Plaid Cymru’s leader Ieuan Wyn Jones has accused the Labour Government of failing in its duty by dragging its heels at a time when Wales is slipping back into recession.
The Plaid Cymru leader pointed to recent figures which have shown a drop of 0.2% in GDP. He added that figures showing a drop of 0.9% in manufacturing output, and a fall of 0.5% in the construction industry are particularly worrying for the Welsh economy. Mr Jones criticised the Labour government’s failure to take action to boost Wales’ economy despite these indicators pointing towards economic decline.
Plaid Cymru leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, said:
“This Labour government is dragging its heels at a time when Wales is slipping back into recession. People across Wales are battling against the tide of this economic crisis and it is the government’s duty to act to protect them. But, so far this Labour government has failed to do what it can to boost the economy. Recent statistics have revealed deterioration in the building and manufacturing sectors which is particularly alarming for the Welsh economy. Economic indicators all point to the fact that Wales is falling back into recession and in fact unemployment rates are already at recession levels. But Labour has yet to wake up from its lethargic complacency.
“Last week’s Labour’s Delivering for Wales plan is a re-hash of things they’ve re-announced 3 or 4 times since the election. They can’t deliver on their 5 point job plan because the power remains in Westminster.
“Today’s announcement by Estyn that 20% of 11 year olds are functionally illiterate is another damning indictment of the failure of Labour’s education policy. Already we face a lost generation of young people as a result of the recession. Unless the government changes course, the lack of basic skills will make matters even worse as the economy start to recover.”
