Businesses in Wales have been failed by UK and Assembly government indifference and lack of support, Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan MP claimed today.
Speaking at Welsh Questions at Westminster, Mrs Gillan said Labour and Plaid Cymru had created a climate in Wales where businesses are failing, unemployment is higher, and economic inactivity is among the worst in the UK.
Mrs Gillan also pointed to recent figures, obtained by the Welsh Conservatives, which showed a significant under-spend in business grant support at the height of the recession.
She said:
“In the deepest economic downturn since the 30s Mr Hain’s Labour colleagues in Cardiff used only a quarter of the business support money available to them in the first half of the financial year to help hard-pressed Welsh businesses.
“Under his government, and his colleagues in the Assembly, the wealth gap between Wales and the rest of the UK has widened, wages have fallen against the UK, and the cost of business regulation has soared.
“This appalling record is the reality of Labour in power. Businesses and workers around Wales will want to know why, when the money was there, Labour and their Plaid Cymru colleagues didn’t spend it.”
Commenting after exchanges in the Commons, Cheryl Gillan MP added:
“Once again Peter Hain has failed to answer a straight question.
“As Wales limps out of recession we need a strong economy to support individuals and families, generate wealth, and attract new investment.
“While I welcome news such as that today to create 200 jobs at the former L’Oreal factory in Talbot Green, we still have a long way to go to repair the damage of Labour’s recession.
“Wales can’t afford another five years of Gordon Brown and Labour. We need change to get the country’s economy back on its feet.
“The way to achieve this is through a private sector recovery driven by business investment and exports, instead of consumer borrowing and government debt.”
