Plaid Cymru has slammed the “ConDem” government for inflicting cuts on Wales which will be a third more than that of the UK average according to the government’s own statistics.
Commenting after the Chancellor’s announced plans for ‘efficiency savings’, Plaid’s new MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, Jonathan Edwards said:
“Here we have it – these cuts announced by the ConDem government this morning will have a disproportionate effect on Wales as they are 33% greater on the Welsh budget than the UK as a whole.
“This is compounded because the Tories and Lib Dems refuse to address the fact that Wales is already under-funded – going completely against the Lib Dems’ manifesto promises to Wales.
“By her own admission, according to the Secretary of State, Wales will lose out on £187m next year, something she claims to be a good deal for Wales.
“But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
“We already lose out by at least £300million every year in Wales because of the unfair Barnett Formula, yet the Tories and Lib Dems have shown their true colours by pushing funding reform under the carpet.
“The Tories are doing the equivalent of sticking their fingers in their ears and humming. Ignoring the issue is not going make it go away.
“In a UK budget of £650billion, the £300million per year desperately needed to ensure fair funding for Wales is less than 0.05%, almost nothing in the wider scale of things.
“These are not the only cuts that Wales will be facing in the coming years either. We were already expecting a further £3billion of real terms cuts in Wales the next three years.
“These cuts announced today are on top of those previously announced, in spite of the fact that the deficit for the year just gone was £20billion less than predicted.
“While Scotland is being given £200m to spend through its Fossil Fuel Levy, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have bottled yet another opportunity to stand up for Wales at Westminster and are pretending they are getting us a good deal.”
Mr Edwards added:
“What is clear now is that we are not all in this together as Mr Osborne keeps promising.
“The 18 cabinet millionaires won’t be feeling the pinch in the way that public sector workers in Swansea or Carmarthenshire will – especially if Wales suffers a double-dip recession because of these cuts.”
