‘Welsh Labour’s arrogant, complacent, out of touch’
WELSH Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies will today describe Welsh Labour as “arrogant, complacent and out of touch” and the government it runs as “poisonous”.
In a speech to his party’s spring conference at Ffos Las racecourse in Carmarthenshire, Mr Davies will say: “After two decades in power, the Labour Party in Wales has become arrogant, complacent, and out of touch.
“Treating Wales and our people as their fiefdom – and taking the country for granted.
“A government that has lost its heart and preaches to the many but only delivers for the few.
“A government that has abolished the right to own your home by scrapping the empowering Right to Buy scheme and the bizarre decisions to scrap the school uniform grant and independent living grant.
“A government that is hell-bent on tearing apart health services in this very area that we are meeting in today, closing local hospitals and using private information to smear and damage political opponents, including some of my very own colleagues.
“These are the actions of a complacent and poisonous government – a government that has lost its caring touch, and become too used to power.
“And it’s this complacent government that we need to change in Wales.
“For too long Wales’ comfort zone has been to accept the Labour Party’s managed decline of our economy, culture and public services.”
Referring to the tragic event which continues to dominate Welsh politics, Mr Davies will say: “Our politics was shaken to the core by the tragic passing in November of a good man – Carl Sargeant.
“Carl and I may have come from the opposite sides of the political divide – but in many ways we were cut from the same cloth.
“Rather than taking the university route we earned our stripes in industry – Carl on the factory floor and me on the farmyard.
“Carl was Labour through and through – but despite our political differences I always had the utmost respect for him.
“He stood up for what he believed in, with every fibre of his being.
“Sadly, over the past few months we’ve learned that at the heart of Welsh Government there is something rotten.”
Taking a swipe at Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, the only declared candidate in the contest to succeed Carwyn Jones as Welsh Labour leader and First Minister, Mr Davies will say: “The current frontrunner to replace the outgoing First Minister has already stated he’s not going to change much in Wales.
“A man who has been part of the Welsh Government in some shape or form for the past decade.
“A man who has been at the forefront of disastrous education reforms, shambolic NHS reorganisations, and cuts of almost £1bn to the health budget – just a fraction of the disastrous legacy the outgoing First Minister leaves behind.
“A new First Minister with no personal mandate to govern.
“It’s quite simple: Wales needs a change of government. Our country cannot thrive without it.”
Meanwhile, the Welsh Conservatives have launched a new strategy for urban renewal with the aim of delivering towns and cities in Wales which are “fit for the 21st century”.
At the heart of the strategy is an emphasis on “liveability”, with a series of proposals to deliver “healthier, happier” cities.
The White Paper, brought forward by Shadow Environment Secretary David Melding, seeks to address the perceived lack of an overarching national strategy at Welsh Government level, and contains a number of proposals to create, maintain and develop urban liveability in Wales.
Around two-thirds of the Welsh population live in urban areas and that proportion continues to rise each year.
The Tory document, entitled Liveable Cities – A Strategy for Welsh Urban Renewal, introduces 25 policy proposals to transform our urban environments.
The policies are conceived with the short, medium and long term in mind, and address four key themes: lifestyle, transport, housing and design.
Within the document are a number of ambitious ideas, including proposals to make Cardiff the UK’s first carbon-neutral city; pilot a citywide single-use plastics ban in Wales; ensure that all commercial developments of more than 1,000 m2 must have green roofing for at least 50% of the total roof area of the development; publicly owned urban brownfield sites will be provided at a discount to develop urban eco quarters – housing developments with shared gardens and which are high density, sustainable and provide for a mixture of tenures; implement clean air zones in Newport, Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham; co-ordinate our urban policies so that more of Wales’ busiest streets can become pedestrian zones.
Mr Melding said: “With more than two-thirds of the Welsh population now living in the country’s urban areas, there is an urgent need for a strategy to ensure that our towns and cities are healthier, happier living spaces.
“We have an ambitious and innovative set of proposals to re-imagine urban areas to avoid the dangers of overcrowding and urban sprawl which have blighted other parts of the world.
“Regional growth deals in Cardiff and Swansea can serve as a catalyst to attracting highly skilled young people from across the country, but that will only heighten the need to create ‘liveable cities’ which are good for the economy, while remaining socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.”
Andrew RT Davies said: “This is an ambitious strategy to improve our urban spaces, and to make our cities and towns places where people want to live.”