‘Wales must also get windfall if DUP wins cash for N.Ireland’
ANY increase in funding for Northern Ireland as a result of the DUP’s deal with the Conservatives must be extended to Wales and Scotland, Plaid Cymru’s Adam Price has demanded.
The party’s finance spokesman argues that Wales would receive an extra £4.6bn a year if it received the same level of funding per head as Northern Ireland.
Funding per head in Wales in the 12 months to March 2016 was £12,531, compared to £13,054 in Scotland and £14,018 in Northern Ireland.
Some of the strongest opposition to a funding boost for the devolved nations could come from England, where funding per head was just £11,297.
Mr Price made the case for a funding boost, saying: “Theresa May is fighting for her political life, but in her desperate efforts to hang on to power by doing a deal with the DUP, she must not be allowed to shortchange the other nations of the UK. The DUP is reportedly seeking to negotiate additional investment for Northern Ireland.
“It would be an insult to the people of Wales and Scotland if it was not extended to those nations. Wales already received less funding per head of the population than Scotland and Northern Ireland, and if the Conservatives give Northern Ireland additional funding that gap will increase further.
“Wales already receives around £1,500 less in funding per head each year than Northern Ireland. If Northern Ireland’s funding is increased, then Wales will slip further into the role of poor relation.
“The people of Wales will not stand for it. In its zeal to hang on to power, the Conservatives must not overlook the other nations of the UK.”
Average gross weekly earnings in Wales last year were £492, compared with £495 in Northern Ireland, £535 in Scotland, £544 in England and £671 in London.
Meanwhile, Plaid leader Leanne Wood has urged the public to reject what she calls the Tory-DUP “regressive alliance” and called for a delay to the start of the Brexit negotiations.
She said: “An inept Conservative campaign saw Theresa May snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and lose her precious ‘mandate’. We now face the prospect of a regressive Conservative Prime Minster backed by the even more out-oftouch Democratic Unionist Party, which is seeking to drag us back to the Dark Ages.
“In all likelihood, the DUP will demand extra resources for the north of Ireland and exemptions to the worst of the Tories’ welfare cuts that will apply only in the north of Ireland, while Wales and other parts of the UK lose out.”
She added: “The election result is clear – no single party has a mandate to negotiate Brexit. The Tories can no longer blindly force through their agenda.
“There must be a delay in the Brexit negotiations until such time as all parties and all countries represented in Westminster have the chance to genuinely input into the UK’s negotiating position before talks commence.”
Brecon and Radnorshire Conservative MP Chris Davies said the Plaid leader’s comments were “exactly what we’d expect from Leanne Wood”.
He said: “Under the Barnett formula if Northern Ireland are getting more, we would certainly be pushing as a Conservative group to receive more funding in Wales... I know the Secretary of State for Wales will be pushing at cabinet for exactly that.”
Mr Davies did not support a delay to Brexit negotiations, saying: “The whole country has decided they want to see Brexit happen. They want to proceed as quickly as possible, and I would be hoping all parties including Plaid Cymru and Labour will be supporting the Brexit negotiations and deal.”