Leanne Wood has challenged the First Minister to stand up for the people of Wales in the face of Westminster’s damaging welfare cuts.
However, challenged by Leanne Wood, the First Minister said that he did not believe it was the duty of his government to minimise the impact of the Bedroom Tax on the people of Wales.
The Party of Wales leader Leanne Wood called on the First Minister to use his influence in the argument for lifting the Discretionary Housing Payment cap so that the Welsh Government could follow the Scottish Government’s example of making up the Bedroom Tax shortfall.
Yesterday, the Labour party in Scotland announced that it would support the SNP’s budget which would cover the cost of the Bedroom Tax there.
The leader of Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood said:
“Before the 2011 elections the First Minister told us that his party would stand up for Wales. He came clean today, and admitted that this is not the case.
“In Scotland, the Bedroom Tax will now effectively be abolished. Plaid Cymru believes that it is the role of a devolved government to do what is right for the people it serves, and that it why a Plaid Cymru government would seek a lifting of the Discretionary Housing Payment cap and compensate for the Bedroom Tax shortfall, as has been done in Scotland.
“A Plaid Cymru government would do everything in our power to make sure that the people of Wales are not forced from their homes in order to pay this cruel tax.
“It is within the First Minister’s gift to stop the damage caused by the Bedroom Tax in Wales immediately. His party counterparts in Scotland have announced that they will back the SNP government in stopping it there. The people of Wales will be rightly asking questions as to why the bedroom tax can be axed in Scotland but not here in Wales.”
