The Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly has accused Labour of being ‘economically illiterate’.
In a speech to the Conservative Policy Forum, Andrew RT Davies said the Party’s lack of understanding and hostility towards business is hampering growth in Wales.
He highlighted Labour’s failure ‘to grasp the nettle on business and enterprise’ and call for ‘bold solutions’ to turn the Welsh economy around.
Speaking in Cardiff, Mr Davies said:
“The challenge for any sensible administration remains: how to stimulate economic growth without going the way of Greece, Italy and Ireland?
“The answer must lie in strengthening the role and contribution of the private sector. In Wales, Labour’s hostility towards business is making this particularly difficult.
“Though half a million extra jobs have been created in the private sector in Britain since the general election, in Wales, the number of people employed in the private sector actually fell – by 35,000.
“Simply – Labour in Wales is economically illiterate.”
Mr Davies’ speech follows recent comments by former Labour MEP, Baroness Eluned Morgan, who said ‘many in the private sector have sensed the animosity of the Labour Party in the past and have been reluctant to engage.’
Recent criticism of Labour policy has also come from both the Institute of Directors – which said its member ‘perceive a suspicion of the private sector’ from the Welsh Government – and the Federation of Small Businesses, which said Labour’s Assembly election manifesto ‘largely ignored’ small business.
Mr Davies went on to say:
“It (Labour) has failed to channel its energies – and the Assembly’s new powers – into creating economic growth and jobs.
“Labour intends to use the powers at its disposal to legislate on cycle lanes – which independent authorities have warned ‘are not a natural fit for the problems Wales confronts.’
“It refuses to heed our call to introduce business rate relief; even though the FSB tells us that unemployment could be tackled in Wales if our small businesses each took on just one extra member of staff.
“It is a matter of shame that despite two rounds of European spending on economic development, the Welsh Government has failed to tackle deep-rooted unemployment, casting some of our poorest communities adrift.”
