleon / Ponthir was included in the Burns Commission recommendations, as this would a real asset to both communities.  We need far greater investment in public transport, with a much better integration and better coordination of rail and bus networks and integrated tickets across all services – with the emphasis on sooner rather than later.

The news that ground will be broken in 2026 with completion by 2030 is to be welcomed but it has taken far too long and with Labour in Wales government managed projects after the initial blast-off publicity there is usually a distinct lag before there is any actual action let alone the actual completion of the project.  

 

The absence of a station for Caerleon may well show an alarming lack of understanding of local transport issues, or a too literal linear focus on the problems of the M4 or it could be simply a glaring oversight. In this case it would ensure that the residents of Caerleon / Ponthir have little choice but to drive to Newport, Cwmbran and beyond even to reach another railway station. 

The lack of a proposed railway station to serve the communities of Caerleon / Ponthir needs to be revisited as a matter of serious urgency if the Labour in Wales government are to show that they are serious about providing decent integrated public transport for all parts of Newport and cutting congestion on the M4 and around our city.

 

Plaid Cymru and the SE Wales Metro

 

Plaid Cymru in Newport and Monmouthshire have long called for the existing railway stations to be significantly upgraded as part of the process of creating a functioning South Wales metro.  Plaid broadly welcomed the report of the South East Wales Transport Commission which has recommend ways to reduce congestion on the M4 motorway without building a new relief road around Newport.  Plaid has called greater investment in public transport, with a much better integration and coordination of rail and bus networks and integrated tickets across all services – with the emphasis that it is needed sooner rather than later. 

A VISION FOR WALES

Plaid leader promises a government with both immediate impact and a vision for long-term change toward a healthier, wealthier Wales

Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth MS will today address his party’s Annual Conference in Cardiff, criticising 25 years of Labour leadership and spelling out his vision for a healthier and wealthier Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS will set out Plaid Cymru’s commitment to “break the cycle of short-term thinking which shortchanges Wales”. On key issues of the economy, education and health, he’ll promise action to implement immediate improvement but set out the need for longer term change that Wales desperately needs.

 

In health that means a pledge that under a Plaid Cymru Government, spending on preventative health measures will increase every year.

He will also announce that a Plaid Cymru Cabinet would include a Minister for Public Health, “ensuring a truly national mission of creating healthier lives which in turn deliver substantial savings.”

Describing the NHS as “born on Labour’s watch” with a promise of a “rebirth under a Plaid Cymru government” Rhun ap Iorwerth MS is expected to say:

“My government will break the cycle of short term thinking which shortchanges Wales.

 

Unlike Eluned Morgan, I will acknowledge that some things are  broken but more importantly I’ll be determined that nothing is beyond repair.

 

My government will not consider issues in isolation. Silo working helps no one when one decision so often affects another.

 

Unlocking our economic potential will need major improvements in education attainment, but another bedrock of a healthy economy is a well Wales – its people active in body and mind.

 

This year, as waiting lists grew – Labour for some inexplicable reason cut the amount it spends on preventative health policies.

 

Friends, this is short-term thinking with long term pain guaranteed. It feeds the problem as opposed to solving it, putting further pressure on front line staff, filling our hospitals with ever sicker patients.

 

Plaid Cymru will reverse the thinking, it’s something I’m determined to do , ensuring the NHS is fit for its centenary celebrations and beyond.”

The Plaid leader will launch a new approach to preventatoive health as part of wider NHS changes by saying:

 

“For too long, Labour’s priority has been managing people’s pain but I want to keep people healthy and I can announce that in the first 100 days of a Plaid Cymru government we will bring forward a new budget – based on the principles of a healthier, wealthier Wales – with a promise that spending on preventative health measures will increase every year.

No more sticking plaster, no more blaming the individual, no more passing the buck.

This is grown-up government – taking responsibility, empowering people and protecting the NHS.

And we have an enormous task ahead of us. On improving the NHS estate, we’ll go further than the last 8 Labour Health Ministers, clearing the emergency maintenance backlogs over the duration of the next Senedd term. Only this week, a critical incident was declared at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend because of serious long-term damage to its roof. We have to have an NHS estate fit for purpose!

We’ll introduce a target focused cancer contract for every patient and reform the governance of the NHS, bringing standards back where they should be and waiting lists down.

And with a new Minister for Public Health, we’ll put the ‘N’ back in the NHS – ensuring a truly national mission of creating healthier lives which in turn deliver substantial savings.

Our treasured National Health Service – born on Labour’s watch, given a rebirth by the Plaid Cymru government I will lead.”

 - ENDS- 

AN INSULT TO THE PEOPLE OF WALES

Reacting to the news that the PM’s Chief of Staff Sue Gray has stepped down and been appointed as ‘envoy for nations and regions’, Plaid Cymru Leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said:

“Three months into Keir Starmer’s premiership, it’s clear he cares little about Wales. Labour promised change, but removing Tory chaos and replacing it with a different kind of Labour chaos still means chaos!

“Appointing an envoy for nations and regions smacks of a Prime Minister determined to concentrate his efforts on London and the south east, leaving the rest to the odd visit and photo-op by a senior official whenever it’s electorally convenient.

“And how must Labour in Wales, the Labour Welsh Secretary and the Labour First Minister feel? No wonder Eluned Morgan doesn’t want me to mention Keir Starmer in the Senedd - he’s quite a problem for her, as Wales clearly is to him.

“This is cynicism of the highest order and frankly insulting to the people of Wales.”

 - ENDS - 

STOP LABOUR’S WINTER FUEL PAYMENT CUT

The Westminster Government has announced that the Winter Fuel Payment – worth up to £300 - will now be means-tested. 

Only pensioners on Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits will receive it. 

This cut could leave half a million pensioners in Wales worse off due to the Labour Government axing the Winter Fuel Payments to those not on Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits.

Means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment will place people’s health at risk, placing even further pressure on our NHS.

Plaid Cymru believes that pensioners should have this vital support to stay warm this winter and call on the Labour Government to reverse these cruel cuts.

Support Plaid Cymru's campaign to stop the cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment