Boris ‘really is awful’ – what First Minister said of PM

FIRST Minister Mark Drakeford has been criticised by the leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, after he was shown to say Boris Johnson “really, really is awful” in the documentary.

Yesterday, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd Andrew RT Davies said Mr Drakeford’s comments were not “a good look” for him.

Mr Davies said: “This type of rhetoric might play well with the nationalists ahead of Senedd coalition talks but I’m not sure this is a good look for Labour’s First Minister.

“It’s a fact that shouldn’t escape the First Minister but over half a million Welsh people voted for the Prime Minister in the 2019 general election, which by my maths is half a million more than has ever voted for him.

“While the First Minister might not like the rosette on the Prime Minister’s lapel, he should respect the office.”

Mr Drakeford told MPs at the Welsh Affairs Committee on Thursday that Mr Johnson’s “lack of regular engagement” with the devolved nations was undermining attempts from unionists like himself to stop the UK from breaking up.

He also described his relationship with the Prime Minister as “remote”, saying they had only met once in person, before adding the pair “rarely have a meeting of minds”.

Asked about Mr Drakeford’s criticism, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have worked closely with the devolved administrations throughout the pandemic.

“There have been many, many meetings and calls with the devolved administrations and local partners since the pandemic began including weekly calls between the first ministers, deputy first ministers and CDL (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove).

“There have been numerous Cobra meetings and other meetings where we have worked closely as one United Kingdom to try and tackle the virus.

“I would point to what we’ve said previously on the border measures that we put in place to try and ensure that we stop the reimportation of cases of coronavirus, and the different measures that we’ve introduced throughout the pandemic to try and achieve.

“It remains our commitment to work closely with the devolved administrations as we continue to work together to try and tackle the virus.”

HOUSE prices are expected to increase by 4% this year across the UK – and are forecast to jump 22% in Wales over the next five years, according to a property group’s forecasts.

Savills had previously predicted zero house price growth in 2021, but it released “upgraded forecasts” today, saying it now expects values to climb by 4%.

By the end of 2025, Savills expects house prices in Wales to have increased by 22.8%. This is slightly higher than its 21.1% forecast for the UK as a whole.

Based on figures from Nationwide Building Society’s house price index, Savills calculated that the forecasts could mean nearly £40,000 (£38,725) is added to the average Welsh house price between December 2020 and the end of 2025, with the average price rising from £169,846 to £208,571.

Savills’ expectations are based on the “second hand” house price market, not new-build properties.

Lucian Cook, Savills’ head of residential research, said: “The outlook has improved since the beginning of the year given the speed of the vaccination programme, the expected relaxation of social distancing measures and Government support for both jobs and the housing market.

“Real-time data from TwentyCi tell us that new sales agreed remain well above the pre-pandemic norm.

“That points to a strong first half which, together with the introduction of the mortgage guarantee scheme, underpins our expectation of 1.4 million transactions in 2021.”

Wales has been more reliant on furlough than any other part of the UK because of its high proportion of manufacturing jobs.

In the budget Mr Sunak announced the furlough scheme would be extended until the end of September. In July, employers will be expected to contribute 10%, increasing to 20% in August and September, as the economy reopens. Employees will continue to receive 80% of their salary for hours not worked until the scheme ends. For workers the terms will not change.

Stamp duty does not exist in Wales – instead we have the Land Transaction Tax which is run by the Welsh Government.

Earlier in the crisis the Welsh Government temporarily increased the nil rate band for residential property transactions but this was set to end on March 31 and revert to the original rates and starting threshold of £180,000.

Last week Finance Minister Rebecca Evans confirmed that the Land Transaction Tax temporary reduction period will be extended by a further three months until June 30, 2021. Until then, there will be no tax payable on property sales below £250,000.