Jamie Wallis

IT WAS disappointing to hear last week that the Welsh Labour Government rejected a proposal from Welsh Conservatives at the Senedd to create a Road Freight Strategy.

It was also incomprehensible that Plaid Cymru failed to back it because of Brexit.

Eh?

Plaid is always keen to portray Brexit as a failure and pretend that it was imposed on Wales by a Tory Government when the people of Wales actually voted for it.

Despite all the problems, a recent trade survey revealed that sales are up, with those to non-EU countries now outstripping sales to the EU bloc itself. This shows a massive post-Brexit trade boost in Wales – something which also does not tally with the relentless anti-Brexit narrative coming from the Welsh Labour Government.

Given the new trade figures, it should be apparent that we need a proper strategy for road freight as it is a fact that most of our freight in Wales is carried on lorries.

The importance of the road freight and logistics industry to the Welsh economy cannot be overstated. Literally thousands of jobs depend on being able to move goods around quickly and effectively.

But life for haulage companies in Wales is much harder than it should be. The Brynglas tunnels are a bottleneck that cause massive delays on the main artery into South Wales. Mark Drakeford's decision to scrap the M4 relief road was disastrous. One man has managed to throttle the Welsh economy.

Then again, we have had the perverse decision by his roads minister to cancel almost all road improvement schemes throughout Wales and now the 20mph default speed limit which has slowed down not only cars but also lorries.

Wales must wake up to what's happening. The country is being strangled by the anti-car and antiroad ideology of the left. The knock-on effects of these actions are massive. Wages are the lowest in the UK; business activity is the lowest in the UK. Buses are being axed. The rail network, run directly by the Welsh Government, is in chaos and people are facing the prospect of road charging.